The team puts their hands together. Varsity Cheerleading Co-Captain Morgan Thompson ’23 starts their chant: “3...2...1... Tigers!” Exhaling a breath, she leads the team to their formations on the football field. The music begins and the crowd cheers as they passionately flip, spin, and chant.

Thompson always wanted to try cheerleading because of her background in gymnastics and Taekwondo. Nonetheless, when she first joined the team in her freshman year, she was very nervous to cheer because she was unfamiliar with the sport and the team.

“It was hard at first to pick up on the cheers and all the little things you have to pay attention to. Also, I wasn’t that confident at first and it was hard for me to cheer loudly,” Thompson said.

Thompson quickly overcame her nervousness by finding a group of friends on the cheer team and with experience, she gained confidence in her abilities and started cheering louder. During her cheering career, she cycled through all the positions — flyer, the athlete who gets lifted and thrown into the air; back spot, the athlete who stands behind the stunt and supports the flyer; and baser, the athlete that holds the flyer during a stunt — and was able to successfully execute all three. Being well-rounded paid off as Thompson was named co-captain this year.

“In the last few years, Morgan blossomed, took charge, and now shows true leadership skills,” said Varsity Cheerleading Head Coach Barbra Callahan. “She has gone above and beyond for everyone and truly has an amazing way of helping and being there for the girls.”

As captain, Thompson organizes the various team activities including getting ice cream after practice, having team lunch every Friday, and asking about everyone’s “highs and lows” at practice.

“Team bonding is so important to cheerleading. Morgan always makes sure she includes everyone in our team bonding activities,” said teammate Alex Woodbury ’24.

However, balancing cheer with all her other activities has not been easy. Going to practices after school every day means that there is a lot less time to do homework and relax. In the past, Thompson felt that she lacked the motivation to be fully present at practice. However, having a rigid routine for herself has allowed her to find the energy to bring her 100 percent to every practice.

“During [cheer] season, I usually have schedules for what I want to do each day. I also wake up at seven to have more time in the morning so I can get things done and be ready. And during school, I would do my homework during lunch so then when I get home, I have a little bit more time so I can decompress,” Thompson said.

In addition to cheerleading, Thompson has also has a first degree black belt in Taekwondo and has recently also started MMA fighting. The flexibility, agility, and strength needed for these martial arts sports translates well to cheerleading.

“Morgan has all the skills to dance and stunt well, which makes her an incredible cheerleader. She gives her 100 percent to every practice, which has made her successful,” Woodbury said.

Sticking with cheerleading has allowed Thompson to learn valuable lessons throughout the years. Having struggled with reaching out to others before, through cheerleading, Thompson has been able to see the significance of supporting (literally) one another.

“For cheer, you really need to have everyone supporting you or else it's going to literally fall apart. Everyone needs to be communicating and everyone needs to know what's on everyone's mind at the same time,” said Thompson. “I've realized that it's okay to rely on other people to help me instead of doing [everything] myself.”

For this year’s homecoming, Thompson noted the hard work everyone on the team put in to stick their stunts and perfect their routines. She hoped that their hours paid off and that her last homecoming performance was her best.

“Before competition, homecoming, or pep rallies, there is this moment right before the music starts to go that we're all anticipating the final performance. Like everything that we all worked for and it's just that one breath before you just get it done. That moment is always in my head,” Thompson said.

Though Thompson wants to focus on Taekwondo and MMA fighting after this fall, in the future, she hopes to cheer in college. As her final cheer season at PHS winds down, Thompson wants younger cheerleaders to be their authentic selves on the mats.

“Be more out there and don't hide yourself. Try to voice your opinion more. Don't care what other girls think and just experience things for yourself,” Thompson said.