After more than two weeks off for winter break, the Redhawks cheer squad held its final preparations Thursday for the UIL 5A Spirit State Championships Friday and Saturday in Fort Worth. 

“Our focus is just really to redevelop endurance,” cheer coach Kandy Stevens said. “That’s where I think that’s where the two weeks hit our endurance the hardest. We ate a lot of Christmas cookies, but these last few practices showed that they’re going to be just fine. Couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Despite having just a few days after winter break to practice, senior Jazze Stewart believes the team is ready. 

“I’m not very worried,” Stewart said. “We’ve had so many practices already. We’ve run our routine so many times that I’m more confident than worried.”

The time and effort that the team has put in will be enough according to senior Allie Elgin.

“We’ve been focusing with the time we have left,” Elgin said. “We’ve been working really hard since the beginning of the year and we’re ready. At this point, we’re doing full runs and making slight adjustments. We know our routine and perform it well. It’s just about perfecting it and making it the best we can before UIL.” 

Although winter break threw a kink in the team’s momentum according to Stevens, there’s also a silver lining to having two weeks off. 

“The break threw a little bit of a kink in the momentum we had going,” Stevens said. “One of our team members is out due to COVID, so these last practices are probably some of the most important because we needed to get that person up to speed with everybody else. I also think those two weeks were good for people to be able to rest, get some mental clarity, and get some physical rest before UIL.”