Snow Hill – On Tuesday night, the Greene County Middle School (GCMS) Cheerleaders participated in the Pitt County Athletic Conference’s annual Cheerleading competition. They finished the night second in their speech.
Yolanda Johnson, GCMS Cheer Coach shared, “This is my third year coaching at GCMS. As a cheer coach, cheer is not just a sport. Academics and behavior must be a priority.”
Academics play a big part in the team. Johnson shared, “County requires a score of 60 to participate. To represent GC and GCMS, cheerleading girls must score at least a 78 or higher to actively participate and engage in games without misbehavior in classrooms.” He credits his team’s success to the way the coaches teach, “discipline, motivation and self-confidence skills.” We don’t just teach cheerleading motions.”
The cheerleading season is a long season, Johnson shared, “We started cheer camp in July 2022. The inaugural season started on September 9, 2022. We’ve been going since July. Rigorous practices are held Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m.”
In addition to cheering for football, boys’ basketball and girls’ basketball, the team begins to develop and improve their competitive performance. Performing at several local county fair competitions and ultimately leading the team to the finals of the Pitt County Conference Cheerleading Competition.
Johnson shared that live competition practices begin in late December for the team. They train from Monday to Friday and also on Saturday. She shared that often the girls didn’t, “think they could win any place. But with Coach Vette, my assistants and myself encouraging, motivating and inspiring them, they decided to give it their all and have fun.”
At the end of a successful season, they have a 2nd place win in hand and have brought pride to GCMS and themselves. In addition to coaching, Johnson also teaches 7th grade Science and is a member of the school’s STEM team. Prior to joining the GCMS staff, Johnson coached for teams in Lenoir and Wake Counties working with Cheer for 9 years. She credits her team’s success to the assistant coaches who continued to inspire and encourage the girls. The girls will finish their season with the end of the Basketball season in mid-February.
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