By Nick Sellers

Before high school, though, the cheerleaders must be taught fundamentals and self-discipline, and that starts at the middle-school level. Being the school that feeds into James Clemens, Liberty cheer sponsor Natalie Lane is responsible for preparing her girls to become Jets cheerleaders.

“We really try to teach them discipline and responsibility,” Lane said.

Lane, who is also a special education teacher for Liberty, teaches the team and organizes practices, camps and other development programs for the cheerleaders to further their skills. Michelle Breeden is the assistant cheer sponsor.

Starting in the summer, the girls practice 2.5 hours a day on weekdays and spend nights every week at ACE Cheer Company of Huntsville, where they get professional instruction.

“It’s a huge commitment to make, and most of them love it,” Lane said.

Being a school with only two grades – seventh and eighth – half the team comes in extremely raw every year, Lane said, which presents unique challenges.

“It’s kind of like starting over every year with a new group,” Lane said.

Toward the end of summer, the squad attends the UCA Ironman Camp in Tuscaloosa, which is by invitation only, to gain instruction from nationally-renowned figures. After that, the team gets two weeks off before school starts and the team starts preparing for cheering under the lights at football games.

After the season, the team prepares for the regional competition in November, which qualifies the Lions for state.

“After that, we practice, practice, practice for nationals (in Orlando),” Lane said.

As much time as the team spends together, it’s inevitable that other aspects of the girls’ lives run together. The team, Lane said, regularly completes homework assignments together before football games.

“Grades come first on this squad,” Breeden said.

The team also donates time and money to local charities. Pink out the Panthers, an annual tradition, raises money for breast cancer research. The girls have also spent time at Manna House distributing food to families in need.

An annual tradition, Liberty hosts a dance for students with special needs at the school’s Exceptional Learning Center, which the team assists with every year. The charitable drives the Lions’ cheer team is responsible for are nearly too numerous to recount, Lane said.

“Pretty much any time the school is doing something, we’re participating as well,” she said.

By most accounts, the seventh and eighth grade cheerleaders are involved year-round with the squad, which adds structure and accountability at critical times in the girls’ lives, Lane explained.