After a three-year break at Etowah, competition cheer has made a comeback with new head coach, McKenzie Miklitsch, to kickstart their season. Miklitsch is an experienced cheerleader and new English teacher at Etowah and is ready to lead the team to reach their full potential. 

“Our goals are to eventually become state and region champions, work on team building and bonding, and just spread the word about competition cheer because we are a new team,” Miklitsch said. 

Miklitsch began cheering at five years old for a recreational program, and eventually moved into competition cheer as she got older. Her experience is valuable to the team because she knows different strategies to improve their routine, technique, and the coaching style that works best with them. 

“[Good qualities of a coach would be] knowing what to look for, being able to fix the minor technicalities, and having an eye for it. Knowing how my coaches coached me [will help me lead my team],” Miklitsch said. 

Although Miklitsch is handling many responsibilities, she makes it a priority to support her students and team members. As an English teacher, she not only works with her team, but her classes as well. Her jobs require a lot of commitment, but she is working to make the squad and her students as successful as possible. 

“[Being a new teacher and coach has] been stressful and overwhelming but also very rewarding and makes me feel like I am in the Etowah community. It has been fun to dive in headfirst,” Miklitsch said. 

To follow along Etowah’s competition cheer team throughout their season, details can be found here. Make sure to come support them at future competitions.