WSU’s Spirit Cheer Squad nationally recognized
The Weber State University Spirit Squad performed during the halftime of the Cal Poly game at Weber State University in Ogden on Saturday, October 11, 2014. Cal Poly defeated Weber State 30-24.
The Weber State University Spirit Squad performed during the halftime of the Cal Poly game at Weber State University in Ogden on Saturday, October 11, 2014. Cal Poly defeated Weber State 30-24.
OGDEN — As the Weber State Spirit Squad cheers for the Wildcats on the sideline, giving its halftime routine with flips and stunts, not a lot of thought is given aside from the entertainment that it provides.
But the squad, lead by coach Summer Willis, has gained national attention over the last few years, grabbing three national titles since 2009.
“Our very first national championship was in 2009 in Dayton Beach for NDA Collegiate Nationals. We took first place in Division I, so it was a huge win — the program’s first ever national title,” said Willis. “In 2012 and 2013 we won USA Nationals, which was on the west coach in Anaheim, Calif. We had back-to-back titles there.”
Willis took over in 1998, built the program up herself using the best talent she could find, and her squad has never placed lower than third place in any competition since they first started competing in 2008.
“The environment is so crazy,” said three-year squad member Stetson Rapier of participating in nationals. “You go there and there are thousands of cheerleaders — everyone that knows your passion. You don’t get that a lot just at the university, but when you go to those events, it’s kind of crazy.”
So far for Willis’ long career at Weber, the 2009 title has been the best moment for her in coaching, but it wasn’t solely because of the national title.
“What actually made the experience even more surreal was the small things that you didn’t see behind the scenes,” Willis recalled. “Without telling me, they put the initials of my little sister who passed away when she was 15 years old on their ankles and represented something more. It was the small things that meant even more to me as a coach than the big national win.”
Now looking for a fourth national title, the team will start preparations early, and work throughout the winter to perfect their routine.
“We learn our competition routine in November, and then we work it every single practice until April,” said Rapier. “We only get to perform it twice — in prelims, and one in finals. We work all year for a couple of days in the end.”
The Spirit Squad is composed of many from in-state, but also several from the western United States, many of which are All-Americans.
“I came out here to be on the Utah Jazz stunt and tumbling team,” said first-year squad member and California native Laura McPurdy. “I had been on that team for a year and I gained residency so I could be on Weber’s team and get a scholarship.”
McPurdy learned of the Weber State Spirit Squad after a friend told her to look up the team on YouTube.
Other members of the squad, like Kaitlin Packer, didn’t realize just how good the team was until they got there.
“I at first didn’t really know anything about it, but when we first started stunting it was like a whole new world,” said Packer. “Some of the things we do I didn’t even think were possible.”
Packer, along with her partner Ed Moroney, were named rookies of the year by the team last year, and feel more responsibility heading into this season.
“Being rookie of the year, a lot of people look up to you, so you really have to perform all the time in anything you do,” said Moroney. “You’ve got to hit your stunts.”
With the success at national competitions and high expectations for the future, bringing in more talent becomes easier and easier.
“Summer’s the best coach I’ve ever had. Her program brings in a lot of talent to Weber State,” said squad member Paul Thorpe. “The program has brought in a lot of good athletes.”
Some members said that coaching is a big part of the program’s success.
“The coaching is a huge thing,” said Chelsi Lee. “She pushes us to do our best. She makes us do it until we get it perfect. It’s hard work and dedication in practice.”
Through her many years of experience, coach Summer Willis enjoys seeing her squad unite different people with one thing in common.
“We’re a team coming together, and being one. They’re all different, they’re all individuals, but they have this one thing in common. They come, they work hard together, they all put in the same amount of time,” Willis said. “We really try to build on that and put aside their other differences, and come together and find that unity, so that when we win, it’s not an empty win, it’s a win because you did it as a team, together as one, so it makes a difference in what we’re doing.”
Contact sports reporter Brandon Garside at bgarside@standard.net, on Twitter @BGarsideSE, and on Facebook.com/BrandonGarsideSE