CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Cheerleaders are usually on the sidelines rooting for someone else. But when the North Carolina Saints come marching in, they also cheer for each other.
The sisterhood is coached by two local sisters.
“Love the spirit!” assistant coach Jacoya McDowell told the group at practice.
“Smiles on lips, everybody ready?” says her sister and assistant coach Miasha McDowell.
Cheerleading can be more than a sport. For a group of these girls, it inspires confidence that just might change their lives.
“What I love the most is watching the progress of each girl,” Jacoya told Queen City News.
“I always wanted a sister, so it’s good that I have girls that I can trust,” says Jewell McDowell Williams.
“The cheer sisters are like great, and we just be practicing real hard,” Trinity Robinson said.
“Just make sure you’re looking straight ahead, so nobody to the right or left distracts you,” Miasha
“Red and black, fight to the top!” the cheerleaders say in unison. “In it to win it, Saints don’t stop!”
Some might say the program is an adventure for kids ages 5-12.
“I love that it’s very fun and it’s very adventurous,” Ayla Hallman Scott said.
The goal of the nonprofit Saints cheerleading program goes beyond raising spirits. It’s also about raising confident girls.
“It teaches them discipline, structure,” coach Jacoya says. “We have a lot of fun, but we also want them to know that, ‘We are preparing you for whatever you want to do in life.’”
“I mean, it keeps them busy,” said coach Miasha. “During these times they get so stuck on social media and bullying, and fall victim to all types of influence, so it just gives them something to work towards.”
Miasha and Jacoya were both college cheerleaders. They know that while building a team, they can create a sense of community.
“So, we want to show people that we can be more than just a rec football cheerleading team,” Miasha says.
The Saints were Grand Champions at the House Party Battle for the Crown Cheer and Dance Competition, held last fall in Charlotte. Not bad for a squad that started with 12 girls two years ago and has grown to 50.
“I always wanted to cheer, and I love cheering, and I want to do it the rest of my life,” McDowell Williams said.
As Miasha coaches, she can’t help but smile as she hears her girls cheer, and the girls smile right back. The program gives the faces of the future a much-needed support system.
“It just gives them some encouragement and lets them know that they can do or be whatever they want to be.” said coach Miasha.
“I never could have made it without the Saints,” says Hallman Scott.
At the end of each practice, the Saints get into a circle. Some bend over backwards to show off a new skill.
Judging from their chemistry, cheering is a big hit with this circle of little sisters.
“We’ve got a lot of girls that started, never had a background in cheer and it’s amazing to watch them grow and love the sport,” coach Jacoya says.
The post Charlotte cheerleaders root for each other in a nonprofit program that promotes girl power first appeared on Enegxi News – News As It’s Happening.
