Thirteen high school cheerleaders have been hard at work—perfecting their cheers, stunts, jumps and tumbling since the early summer months.  All of this practice leading up to one thing: competition season.  The girls, led by Coach Lindsay Steinmetz, kicked off this competition season at the Des Moines, Iowa Cheerleading Championships, where they placed third out of 15 competing squads in the 3A division.   
    Steinmetz said that while most of the summer practice-sessions are dedicated to learning new acrobatic tricks and refining technique, late Aug. is reserved for combining everything into a two-minute, 30-second cheer and dance piece.  The coach said it comes down to learning a set routine and then nit-picking and working on nailing everything at the right count; there is a lot of repetition involved.  On some nights practices may run late, but she said her cheerleaders still work hard. 
    “It’s awesome to watch the girls out there having fun,” said Steinmetz.  “When you watch them, you can tell that they love what they’re doing, which makes all the difference.”
    Much of the cheerleaders’ success over the past two years has come from a collective confidence, and that is one thing Steinmetz said she has tried to instill in her girls since she took over as coach three years ago. 
    “I am so proud of them.  They couldn’t have done a better job at state.  They nailed their routine,” said Steinmetz.  “I mean, everyone wants to win first, but the competition was so much more difficult than last year.  It’s a good start to the competition season, they should be very proud of themselves.”  
    Still, Steinmetz said that a lot of credit goes to the supportive community for taking an interest in the squad’s accomplishments.  “I really appreciate all the support we’ve gotten from everyone in the community,” she said.
    The Crestwood Cheerleaders are slated to compete next at the Rochester Civic Center on Jan. 16 and then at the Mall of America in Minneapolis on Jan. 23.  Until then, Steinmetz said the team will be working on new material because they enjoy a challenge.