Cheer is considered a vigorous sport, it takes a lot of time and commitment. Many cheerleaders have gotten into the sport from a young age and stuck with it. One of Athens most dedicated cheerleaders is Hayley Talley.
“I just wanted to be active and not sit at home anymore. I think watching All-Star Cheer and Navarro when I first started cheering helped me decide to tryout for cheer,” said Talley, senior.
Talley has been involved with cheer for seven years. Over time Talley’s passion for cheerleading has only grown, increasing her skills, building up her stamina and increasing her endurance. Through years of training, it’s helped her become a better cheerleader.
“I feel like mentally it can be hard sometimes but physically it’s nice to stay fit. I’ve definitely made a lot of new friendships and a family here,” said Talley.
During tougher practices, having a good attitude is the key for success and it goes a long way. As a cheerleader part of the sport is having a growth mindset and being willing to overcome any challenges that you may face.
“Sometimes keeping a good attitude is hard during tough practices. I work on coming into practice with a better attitude because it’s more beneficial for the whole team, we get a lot more done when everyone is in a good mood,” said Talley.
Even through the harder practices, Talley keeps going with her head held high. No matter how tough it gets, she continues on.
“There definitely have been times when I wanted to quit but I feel like winning and working as a team has made it a lot easier for me to stick around and just having friendships on the team,” said Talley.
Talley has had many memorable highlights throughout her cheerleading career. Throughout the last couple of years she’s helped her team bring home many metals.
“One of my highlights was definitely winning every state competition last year, especially states in Wake County for the third time,” said Talley.
Talley’s coach, Morgan DeYoung, describes her as being hardworking, ambitious and a good leader. Talley’s good work ethic helps her strive for success.
“I think she has grown in her skills and also became a better leader from when she was first on varsity years ago,” said DeYoung, Coach.
As she goes into her last year of high school, cheerleading continues to help Talley to improve her skills and build friendships with those around her.
“It’s been great, I love our cheer team. Sometimes it’s really hard, but I mean I’ve always loved it, I’ll always go back to it,” said Talley.
