Sponsored by The Northern Kentucky Cheerleading Coaches Association
Photos by Shine Photography
Styling by Ken Miscell at Salon Serenity in Edgewood, (859) 578-0000

Age: 17
Squad: Dixie Heights High School Varsity
Position: Flyer
Class Year: Senior
Community: Villa Hills
Job: Works part-time at Greek to Me, a restaurant in Erlanger
Activities: National Honors Society, track, was on Dixie’s golf team for two years
College Plans: University of Kentucky, major undecided

An Energizing Influence

By Lindsay Kottmann

The Dixie Heights High School cheerleaders anxiously awaited their score at UCA nationals in Orlando, Fla.

The squad, composed of mostly underclassmen, had already advanced to semi-finals, a huge accomplishment for them. Last year, their first time ever attending the premier competition, they had been eliminated in the preliminary round.

This year, they knew they had done their best and hit the routine. But would it be good enough to qualify them for the final round with the top ten squads in the nation?

When it was announced that Dixie had qualified, the squad was thrilled. “We were crying we were so happy,” says Carly Walz, one of four seniors on the squad.

Coach Amanda Steffen admits that advancing to finals in the competition’s Large Varsity Division II was “more than they ever dreamed of.” She credits the accomplishment to the squad’s senior leadership, in no small part from Walz.

It’s the little things, Steffen explains — a joke when everyone is feeling tense, or a fun team tradition such as bringing a lucky charm to all their competitions — that make Walz such an influence in bringing the squad together.

“I guess I’m a people person,” Walz says with a smile. “I get along with everyone. I’m never involved in a bunch of drama. I’m always the mediator.”

Is there such a thing as a drama-free high school cheerleading squad? With Walz at the helm, it may just be possible. After all, her positive attitude led her classmates to select her as both Prom Queen and Homecoming Queen. “We all encourage each other in a positive way,” she says of her teammates. “We get along really well.”

But a positive attitude isn’t the only thing that Walz, an honors student with a 3.7 GPA, brings to the squad. Asked to do a standing back tuck for her MVC photo shoot, she executed one after another until the photographer got the shot she wanted. And she’s a versatile stunter: A flyer since she started cheering in sixth grade, Walz decided to give basing a try this year. She performed in both roles in Dixie’s competitive routine.

While she loves cheering games, competition is Walz’s favorite part of cheerleading. “I love it. Just being out there — it’s an adrenaline rush. You give it all you’ve got,” she says. And although she may not cheer in college, it’s a good bet that she’ll continue stunting with her youngest brother, Jack, a first-grader who is arguably Carly’s biggest fan — and a talented cheerleader in his own right.

But whatever she decides to do through college and beyond, she’ll always have the memories of a senior year when her leadership, and her ability to get along with her peers, helped set a new benchmark for her school’s cheerleading program.

Tagged as: Dixie Heights High School, March 2010: The Tryout Issue