Cheering on: Lowndes cheerleaders earn scholarships

May 20—VALDOSTA — Three cheers for making history.

Lowndes senior competition cheerleaders Allie Rae Ward and Taylor Wright signed letters of intent with Louisville and Trinity Valley Community College respectively on Wednesday — becoming the first cheerleaders to sign college scholarships in program history.

"This is super special to me but I'm also really excited for the rest of the cheer community, especially for our school because Lowndes has definitely increased its skill level over the years in this sport," Ward said. "This opens doors for all the cheerleaders to come and that's really exciting because the cheer community is getting bigger. I can't wait to see what the rest of the girls do in their future coming from Lowndes."

Ward becomes the first cheerleader to sign with a Division I university, joining a Louisville program that recently won its eighth consecutive NDA/NCA Collegiate Championship April 8 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

After an unsuccessful tryout for another school, Ward felt something bigger had to be in store for her.

"I did have tryouts at another university before (committing to Louisville) and I didn't make it so I definitely knew that God had other plans for me," Ward said. "It was so true when I was there that that's where I needed to be. Everyone on the cheer team was just so outgoing and welcoming and accepting and it was just clear that the University of Louisville is not just a cheer team but it's more of a family with all of the alumni in the past that have graduated from there are still huge supporters of the program and they're there for all the freshies and all the new people to come and they already know our names and it's just a huge supporting program all-around."

Ward's teammate, Taylor Wright, is also heading to a prestigious cheer program at Trinity Valley in Athens, Texas.

The Trinity Valley cheer team won its 13th national championship April 10 in Daytona Beach, winning back-to-back national titles for the fourth time in program history.

"It's a very humbling day," Wright said. "I feel very proud of myself for my accomplishments and it means a lot to me to know that I'm a good enough athlete to compete with other athletes of this caliber. ... What sold me on Trinity is that it's about hard work. I feel like, at Trinity, I'll grow more as an athlete and being around athletes that are that good will make me a better athlete."

Moved to tears, Lowndes competition cheerleading coach Melissa Trolinger spoke about what Ward and Wright signing scholarships for cheerleading means after the ceremony.

"Going off to two nationally-ranked programs, this is a first for Lowndes High School — maybe even from south Georgia," Trolinger said. "I've had them both all four years — freshman through their senior years — and their level of talent, as Ariel said up there, they've set the bar high for people coming up behind them and they're mentors on and off the mat. They make good grades. They're involved in community service. They're just very well-rounded individuals."

Wednesday wasn't just a landmark day for Trolinger and her two athletes, it was also a very emotional and rewarding day for Ariel Harmon — co-owner of South Georgia Athletics.

Harmon had the pleasure of coaching Ward and Wright when they were 7 years old.

"We're very proud of Allie, she's been with us since she was, I think, 7 or 8," Harmon said. "I've coached her for over 10 years and she's been a part of our program for a very long time. She did All-Stars with us and followed us through each program that we were with and she's cheered continuously from the time she was 7 years old. I'd say for her this is one of the loves of her life and we're very proud and excited to have been a part of this journey.

"For me personally, when Allie and Taylor first walked through my door, I instantly recognized that they both were extremely talented and both had the potential to go and do whatever they wanted in the world of cheerleading. This comes as no surprise to me that they've reached this point in their careers."

In cheerleading, oftentimes, spectators only get to see the finished product on game day.

What many don't get to see is the amount of commitment, sacrifice and hard work it takes to entertain crowds from summer to spring year in and year out. For Ward and Wright, being able to sign scholarships to national champion cheer programs is the culmination of their commitment and sacrifices to make their dreams a reality.

"It's definitely a huge commitment," Ward said. "We have practices everyday, including workouts several times a week, and not only do we have to be there for the games and all the competitions, but there's community work that we have to put in throughout each semester. Of course, keeping up your grades is a huge thing because if you don't have the good grades, then you're not there. It's definitely a lot to commit to. Time management is important in this program.

"Honestly, I have always enjoyed being busy but you kind of have to have a passion for it to just want to be there everyday and you have to love what you're doing in order to be there all the hours of the day that they need you there. That passion and drive is kind of what keeps me going."

Ward added: "It takes a lot of commitment. No days off. You have to be mentally strong to do this. You can't have any fear when you're going in to do these skills. You can't be afraid of anything and you can't have self-doubt. You have to be 100% confident in yourself every time you go and if you're confident, you can do it.

"As I got older, going through the levels, (the energy level) kind of builds up. And I'm still not there. When I get (to Trinity), it's going to be fresh new things."

As Ward and Wright made history on Wednesday, Trolinger takes great pride in knowing she was able to oversee their success over the last four years.

More importantly, Trolinger relishes what having two of her own going to the next level can spark for future generations of athletes.

"It means everything to me," Trolinger said. "I hope that other kids coming up in my program now can see what they can accomplish when you work hard and set goals for yourself. These girls are going off to big time schools and I just want other people to realize that if they come through and put in the work that these two young ladies did that they can accomplish anything."

Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.