Across Town, Rochester Cheer Teams Get Ready to Continue the Tradition

Here's what tradition can do: It can make a girl dream for a year. It can make a coach push as hard as she can for one more win. It can keep a mom up at night.

For 83 girls and their coaches and their parents — and for a town that loves its high school athletes — today is as much about what comes next as it is about what has happened before.

Saturday the competitive cheer teams from all three of Rochester's high schools will compete with nine other teams for a chance to advance to the state finals. It's a road they're familiar with; a Rochester team has finished in the top two Division 1 spots for 16 of the past 17 years. 

"We always used to say, back in the day, there was something in the water," said Courtney Kezlarian, who cheered for in the 1990s and now coaches the team. "Our town is just known for this."

For Cougars, past year has been a dream

Jacqueline Cox and Jill Kelly have cheered together since they were seventh-graders at . Now the seniors are captains of the cheer team.

They lived the tradition last year, when Stoney Creek won the state title. It was the school's first state championship (though the school has only been a school since 2002).

Cox and Kelly talked after practice this week about that March day and agree that since then, they've felt like they've lived in a dream.

"Honestly, I don't know if it has even sunk in yet," said Cox, who remembers being in middle school and looking up to the high school cheerleaders, hoping she could one day be one of them.

"It has been amazing ... it's so crazy to always be announced as the state champions," Kelly said.

Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams said her team of 27 girls includes some of the most skilled athletes she has worked with in her 17 years of coaching. It's not all athletic ability — Williams, along with Cox and Kelly, says mental strength is a huge part of the team's determination. That's what they planned to focus on today.

"You have to visualize and prepare yourself," Kelly said. "You have to visualize every step. You have to visualize yourself even walking into the building for the competition."

The Stoney Creek team will spend tonight bonding during what's called a "candlelight," where they'll share their goals and words of inspiration.

"There will be a lot of crying," Kelly said. "But it's something that helps solidify our relationships with one another. To know why we're performing — in the end, it's for each other."

Rochester's legacy inspires a team

According to a report on athletics presented to the Rochester Board of Education in January, during the 2009-10 school year 386 students participated in cheerleading at the district's high schools, making it the most popular sport (football was a close second, with 384 participants).

That popularity can be attributed to the record of success with the school district's programs. And that record of success can be attributed, in part, to Susan Wood.

Wood has coached 's cheer team for 30 years. Before that, she cheered there herself. Her team holds the record for the most state titles; she has 12.

"There's a lot of tradition at Rochester High," said Wood, a teacher at by day. 

"Tradition in some ways puts unneeded pressure on us," she said. "But in some ways it inspires the girls, because they can see the bigger picture.

"The girls know about the past — about the tradition and about the legacies. The tradition helps with the excitement."

The Rochester team has 33 girls, including 15 seniors. Wood said her team will spend today rehearsing the three cheers they will perform for judges Saturday — they haven't changed anything since winning the district title in Lake Orion last Saturday — and then talking about their goals.

"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is," Wood said. "Desire is everything."

"It isn't all about winning, however, doesn't everyone want to be the best they can be?"

Adams coach appreciates hearing from alumni

For the 23 girls on the Adams team, the meaning of tradition can best be described in the opening lines of their Round One cheer:

"It's our goal. It's our mission. Adams cheer is a new tradition."

Because when people talk about the standout cheer teams in this town, they normally talk about the schools across town. This year, they're talking about Adams, too.

"We've worked really hard the past few years," Coach Kezlarian said. "I knew this year was going to be a little bit of a different year."

Adams finished fourth in last Saturday's district competition, barely grabbing a spot in this weekend's regional meet.

Kezlarian cheered at Adams High School in the 1990s, which she refers to as "back in the day," before Stoney Creek was a school. In those days, the Adams team was a regular at regional competitions.

In 2004, 2005 and 2006, the team was the state runner up in a league that was a rival to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (teams could choose which league to belong to). Adams joined the MHSAA in 2007.

Kezlarian has coached the team since 2001. By day, she works full time in marketing. These days, she works and coaches nonstop. She does it for the girls.

"I can see that this is truly making a difference in the lives of these kids," she said. "This week I've gotten messages from kids I've coached in the past. It's really motivating to see they still keep in touch and they still care about this program."

The moms worry and cheer, too

For Debbie Kelly, this week has been clouded with emotions.

The mom of Stoney Creek cheerleader Jill Kelly has not been able to sleep this week. During the day she has spent her time planning meals and other events for the team.

"This is very emotional. This is the last time for all of this," she said. "But the moms getting together has been the most fun."

They had plans to surprise the girls with a special "mom cheer" today.

All three coaches said the parents help make the teams what they are.

"It is reflected in the kids each year, how special these parents are," Kezlarian said.

Wood agreed. In fact, she is coaching some second-generation cheerleaders – she coached their moms and now she is coaching them.

"It's the parents that do all of the behind-the-scenes stuff," Wood said. "They are a big part of this tradition, too."

Rochester, Stoney Creek and Adams compete beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lake Orion High School. The top four teams from that regional competition advance to the state finals March 4 in Grand Rapids.