On game days for Utah Tech University, as well as their own competitions, Utah Tech’s cheer team is the heartbeat of the school’s spirit.
Utah Tech’s cheer team, led by new coach Marcie Sharp, is working hard not only to influence school spirit on game days but also prepare to win their own competitions. This will be the first year the cheer team has gone to compete at the Universal Cheerleaders Association Division I-A College Championship, which has affected the team’s approach and mentality this year.
“This year is a big year for us because it’s our first year that we’re going to be competing nationally,” Jake Harber, a senior communications major from Pinedale, Wyoming, said. ”So that is a big change that the program has made. Before, we were just a game day team and that was still really fun; we did a lot of stuff. We still helped out a lot around the school but now this year we’re taking that next step, and we’ve really tightened up the program.”
As the team has transitioned from being solely a game day team to a team built to win competitions of their own, the talent and work ethic throughout the team has been elevated as they build towards the national competition.
“Individually, they’re working outside of our practice times because they have the drive to get better themselves,” head coach Marcie Sharp said. ”So when they all come together, they can up their skills. I feel like they’re also motivating each other because if one girl is really working hard to get a certain skill, then the other girls are like, ‘Oh I want to get that because she’s excelling in that area,’ and so they’re kind of competing against each other but in a in a good and healthy way to make our whole team be better.”
While the team works toward the national competition, they remain dedicated to improving the game day atmosphere for Utah Tech athletics. Working with the student section, the cheer team strives to raise school spirit for Utah Tech athletics.
“I would just say it gives you that extra little push,” Gracey Fowers, a senior business management major from West Haven, said. “Everyone’s watching you, which can be a little intimidating at times, but it makes it exciting and makes it fun. I think the school gives us such a bigger purpose, and working towards that bigger purpose and being able to have that student section, that is also there for that bigger purpose come together is amazing stuff.”
The cheer team works with the student section to raise the energy level on game days, but the student section also has to play their part. When the student section doesn’t do its part, it makes it increasingly difficult for the cheer team to provide excitement to game days.
“We’ve talked about this a lot, but it sucks when the student section doesn’t respond well, and that’s been a pretty rare instance, especially this year,” Harber said. “I feel like we’ve had a really good student section.”
As the Utah Tech cheer team prepares for their own competitions this year, along with their game day responsibilities, they continue to strengthen the Trailblazer spirit.
