During the 90s, Oak Hall School had a cheerleading program that had quite a bit of success.

However, at some point after that, they were not fielding any cheer squads until about 12 years ago.

Around 2013 they started fielding a varsity football sideline cheer squad and a middle school football sideline cheer squad, as well as varsity and middle school basketball sideline squads.

Since that time, cheerleading has become very competitive.

“Without question, the cheer talent in Florida is tremendous and that is evidenced by how competitive every division at State has now become,” said Kelley Thorp, who is in her 10th season as the cheerleading coach at OHS. “My favorite development is the emphasis on really working hard on the crowd involvement piece with your cheer and transitions in the routine. That emphasis is so important because we are cheerleaders first. Whether on the sideline or on the mat, we are always trying to encourage the crowd to have more school spirit.”

The hard work paid off as the Eagles won the FHSAA Competitive Cheerleading Class 1A Extra-Large Non-Tumbling state title last Friday. It was Oak Hall’s first state title in program history.

“Seven years ago, we cast a vision of what Oak Hall Competitive Cheerleading could be,” Thorp said. “Every day we have worked on reaching the ultimate goal of a state championship. To have achieved that this year is nothing short of amazing.”

OHS has two competitive teams.

One team competes in the traditional competitive style. The 28 athletes on that team comprise the team that just won the state title.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled for our competitive cheer team and coaches on winning the first state championship in our school’s cheer program history,” said Oak Hall Athletics Director Edwin McTureous. “Their energy, passion, and unwavering determination have made our entire school proud. This victory isn’t just a title, it’s a testament to their teamwork, resilience, and the tradition they have built. Their dedication and spirit exemplify what it means to compete at the highest level and come out on top.”

Thorp said their definition of a team “is a group of individuals that commits to putting their time, passion, and effort into achieving a shared goal.”

That was the key to their success.

“Total program buy-in,” she said. “From day one, our athletic department was all in, our parents had limitless support for our dream, and our athletes bought in completely and worked hard every day to be better than the day before.”

That includes doing whatever it takes to be successful.

“The commitment on this team has been unparalleled,” Thorp said. “Everyone sacrificed personal time so that the team could achieve this dream together. These athletes routinely put in four to five practices a week, many of them at 6:30 a.m. before school and several Saturday practices as well. Each member of this team made a commitment to their teammates to bring their personal best to every practice.”

The other competitive team competes in the game day style of competitive cheer, and that team is headed to nationals at Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports this weekend to compete for a national championship.

“Each year, we have progressed further in the competition,” Thorp said. “It is our stated team goal this year to be competing on Monday in the final round. And while our season has already been a success and a major step forward for our program, we wouldn’t say no to a national championship.”

This is the seventh year of competing with a traditional competitive squad and the third year competing for their Game Day national squad.

The traditional competitive cheerleading routines are typically 2.5 minutes long. They are jam-packed with stunts, pyramids, jumps, dancing, and a cheer portion.

“These kinds of routines are really built on a performance base to entertain and wow a crowd,” Thorp said. “The Game Day routine is a 3-minute routine that is built on more of a sideline style of cheering. Stunting is kept to a minimum and the entire routine is built around using props, motions, and aesthetics to really engage your crowd and elicit crowd participation.”

Thorp said they have two teams at Oak Hall because “the two types of routines are very different in their styles and not every type of athlete is suited for both routines.”

“It is very important to us within our program to position each athlete on a team where they have the opportunity to shine and grow as an athlete,” she said.

The traditional competitive team won the FHSAA 1A-Region 1 title on Jan. 17 at Port Saint Joe High School.

With their first-place finish at regionals, they advanced straight to the final round at the FHSAA state championship on January 31 in Lakeland, where they clinched the state championship.

“I have six seniors on this team, three of which have been on the competitive team since they were sixth graders and competed each of the last seven years towards our march to the state championship,” Thorp said.

She also has five seniors on her leadership team who work with their younger teammates to help keep the cheer program “a positive, healthy environment for all our athletes.”

Thorp and the Eagles will be our guests on “The Prep Zone” sports show from 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19.  You can listen to the show online at Mainstreet Daily News.