The coveted cheer team only consists of 50 high school students from across the nation. Frenship High School earned two of those spots with Alison and Kamryn being selected as U.S. Army All-American Cheerleaders.
“It’s such a great honor to be able to represent my school, my team, and my coaches. It’s just such an honor to represent our town,” said Kamryn. “I was excited. It’s just an amazing opportunity to be able to go and prepare for college cheer,” added Alison.
Coaches for the U.S. Army All-American Cheer Team handpick the cheerleaders from across the U.S., taking into consideration letters of recommendation from coaches and examples of skills such as standing tumbling, running tumbling, jumps, and stunts. When it came to submitting nominations, FHS Head Cheer Coach Kayci Smith said she knew exactly who to recommend.
“They’re leaders, they’re dependable, they’re good character kids. Those are the type of things you look for, and you instantly think of Ali and Kam,” said Smith. “I know who they are as people. I know I can trust them to represent Frenship well because they do that every single day in our school and our community, and they’re phenomenal cheerleaders.”
Together, Alison and Kamryn already have about 24 years of experience in tumbling and cheer. Alison has nine years in competitive cheer, an additional three years of cheering at Frenship High School, and currently serves on the Bell Crew. Last month, she signed her letter of intent to continue her cheer career at the collegiate level at Lubbock Christian University.
“I never imagined being able to cheer at a level like this. This is such a prestigious opportunity that we’ve been given, and I’m really excited to have this opportunity,” said Alison.
Kamryn’s cheer journey is a little different. Starting gymnastics at age six, Kamryn didn’t try cheerleading until she was a freshman in high school. Now a two-year letterman, TGCA All-Star Cheerleader, and an FHS Pep Rally Captain, Kamryn says she’s amazed at how much cheer has shaped her future goals. She plans to try out for cheer at the college level and feels this opportunity will help with that journey.
“It’s crazy to see how much cheer has impacted my life and how much it’s changed from what I thought I was going to do when I was little to now,” said Kamryn. “I think this and cheering at the TGCA All-Star Game has been incredible to learn how to do stunts and skills with new people in such a short amount of time. I feel like it will definitely help me in my tryouts.”
Alison and Kamryn will head to Frisco next Wednesday where they will have four days of practice with the rest of the cheer team. During that quick turnaround, they will learn the halftime routine that they will perform at the U.S. Army Bowl on December 21st hosted at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco. In the meantime, they have received videos to begin practicing the cheers and chants on their own, something Alison says they’re taking very seriously.
“It’s a lot of physical conditioning and making sure you hold yourself accountable. So being able to have that self-accountability and work ethic to push toward this is something I really try to focus on,” said Alison. “It’s a lot of getting in the gym and working out and focusing on the small details of everything. Focusing on those things really helps me rein in and make sure I have everything at the level it needs to be at.”
This performance will mark the second time Frenship High School cheerleaders have performed at the bowl game. Last year, Rachel Marlin, a senior at the time, was the first Frenship student to be selected as a U.S. Army All-American Cheerleader. Several other local cheerleaders from neighboring high schools were also selected this year alongside Alison and Kamryn. Coach Smith credits the talented students and cheer programs across the South Plains along with having local representation on the committee with LCU Cheer Coach Whitney Sales serving as a U.S. Army Bowl Cheer Coach.
“I know that it’s not just Frenship, and there’s a few other local kids and you have to love that. You want that opportunity for our 806 kids," said Smith. "It’s a really cool deal that local kids are starting to get noticed for these types of things. You have kids coming from New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and everywhere else and Lubbock is on the map. I love it!”
Good luck, Alison and Kamryn! We will be cheering you on! For more information on the U.S. Army Bowl and its programs, CLICK HERE.