Piedmont Cheerleading Places Second at NCA College National Championship

After we performed day one in prelims, we knew we had not done our best. Overall, the routine just wasn't executed as well as we knew it could be. We had a couple of mistakes and ended up with 1.5 in deductions. After prelims we were 5th in the rankings for our division.

My message to the girls was 'this was not our best, and we know we can do better.' The team pulled together and identified the specific areas where they could improve. I really give them all the credit for acknowledging their mistakes and focusing on finding ways to fix them.

I knew that we had done much better on day two and so I had hoped that we would move up in the rankings. I was hoping for fourth and crossing my fingers for third. We placed third in our first year as a program, so I was hoping to match that on year three.

At Finals, they bring all of the teams from the division on the stage and call out their names and scores one by one starting with last place and moving up. Each team exits the stage after they are called.

Being one of the last three teams on the stage is such a gratifying feeling because you know it means that you are in the winner's circle. When they called out third place and it wasn't our name, it was very difficult to keep the emotions under control until we were announced. The girls worked so hard this season, and it was a truly memorable moment to watch them be able to celebrate that.

I have to give all credit to God. He's been with me every step of the way. I always say that I trust Him to bring me the right girls at the right time, and so far, that's exactly what has happened.

There is absolutely no way that I could have built this program the way it is without each of the girls on my team. They have created a culture of encouragement, positivity, and hard work. They're never satisfied with settling, and they push me to continue growing as well.