The Haines Cheer Team has made it two in a row on regional titles after a strong showing at last week’s competition.

The team, which is scored by judges while they perform during regional-tournament basketball games, benefitted from dedication and a whole host of mentors, said coach Ericka Johnson. 

Johnson took on the job last year without a cheerleading background, and has instead leaned on experience as a yoga instructor to teach her team how to move with synchronization and precision, she said in an interview this week.

“It can come down to wrist angles — it can really come down to the inch,” Johnson said. 

Last year’s win, Johnson said, was more unexpected. “They don’t have a mirror to look at so some of them don’t even know how good they are.” 

But this year’s team came in with more confidence and more capacity for harder stunts. They got high-powered help, too. 

During the season, the team traveled to Juneau to train with the Juneau-Douglas High School team, which this year won a small-school national title. The two cheer teams formed a bond, and the Glacier Bears cheerleaders picked up more advanced stunting techniques that were beyond Johnson’s knowledge. 

At last weekend’s tournament, Johnson said the team performed so well they received praise from their competitors even before the results were decided. 

That was a reflection of months of work, she said. 

“Blood, sweat and tears – those are all things that have occurred throughout this process. It’s amazing to put that kind of effort into something and then have the outcome of the win.”

Johnson pointed to something else – something in fact after the results had been decided – that she said she was particularly proud of. On the morning of the region-wide cheer and dance team showcase, one team-member was sick and unable to participate. Missing a member, the team was unable to do their routine. 

“The way the girls navigated through that with such understanding, they didn’t pout,” Johnson said. “You could tell there were elements of disappointment that they couldn’t show what they had worked on, but the way they handled that, I was just so proud of them.”

The team will travel to Anchorage for the state competition, which begins on March 17.