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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

U-Hi students create special-needs cheer squad

Valerie Putnam Correspondent

University High School seniors Katie Glenn and Jessica Tourtillotte will come away with more than a grade after the completion of their senior project. The lessons learned by forming the Spirit Stars, a five-member special-needs cheer squad, are going to last a lifetime.

“I have become more aware of other people,” Glenn said. “Their abilities, disabilities and their personalities.”

Reflecting on the past two months, both girls talk about how they have grown in ways they did not expect. Each tells of becoming more patient, better communicators and developing a deeper understanding of people with disabilities.

The idea for the project came last winter while Glenn attended her brother, Buddy’s, Special Olympics basketball game. Glenn noticed there were not many girls playing and thought more girls could get involved if there were cheerleaders. After researching the idea, she found Special Olympics did not offer cheerleading.

“The state of Washington doesn’t have a special-needs cheer squad,” Glenn said. “They wouldn’t have this opportunity anywhere else.”

Glenn, a U-Hi cheerleader, saw this as an opportunity for her senior project, to combine two things she enjoyed, community service and cheerleading. She enlisted the help of Tourtillotte, her friend and fellow cheerleader.

Recruiting through connections provided by Glenn’s brother, Nicole Kircher, Samantha Honodel, Randal Nichell, Amy Canaday and Andrea Swenson, began meeting the first Sunday in December.

One of the girls’ favorite memories is brainstorming names for the squad. At their first meeting, Glenn and Tourtillotte presented numerous ideas to the girls and each one was voted down. Kircher offered come colorful alternatives.

“Nicole came up with the name ‘red hot mamas,’ ” Glenn laughed. “It was hilarious.”

Glenn and Tourtillotte quickly realized the challenge of meeting each girl’s learning ability. This required altering how they communicated. For example, one part of the routine required the girls to perform a ripple effect. Actually making it happen proved difficult.

“It was the hardest for them to learn to wait for other people,” Glenn said. “We figured out a different way to communicate with them. It just clicked one day.”

Glenn had three girls watch her, while Tourtillotte took the other two. Breaking into smaller groups helped the girls focus on their part and achieve the move.

“I didn’t realized how much patience I needed,” Tourtillotte said. “I’m so used to cheering with my own squad.”

The girls choreographed what they thought was a simple routine. When they tried to teach the squad the steps they realized what they thought was easy, wasn’t.

“We had to cut out some things,” Glenn said. “And simplify other stuff. I had to get past it wasn’t going to be perfect. They’re just having fun.”

The Spirit Stars debuted on Feb. 7 during half time of the U-Hi varsity girls basketball game. The Stars shined as they entered the gym dressed in bright orange T-shirts, navy blue sweatpants and white tennis shoes, carrying bright orange pompoms. Andrea Swenson, confined to a wheelchair, used gripless handles for her pompoms. Swenson’s mother, Marsha, performed with her daughter and removed the pompoms at a certain point in the routine.

Their routine, a mix of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” and Dream Street’s “I Say Yeah,” received overwhelming crowd response.

“Everyone was cheering,” Glenn said following their performance. “It was so great.”

“I was so nervous,” Nichell said about her debut. “My first time cheerleading. It was fun.”

“The girls did a wonderful job,” said Ken VanSickle, U-Hi assistant president in charge of activities. “The crowd really got into it.”

Tourtillotte summed it all up, “The entire experience has just been so amazing. I really loved it.”