“There is a lot more respect for cheerleading than a few years ago,” cheer coach Bonnie Foley said. “It’s changed a little bit since I was in school.”

Bonnie and her mother, Holly, coach the North Kitsap High School cheer team. Having cheered for North Kitsap, Bonnie volunteered for the position after her mother took the head coaching job in September 2014.

“They’ve had four coaches in the last year,” Holly said. “We’ll see if consistency pays off.”

The team is made up of seven seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and two freshman. And don’t be fooled: the squad welcomes males and females.

“A couple of guys have been on the team. One is now helping coach football,” Holly said. “We are encouraging boys to join in and get them scholarships to colleges. There are a lot of scholarships available for male cheerleaders.”

Along with cheering at all sporting events (the captains even suggested going to support the boys tennis team in their match against Port Angeles on Sept. 10), the North Kitsap cheer squad competes in state-level competitions.  In fact, several of the current seniors were newbies to the program the year it made its best run in competition.

“As a freshman getting second in state with some of my best friends, that’s one of my favorite memories,” senior captain Rachel Clemons said.

Clemons is one of three senior captains on the team and has been cheering since middle school.

“I liked it, and I made a lot of friends,” Clemons said. “They were trying out as well, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ It’s a new experience, I knew it would be harder and I knew I wanted to be involved in a school activity in high school.”

Like her, fellow captain Ali Periera has been on the team since her freshman year. Periera has dreams of continuing this passion after she graduates North Kitsap.

“Since I was young, I wanted to cheer at college,” Periera said. “I did gymnastics for nine years, and now I feel like that helped me be ready for college cheer.”

The team hosts tryouts and practices in the spring, sending information over to the middle school for upcoming freshmen. This past summer, the team attended a stunting camp hosted by the Universal Cheerleaders Association at the University of Puget Sound.

“We were taught cool routines at camp, one of which we will be performing at homecoming this year,” Holly said.

Homecoming is Oct. 2, and the cheer team will perform during the parade on the Wednesday before homecoming as well as the pep assembly that week leading up to the game.

“Football is probably the favorite season,” Bonnie said. “Especially after the game, it’s a ‘Friday Night Lights’ thing. Riding the bus, winning and getting sandwiches from the boosters. The team had a lot of fun.”

Both coaches raved about the athletic boosters, thanking them for supporting the cheer team, helping fundraise and providing food for the team, including the “best brownies in the world.”

“They are so chocolaty. They’re literally the best,” Holly said.

Along with support from boosters, parents, the principal and the athletic director, the team works closely with the athletic trainers on campus.

“Cheerleaders get a lot of strains and sprains, especially in ankles and hips,” Holly said. “We work closely with the athletic trainers to keep us in good shape, taping and strengthening. They’re great.”

This especially helps when members of the team are a part of more than one activity. members of the team are part of more than one activity. Sophomore Halle Johnston is also a member of the swim team.

“We have people doing all sorts of things,” Bonnie said.

Bonnie was also in marching band when she was on the cheer team. She would keep her flute in her cheer box and run out at half time to perform with the band.

“It’s funny because, you know, the band uniforms are pretty standard and then there’s a cheerleader in her skirt,” Bonnie said. “There was some football players in it too who would drop their pads and do the same.”

Even with extracurricular activities, the cheer team has a GPA requirement that was raised this year in order to remain a member of the squad. Members need to balance schoolwork with cheer and all the events that go along with it.

On home game days, the schedule gets pretty intense.

They wear their uniforms at school all day to pep up the students. Then, after the final bell, they decorate the boys locker room before meeting back up before the game to warm up and practice.

They greet people as they come in, sometimes hand things, such as bead neckalces, out. Last year on Halloween, they gave out candy from glow-in-the-dark pumpkin baskets.

“We greet the visiting cheer team with hospitality, usually food or some kind of gifts,” Holly said. Then we get our boxes out and cheer. If there’s good weather we do stunts. We have a couple of strong stunters that will be fun to watch.”

Holly was involved with cheer when her daughter was on the team. She even went to games after Bonnie graduated to see the other cheer moms and began helping at some tryouts before she was officially offered the head coaching position.

“It’s nice to know students in a different way than in the classroom,” she said.

Bonnie enjoys getting to see cheerleading from a different side and helping the team grow as cheerleaders and people.

“They’re a pretty cool group.”