POULSBO — The Vikings’ cheerleading squad believes North Kitsap High School is experiencing an epidemic with regard to the lack of spirit exhibited by fellow students.

Luckily, they have just the vaccine to cure it.

“Our school’s having a big problem with school spirit,” said junior cheerleader Treva VanCleave. “The lack of it makes me want to get more involved.”

And that’s just what the 10-person squad is doing — getting even more active and more enthused with all things Purple and Gold. They’re out to change the mindset of NKHS students.

The rationale?

“Spirit makes it so you want to be here,” said team co-captain Jessica Uher. “Not that you have to be here.”

“Lots of people think school is stupid, that it’s boring,” added junior Sarah Philpott. “But you only get the high school experience and to be young once.”

The first mission of the squad is teaching North Kitsap students just what exactly “spirit” is. Senior co-captain Tawny Hilderbrand, who is also in Polaris, said she’s had to teach NKHS pride to more than a few students in the Small Learning Community.

“A lot of kids don’t even know the school colors,” she said.

The squad has been devoted to all things cheer since March 2004, when team tryouts were held. And the team endured quite a bit of turnover this year — only four girls returned from a year ago.

“We’ve had to start from scratch,” Uher admitted. “But they’ve drastically improved.”

Part of the reason for that quick success, said many of the cheerleaders, was the team’s closeness in cheer — and out.

“We’re a really close squad this year,” VanCleave said. “We all hang out outside cheer and we all connect well.”

During summer break, the team practiced about three times a week learning a vast repertoire of routines. They developed eight cheers, four dance routines, six band dances and more than 100 chants with which to choreograph and memorize.

“It takes a lot of hard work and team cooperation to get to where we need to be,” junior Briona Middaugh. “You can’t do these things by yourself.”

The team practices three days a week for virtually all of the fall as well, cheering Friday nights at the football games. Only during the winter are practices more widely interspersed — the squad is too busy for practice, sometimes devoting four days a week to cheering at wrestling and girls and boys basketball games.

Aside from their rigorous schedule, there is also the pressure of performing anything from cheers to risky stunts in front of a crowd — especially when its the squad’s own peers, remarked many of the cheerleaders.

“It’s so hard to get up in front of the school … it’s nerve-wracking,” said senior Siri Lofall. “But if you just have fun up there, it’s much better and it looks better.”

But the rewards of what they’ve learned in cheer despite the time, energy and even pain — make it an aspect of their lives they wouldn’t trade.

“Cheerleading does it all,” Uher said. “I’ve learned to be more of an outgoing person and not to judge people. To be as confident as I can in myself and my abilities.”

“I’ve been accidentally punched in the face, poked in the eye, kneed …” Philpott added. “But it’s all worth it.”