Kristen Stockdale has loved the competitive aspect of cheerleading in high school. Now she’ll get to compete at the next level. Stockdale has committed to be a part of the cheer team at Avila College in Kansas City. It’s a program that knows all about competition.
“Our program is a very competitive all-girl program. We were 2013 national champions for UCA College Nationals in the Open All-Girl Division,” says coach Melissa Shipman. “When we make a decision as to who we’re going to sign on our team, we take it very seriously.”
Stockdale says she likes having the opportunity to prove there’s more to cheer than many people believe.
“Everybody looks at it as, ‘Oh, they just stand there on the sidelines. They don’t do much.’ So showing everybody how good you can actually get is something that I really like about the competition side of it,” she says.
Stockdale has attended practices and she says she’s already getting an opportunity to try things she’s never tried before.
“t’s definitely a lot different. This team is all girls, so there’s no guys. But to balance that out, some of the girls on the team are so strong. I’ve been really lucky with some of the girls that I’ve been stunting with,” Stockdale says. “My first time there, I did flipping baskets, and I’ve never even attempted to do those before, so that was different.”
Shipman says Stockdale has already begun to fit in with the team, based on her limited visits. That’s expected, she says, because Shipman came so highly recommended by Republic cheer coach Matthew Massey.
“When he’s sending me a kid, it’s somebody that I know is going to be a star athlete for me,” Shipman says. “We are so excited to have Kristen. We’ve already been throwing her in at practices and she has literally exceeded every expectation.”
