The Aug. 23 season opener for the bison football team at Orange was also the season opener for the cheerleaders.

First officer Sami Stimpert enjoys working with the other girls in the squad.

“You become really close with other girls, and it is [fun to] become close with people you wouldn’t be close with on the outside,” she said.

The girls practice very hard three times a week. “It consists of a two to two and a half hour practice with stretching, conditioning, reviewing chants, dancing and more,” she said.

The girls hold tryouts before the season starts.

“We have preseason practices that are about an hour to an hour and a half, two to three times a week and we learn new chants as well.”

Stimpert describes her experience being a first officer as exciting but definitely a challenge.

“I love being able to help people and communicate to make sure the team is all in the same place,” she said. “There is definitely a lot of pressure put on the captain and I, and there is a lot to do that can be difficult for the both of us.”

The girls also have a new coach this year, Nylah Walker. She brings a lot of experience to the Bison this year with her past coaching experience with other teams.

“Her style is different from what we are used to, but it is good to have a new challenge and learn off of her skills as well,” she said. “Our team has improved a lot since she got here.”

The bison are not very well known for school spirit. Many people won’t dress up for any of the spirit days because they are considered “corny” or cringe, but the cheerleaders will be all-in this year.

“Our coach is very strict about spirit days, we have to show up following the themes and on game days come in uniform, simple,” Stimpert said.

The girls plan to work hard for the rest of their season with the girls and the football team as well.