For the Plant City Dolphins Pee-Wee cheerleading team, the 2014 season brought many new experiences.
Fortunately for the girls, many of the new additions brought experience, which in turn helped them have an excellent season.
With Lori Mull taking over the coaching reins for the first time, the Pee-Wees won first place in every event they competed in in the Tri-County Youth Football and Cheerleading Conference regular season, followed by a second-place finish in the TCYFCC Cheer-Off competition before the Superbowl. It wasn’t easy but, for Mull, it was worth the work.
“Once the season’s over, you miss it,” Mull says. “But, six months out of the year, you’re out there three or four nights a week, working hard.”
Although it was Mull’s first time in a head coaching role with the Dolphins, it wasn’t her first time experiencing this kind of success.
Last year, as an assistant to the Mighty Mites cheer team, Mull and her fellow coaches helped that group of 21 girls pull off a similar run through the TCYFCC season — winning first place in every competition.
After winning the Lakeland Gator Bash, the Turkey Creek Cheer Fest and the 2013 Cheer-Off, many of the Mighty Mites moved up to the Pee-Wee division. Mull moved up with the girls, accepting the newly-opened head coaching gig and ended up working with a larger roster.
Starting with 31 girls, Mull first faced the challenge of developing a new routine while working with several rookies. She estimates that about a quarter of the girls on her team had no previous cheerleading experience, so getting them up to speed was top priority. And, as she expected, working with inexperienced girls can be more challenging than it may look at first.
“It’s challenging, but fun,” Mull says. “Sometimes, it’s not the girl — it’s the parent. Sometimes you can be hard on the kids, and the parents have trouble accepting that at first. But, you have to be tough on them — you have to have some type of structure to be a good team. In all reality, winning doesn’t come easy.”
Working on the routine also proved to be more challenging than anticipated. Mull and the Dolphins went for a four-minute set, setting a mix of cheering, dancing, stunting and tumbling moves to a mashup mixtape of hip hop, pop and dance songs.
After the first competition, the Oct. 12 East Bay Bucs Cheer Classic, one girl left the team — forcing Mull and the Dolphins to create something new on the fly.
“We had to move around the girls,” Mull says. “Luckily we had a few weeks to work on that, and to fill the other girl’s spot. People don’t realize that, even with 31 girls, losing a girl is big. You have to fill that spot. And, those girls are used to doing things one way, but then you have to change it on them.”
The very next competition, the Dover Patriots Cheer Competition, was to be held on Oct. 19. With just a few days to work on something new, the team ended up finding the right solution — one that won another first-place award.
The Dolphins had a little more time to prepare before the next competition, the Nov. 2 Antioch Cheer Competition, and again took home the top honors. Things were looking good before the TCYFCC Cheer-Off, which was held at Spoto High School Nov. 15.
The girls ended up finishing second to the East Bay Bucs in the Cheer-Off, but no one — cheerleaders, coaches, parents or fans — is disappointed with the way the team’s season played out.
And, seeing how well Mull and the team performed in the first year of her coaching tenure, expectations are high for next season.
“I hope to be able to have another good year next year, if I’m out there again,” Mull says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcitybserver.com.
THE SQUAD
Roster: Abigail Mullis, Addison Moody, Allison Farmer, Alyssa Sapp, Andrea Pollard, Ashlynn Knighten, Cameryn Smith, Destin VanDenBogaert, Erykah Washington, Faith Brown, Hanna Watson, Jaidyn Diaz, Julia Kripas, Katerina Bolivar, Kaylin Ross, Kaylee Bowers, Keira Hodge, Kimberly Stifler, Kylie Holland, Lauren Miller, Lila Smith, Makayla Mahoney, Makayla Pelletier, Makenzie Pelletier, Makayla Holmes, Makenzie Holmes, Naryzhau Littles, Raylynn Thompson, Reese Tyson, Zy’Aire Benton
Coaches: Lori Mull, Brittany Diaz, Jamie Newman
Trainers: Savannah Mull, Kayleigh Hutchinson
