CHEER TEAM

  TROUBLE

  CHEER TEAM

  TROUBLE

  CHEER TEAM

  TROUBLE

  BY JAKE MADDOX

  text by

  Leigh McDonald

  Jake Maddox JV Girls books are published by Stone Arch Books

  a Capstone imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.mycapstone.com

  Copyright © 2019 Stone Arch Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.

  ISBN: 978-1-4965-6344-6 (library binding) ISBN: 978-1-4965-6346-0 (paperback)

  ISBN: 978-1-4965-6348-4 (eBook PDF)

  Summary: Longtime gymnast Brielle decides to join a competitive cheerleading team, while keeping her spot on the gymnastics team. She figures the practice schedules don’t conflict, so she shouldn’t have any trouble managing the two sports. But things don’t go as planned, and Brielle soon finds herself pulled in too many directions.

  Designer: Tori Abraham

  Image Credits: Shutterstock: cluckva, 90–95 (background), Eky Studio, throughout (stripes design), Wlg, cover (background), WoodysPhotos, cover, back cover, chapter openers Printed and bound in XXXXXXX.

  010XXXXXXX

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  BRING IT ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

  Chapter 2

  T IS FOR TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

  Chapter 3

  FLYING HIGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

  Chapter 4

  TEAMWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

  Chapter 5

  LOSING HER COOL . . . . . . . . . . . 41

  Chapter 6

  JUGGLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

  Chapter 7

  COMPETITION CRUNCH . . . . . . . . 57

  Chapter 8

  DECISIONS, DECISIONS . . . . . . . 65

  Chapter 9

  BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO . . . 75

  Chapter 10

  TEAM TRIUMPH . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

  Chapter 1

  BRING IT ON

  “Naomi! Wait up!” Brielle shouted across the hot parking lot. She hopped up onto the sidewalk and ran to catch up with her best friend.

  Both girls had just arrived at the gym to sign up for another year of gymnastics. This year was especially exciting because they would be advancing to a regional-team level. They would compete against other gyms in the area. Brielle was looking forward to the new challenge.

  5

  She and her best friend, Naomi, had met in a parks-and-rec gymnastics class when they were in kindergarten. Soon after they had discovered that they lived only a few houses apart. They had been tumbling and cartwheeling around their backyards together ever since.

  Naomi’s green leotard glowed against her dark skin, and her curly black hair was held up high in a matching green band. Brielle was feeling fancy in a red leotard with a band of sequins across the chest.

  Her long brown hair was tucked up neatly in two French braids.

  “We look like a Christmas card together,” Brielle said, laughing.

  She heard the car door slam behind her as her mother followed her slowly toward the front door.

  Brielle’s happy smile turned to a sigh.

  “What’s wrong?” Naomi asked, bumping her

  shoulder into Brielle’s. “Aren’t you excited for gymnastics?”

  6

  “Of course I am!” Brielle explained. “But my mom is being a pain. I want to try cheer this year, like my mom and my sister did when they went to middle school.”

  “And your mom isn’t going for it?” asked Naomi.

  “My mom said OK, but she also said I had to pick just one activity! I mean, can you imagine?” Brielle continued as they walked toward the building. “I agreed to drop Scouts, because I wasn’t really enjoying it much anymore anyway. And I already told her I was done with piano after the last recital. But there’s no way I’m going to stop doing gymnastics with you.

  Especially now that we get to go to competitions! We had a big fight about it.”

  Naomi frowned. “You’re here, though. Did

  you win? Or did you give up on cheer?” she asked.

  She glanced back and saw their moms talking to each other as they approached the building. Brielle’s mom didn’t look very happy, and Naomi’s mom, Mrs. Robinson, was shaking her head.

  7

  “I guess I won. We agreed I could try doing both for one season and then talk about it again after that.

  I signed up for cheer tryouts yesterday,” Brielle said.

  “They’re on Friday.”

  Naomi looked at her with wide eyes as she pulled open the front door. “Wow,” she said. “Do you even know what to do for cheer tryouts?”

  “Well, I’ve been watching my sister’s competitions forever, so I know what kinds of things they’re looking for,” Brielle said.

  “Well, that’s good,” said Naomi.

  Brielle added, “And they sent out this link to a video of routines to learn for the tryouts, so I’ll practice those. Cheer uses a lot of the same skills as gymnastics, so at least I’ll kind of know what I’m doing. They’ll teach me the rest.” She shrugged. “If I didn’t even try cheer, I would always wonder if I could have been as good as my sister. She won all kinds of medals, and she’s on the cheer team at college now.”

  8

  Naomi smiled. “And I can come cheer you on at your competitions. Hey, there’s Coach Roberts. Let’s go!” The two girls raced into the lobby of the gym.

  Brielle’s mother came in a few moments later and walked straight over to the sign-up table. Hugging her coach hello, Brielle glanced over and noticed that her mom was frowning at the clipboard full of papers in her hand. She quickly broke away and skipped over to see what was wrong.

  “I don’t know, honey . . . this schedule is going to be awfully busy. Regular practice for gymnastics is Tuesdays and Thursdays, and cheer is Mondays and Wednesdays, so that’s OK,” her mom started.

  “But it looks like you’ll also have a lot of weekend commitments for both. Plus you’re definitely going to have more homework this year . . .”

  Brielle could tell what was coming, and her heart jumped in her throat.

  9

  “I can do it, Mom!” Brielle insisted. “I can make it work! Naomi can give me rides to gymnastics stuff if it’s too much for you to do it all.” She glanced over at Naomi’s mom, standing next to them and filling out Naomi’s paperwork.

  “It’s fine, Carla,” Mrs. Robinson said, winking at Brielle. “She’s already over at our place half the time anyway. Driving two girls instead of one is no trouble.”

  Brielle smiled thankfully at her, then turned back to her own mom.

  “And I promise I will get all of my homework done, even if I have to go to every study period at school. Please?” She bounced a little on her toes, trying hard to keep her voice even and not whiny.

  Whining never worked with her mother.

  Brielle’s mom looked her in the eyes, silent. After what felt like forever, she sighed and picked up a pen from the table.

  10

  “OK,” she said, “if you really want it that badly, you can try it. But if it turns out to be too much, you’re going to need to make a choice, Brielle. I know you think you can do it all but . . .” She trailed off, shaking her head.

  Brielle’s mom began signing the forms. Brielle threw her arms around her in a tight, thankful squeeze before skipping off again to join her friend.

  When the girls went into the gym, Brielle saw a lot of new faces. She sat next to Naomi on the mat as Coach Roberts gathered them all together to begin the first practice.

  “Welcome, girls,” the coach said once she had everyone’s attention. “As you all know, I’ve coached many rec teams over the years. I’ve enjoyed working with each of you as you’ve grown into the great young gymnasts that you are. Now I hope you’re ready to take your skills to the next level.” She paused to smile broadly at the team.

  11

  Looking around the group slowly, the coach continued, “Instead of just having fun and learning new skills, there will be a sharper focus on competition. Not only will we be competing against teams from other gyms in the area, you’ll be competing against each other as well.”

  Competing against each other? Brielle thought.

  Hearing that, she exchanged a glance with her friend.

  But Brielle wasn’t really worried. She and Naomi would always be friends, even if they had to compete against each other.

  She noticed some of the other girls looking around too, though. Suddenly they began to look a lot less friendly. A girl in a blue leotard began stretching as Coach Roberts continued talking about the details of how this new competitive team would work. Two other girls began tightening their elastic hair bands as if preparing to compete right this very moment.

  12

  Coach Roberts finished her opening speech, saying, “OK, girls, does anyone have any questions, or should we get right to work?”

  Nobody raised a hand.

  13

  Chapter 2


/>   T IS FOR TEAM

  The week flew by, and the day of cheer tryouts arrived in a flash. Brielle was excited to test out the routines she’d been working hard on, but she was also beginning to feel a little nervous. She didn’t know exactly what to expect.

  The drive to the cheer gym had seemed endless as Brielle peppered her mother with questions. Her mother hadn’t seemed to mind at all. She had been full of stories about her own cheer memories.

  15

  Cheerleading sounded like so much fun, but it was also hard to imagine. Who would be there?

  What would the coaches be like?

  Brielle had watched the cheer tryout videos about a hundred times in the past week and had practiced until she could do the routines in her sleep. Now the biggest challenge was going to be acting confident and excited while performing the moves. That was going to be hard to do when her stomach was filling with butterflies.

  When they went inside the lobby, she saw a sea of unfamiliar faces. She recognized a few girls from school, but there wasn’t anyone there that she knew well.

  It was too late to back out now, though. Brielle straightened the red bow in her high ponytail and put on her best friendly smile. She took a deep breath and walked over to the sign-in sheet. The woman behind the table smiled kindly at her.

  16

  “Hi there . . . Brielle,” she said, leaning forward to look at what Brielle had written on the sheet. The woman handed her mom a clipboard with a couple of forms and asked her to fill them out before Brielle entered the gym.

  Brielle looked around again at the other girls who were preparing to try out for the team. Most of them looked nearly as nervous as she felt.

  She took a deep breath and tried to focus. Calm and confident. She had a strong front and back handspring, straddle jump, and other tumbling skills she had worked hard to learn.

  I can do this. It’s gymnastics with pom-poms and chanting, she told herself.

  When the gym doors opened and the

  prospective team members were let in to begin the tryout, Brielle’s mom squeezed her quickly and whispered, “Just breathe, and most of all, smile.

  You will rock this!”

  17

  Brielle forced her worried frown to melt into a cheerful grin as she walked through the open doors.

  It actually did make her feel a little better.

  “Welcome, girls!” said a woman with a braid hanging down her back. “I am Coach Megan, and this is my assistant, Coach Jennifer.” A tall woman with dark eyes and a big curly bun gave the group a friendly smile and wave. “We are excited you’re here, and we can’t wait to see what you can do. Who else is excited to be here? Let’s hear you!”

  At the prompt, all the hopeful cheerleaders started cheering and clapping. Brielle felt the excitement start to build.

  “Awesome!” Coach Megan said over the crowd.

  Everyone quieted down as she continued. “Did everyone review the videos and come prepared to perform the routines?” The gathered girls all nodded.

  “Good. So who can tell me what the most important skill is in cheer?”

  18

  The girls glanced around at one another, but no one spoke. Finally a shorter girl in a purple shirt raised her hand, and the coach pointed to her. “Rhythm?” she said, sounding unsure.

  “Rhythm is an important part of it, yes,” the coach agreed. “That’s what makes the team able to move together with each other and the music. But there’s something even more important. Something no cheerleading squad can do without. Anyone else?”

  “Confidence,” another girl said in a loud, clear voice. Coach Megan smiled.

  “Confidence is also important,” she agreed.

  “But there is something else that all the rhythm and confidence in the world won’t fix if it’s missing. Any more guesses?”

  The room was silent. Coach Megan waited a few seconds. “Teamwork,” she finally said. “Each of you could be an amazing athlete on your own, but if you don’t work well together, then the whole squad suffers.”

  19

  Brielle nodded. Coach Jennifer flashed her a big smile.

  “Great cheerleading squads work because of trust and teamwork. Athletic skills are wonderful, of course, but we’ll also be watching how well you work with others today,” Coach Megan concluded.

  The girls were all nodding now.

  Jennifer stepped forward. “Let’s warm up first,”

  she said. The girls spread out around the gym. First they performed jumping jacks to get their hearts pumping. Then Jennifer led them through a long series of stretches.

  Brielle was used to all of these stretches from gymnastics. She knew that preparing her body before beginning a routine was very important to avoid injury.

  After the warm-up, the tryout began. First up was a girl named Maya. Brielle knew they went to the same school, but they had never spoken before.

  20

  At the coaches’ request, Maya performed a cartwheel, front and back handsprings, and a roundoff.

  All of her movements were strong and clean.

  Then the coaches asked her to perform a toe touch jump and a spread-eagle jump. Maya’s long hair flipped above her head as she flew high into the air. She landed and smiled at the coaches, waiting patiently as they wrote on their score sheets.

  “OK, Maya, whenever you’re ready. Dynamite, please,” Coach Megan said.

  Maya cleared her throat and stepped into position to perform one of the tryout cheers.

  “Our team is BOOM dynamite! Our team is BOOM

  dynamite!” she called out, stepping forward into a deep front lunge with a right half high V. On the word dynamite, she snapped back to daggers, then into ready position once more. “Our team is tick, tick, tick, tick, BOOM DYNAMITE!” Her arms flew up into a high V, then clicked downward like a ticking clock.

  21

  Brielle watched closely. She thought Maya had done a perfect job. The coaches scribbled on their clipboards for a minute, then called up each girl in turn. The second girl also did a solid performance, looking confident and excited. But the third girl didn’t quite land her back handspring.

  Brielle heard a couple of snickers from the back of the crowd. She looked, but she couldn’t tell who they had come from. She noticed Coach Megan frowning at the group, though, and writing something down.

  “Next up,” the coach said after a few moments,

  “Brielle Johnson, please.”

  Brielle jumped to her feet and held her head high as she strode to the mat in front of the coaches and waited for her instructions. “Let’s start with a back handspring,” the coach said.

  Phew, thought Brielle. Easy.

  In fact she landed all of her tumbling tricks without any trouble, which helped her confidence rise a little bit.

  22

  Next were the jumps. The coaches requested a toe touch jump and a spirit tuck. Brielle had practiced both at home but didn’t feel like they were quite ready for showing off yet. Still, she was here, and she wanted to do her best.

  With a deep breath, she put a big smile on her face, making sure to look the coach in the eye. Reach for your instep, not your toes! Brielle thought as she leapt high into the air, her mother’s reminders echoing in her head.

  For the spirit tuck, as she jumped into the air again, she brought her knees up to her chest and squeezed them together as if she were pinching a coin between them.

  Coach Megan made a note on her clipboard.

  “OK, Brielle, when you’re ready, please perform the Explosion cheer,” she said.

  Brielle nodded and got into ready position. She smiled with a confidence she definitely did not fully feel. This was it.

  23

  “Our team is hot!” she shouted into the silent gym, stepping forward with her right foot and punching her right arm straight up. Then she snapped into a T, followed by a low touchdown pose.

  “Dynamite’s got nothing on us!” She lunged out with her right foot again, arms up in a bent position like she was asking a question. Then she lowered her arms in a series of short snaps as she sang out, “Let’s wind it up and let it go! Explosion!” She stomped out another lunge and punch combination.

  “Yeah, yeah!” she shouted, clapping. “Explosion!”

  She performed the final lunge and punch, finishing in a touchdown.

  Suddenly the gym was very quiet, aside from the scribbling of the coaches’ pens on their clipboards.

  Brielle could feel her heart pounding but stayed perfectly still, waiting.

 

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