The Ohio High School Athletic Association still has yet to fully sanction cheerleading as one of its official sports, but the state’s governing athletic body did move one step closer.
The OHSAA held its first Spirit Championships on Saturday at Wittenberg University, crowning official state champions in multiple divisions for both high school and junior high squads.
Championships are nothing new for St. Clairsville and head cheer coach Shawn Tomlan. The Red Devils will be going for OVAC Championship No. 14 this winter, and the junior high program has been just as dominant recently.
Both can add a new championship banner to the rafters at dear ole St. Clairsville High, as the high school team won the Division IV/V state title, along with the junior high squad consisting of 7th and 8th graders capturing the Division III competition for their age groups.
For the Red Devils, Tomlan, and fellow members of the coaching staff, it was an exhaustive period getting ready for the competition.
“I don’t know how some of the other coaches do it that have their teams competing in every competition,” Tomlan said. “We were practicing for football games and learning our choreography for the OVAC routine, back in November, and then we had to make up our own routine for this game day competition.
“Our football team goes deep into the playoffs, and we have to start working on getting ready for basketball games. At the same time, we have four girls miss time with the stomach virus and upper respiratory that’s going around.
“It was rough, but I give credit to those coaches that compete a lot more than we do. I just don’t know how they find time to do it.”
True, but those coaches also could learn a thing or two from the St. Clairsville program, namely, preparation and dealing with pressure.
Tomlan mentioned the game day format, which is far different from the normal competition style that the Red Devils are used to from the OVAC competitions.
In short, it’s more dealing with what traditional cheerleading was about, more leading the crowd than gravity-defying stunts and gymnastics routines.
The OHSAA site lists the requirements of the differing rules, but in short, no tossing, no twisting dismounts from stunts, no running tumbling, and no choreographed dance routine.
There was music, but it was instrumental band music that you’d hear the marching band play during a game.
“This was a completely new style, at least for St. Clairsville,” Tomlan admitted. “I’m not sure how long game day has been in effect, but I know it’s big in college cheering.
“It’s completely different from what we’ve done before. It’s not even close to the same thing, so it was a learning experience, at least for my team and our coaches.”
First Time Out, No Pressure
Winning is what the Red Devils’ cheer squads do. They’ve dealt with the pressure of repeating for more than a decade on the Wesbanco Arena mat during the OVAC competition. Now, the junior high and varsity members who will return in 2022 can add another title to defend.
Some people enjoy and almost bask in the pressure. Don’t count Coach Tomlan amongst them.
“Oh, I hate that pressure. I hate it,” Tomlan said with a laugh. “It’s rough being up there at the top. It’s not a fun place to be. It’s fun winning, but it really does add to the pressure.
“We have a great streak going at the OVACs, and, each year the number has increased, and it gets really hard for those seniors because they feel it. It’s their last year, and they don’t want to lose it. Now we’re starting a new streak. We feel really blessed we got to be the first.”
It’s a long time coming for not only the Red Devils but cheerleaders across the Buckeye State. They are still working for full recognition from the OHSAA, a designation other states, like West Virginia and the WVSSAC, long ago sanctioned.
But that first step is an important one, and Tomlan is glad she’s able to be a part and bear witness.
“This has been a long time that (Superintendent) Walt Skaggs and I have been working, trying to get cheering o become an official sport,” Tomlan said. “They are still not ready to sanction the sport of cheerleading, but they are recognizing and promoting it by hosting this spirit competition.
“It’s an OHSAA sponsored event, the trophy has OHSAA on it, and you have to be happy about that. It’s a step in the right direction. I’d like to see more happen, but this is a pretty big deal for cheerleading.”
Tomlan also noted that for the first year of the competition, the turnout was fairly encouraging. At least, that’s what she was told.
While the junior high team traveled to Springfield on Friday night, Tomlan and her other assistant coaches headed to Wittenberg early Saturday morning. Each team competed during its time slot, and if they finished in the top tier of the rankings, they had to compete again in the finals. The junior high divisions went first, followed by the high school teams later in the evening.
So, between watching her own girls compete, getting in some last-minute practices between routines, and handling all the other little aspects of coaching that go unnoticed when things run smoothly, Tomlan didn’t get to sit back and just watch the competition unfold.
“The lady I talked to that ran it was very happy with the turnout and is guessing next year they’ll need a bigger venue,” Tomlan said. “Not every team knew what game day cheering was about, so they’re really expecting it to take off next year.”
That is most likely the case. When a cheering event is held, the stands get packed, the merchandise gets sold, and the atmosphere is always electric. No reason to suspect this will be any different, especially with OHSAA sanctioning.
But wherever the 2022 Spirit Championships are, you can expect the Red Devils will be there, defending their new streak for another year.
