Behind every great team, there are great spiritleaders and
Gilroy High has one of the best.
GILROY – Behind every great team, there are great spiritleaders and Gilroy High has one of the best.
For the second straight season and third time in five years under head coach Jeannie Baumgartner, the varsity squad is headed to the Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“Like Jeff Garcia we want to represent the community,” said Baumgartner, who will be leaving Jan. 30 along with assistant Liz Hardy and 17 spiritleaders.
Gilroy earned its Pro Bowl spot back in August when the varsity song and cheer squads as well as the varsity mascot all earned the Superior Plaque at the United Spirit Association’s spirit camp at UC-Santa Cruz.
“It was really hard. You know you need a superior in everything to go. It depends on everybody so everybody has to give 100 percent,” said senior song member Samantha Stutzman, who plans on trying out for the 49ers’ Gold Rush cheerleaders. “It’s easier said than done. It’s a lot of work. It’s hard to get the superior plaque. They just don’t give it to every squad.”
The local spirits – who will have a final fundraiser raffle at Wednesday’s home girls basketball game at 7 p.m. – will perform a special Pro Bowl halftime routine with hundreds of others from across the country.
“I’m very excited,” said senior Kim Kloster, a third year cheer squad member who will be making her first visit to Hawaii. “Later on when someone asks how was your senior year, I can say I was able to go to Hawaii so that’s pretty cool.”
As part of their trip, the girls will be treated to a luoa, a Pearl Harbor Tour, dinner with a magic show, and a chance to meet some of the Pro Bowl players as well as professional cheerleaders.
“We probably won’t go next year. We’ve done it two years in a row and we’re going to save the money for some competitions next year,” said Baumgartner, who made the Pro Bowl trip when she was a junior at Gilroy High. “We’re hoping the weather is better. Last year, they had unusually cold weather. We didn’t come back with tans last year.”
This is the first year on the squad for senior Kate Ayala – who originally tried out to for cheer before deciding to become the mascot.
“I kinda thought of it myself. I thought I’d try it. If I didn’t like it, Oh well,'” Ayala said. “It’s cool. Not a lot of people get to say they were their school mascot.”
