For the last two decades, Wheeling Park High School Cheering has had a level of consistency often unheard of in high school coaching: Coach Shawna Shepherd.
Shepherd was born and raised in Ohio County Schools. She attended Bethlehem Elementary School, Ritchie Elementary School, (then) Wheeling Junior High, and graduated from Wheeling Park High School. She was an avid cheerleader throughout her middle and high school years before attending and graduating from Marshall University, earning a degree in Elementary Education. Shepherd has been employed with Birth-3 for the last 20 years.
This year marks Shepherd’s 20th year as the head coach for Wheeling Park High School’s cheering program. Shepherd managed to continue a legacy of great coaching (following her mother, OVAC Hall of Famer, Libby Shepherd, and WVU Cheer Hall of Famer and current Ohio County Schools Superintendent, Dr. Kim Miller) while reinventing the role numerous times to mirror the expectations aligning with the current world of competitive cheer.
“Dr. Miller changed the program, and it made Wheeling Park High School competitive as a program,” states Shepherd. “I try to carry on what those two (Libby and Miller) did with us and for us.”
Cheer can be a sport that is filled with turnover. “We’re a nine-month sport, if not more. Cheering is a full-time commitment on top of a full-time job,” states Shepherd. She credits a career that allows for a flexible schedule and dedicated assistant coaches for the success of the program.
Under her leadership, Shepherd has seen 6 state championship titles and over a dozen OVAC championship titles. The recipe for success? Shepherd recognizes the shifts in competitive cheerleading and focuses on staying on top of the trends.
“Over the last two decades, we’ve shifted to a mat sport. Because of this, kids are able to increase their level of skill and utilize more challenging techniques. For example, full twists are back. The scoring has shifted to recognize harder skills,” states Shepherd. “We also go into each season with the expectation of wanting to go to States. We push kids to meet what they’re capable of.”
She then shares a common line she tells her students: “I’m never going to make you do something you can’t do. I’m pushing you to do what you CAN do.”
Many of Shepherd’s cheerleaders have gone on to cheer at the collegiate and professional level, including as West Liberty Hilltoppers, Marshall Herd, West Virginia Mountaineers, a Stanford Cardinal, and Baltimore Ravens.
Wheeling Park High School Cheer is rapidly approaching Regionals with the goal of returning downstate in December.
“They are more hungry and determined than ever.”
