For years, the Miramar Cheerleaders have been a solid group. They have performed at pep rallies, Football games, and also competitions. They’ve been good, but not great, and always had potential that seemed to be untapped.
Until now.
With new coaches, and a renewed passion for the sport, the Cheerleaders are looking to forge a new legacy of excellence through hard work and passion. Obviously, this is a tough task, but it seems that the chemistry is in place to successfully lead this transformation.
New to Miramar, but not to Cheerleading, is Coach Tanya Jones. The 29 year old Pensacola native has been involved with cheerleading since the age of 8. After 2 years on the squad at Woodham High School, Jones was named captain of the team for her junior and senior years. In her senior year (2001), Jones was named an All-American Cheerleader, and was selected to perform with other All-Americans at the NFL’s annual Pro Bowl all-star game in Honolulu, Hawaii.
After that, Jones took her talents and skills to Florida A&M University, where she was a 4 year Cheerleader. During, and after, her time at FAMU, Jones coached cheerleading at Leon High School. It was there that she found her love of working with students.
“My goal has always been to be more than a coach,” Jones said in an interview earlier this week. “I’ve always tried to be a mentor to my girls, to bring a high level of class, and show them all what it’s like to be a lady, as well as a leader.”
While Jones’ vision is at the center of the resurgence of the Cheerleaders’ performance, she does not guide these young ladies by herself. Her assistant coach is someone that she knows very well: her sister Vida Hargrett.
Hargrett, like Jones, is an alumna of FAMU, and has cheered with, and coached with, her sister for almost her entire life. “My goal is to be positive with the girls, but also tough with the team when needed,” Hargrett said in the same interview as her sister. “We hold a lot of hats as coaches, but our main goal is to be the best team that we can be, and compete as hard as anyone around.”
Jones and Hargrett also continue to seek performance opportunities for themselves. Both were top 50 finalists for the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders this past year, making it to the final round out of over 300 ladies who auditioned.
Their passion for the sport is impressive, and noticed by the students on a daily basis. “I wasn’t motivated to cheer last year,” said Senior Keynell Phillips. “But now, it feels as though I have to do my best, give my full effort 100% of the time just to keep my spot on the mat for competition. It’s really great to have that feeling, to want to do better each and every day.”
Senior Captain Kiona Baker echoed those sentiments, saying: “Last year, cheering was just something to do. It was almost robotic in how it felt. But now? I LOVE going to practice. I can’t wait for the 2:40pm bell to ring, so that I can change into my practice clothes, and show up to work on my craft with my fellow cheerleaders, and the coaches. To be honest, I kind of lost my love for cheering in the past couple of years. But I’ve regained it this year, and that’s 100% because of Coach Vida and Coach Jones.”
The current cheerleaders are not the only ones who have a new outlook on the squad. Class of 2010 alumnae Tiffany Parks has been assisting the team, and helping ease the transition for the students and coaches alike. Coach Jones has been very grateful to Parks for her constant support, and also the inside knowledge of the team, and the Miramar community, and how Jones could use both to her advantage.
“I have coached a couple groups before this team,” said Jones. “Out of every group I’ve worked with, this one is the best in terms of attitude, hunger, desire, and ability. They just needed a push, a fresh voice to try to get them to realize their abilities, and help guide them to success. I’m glad that I’m here to work with them, push them, and see them achieve their dreams.”
The early results are in, and they look very promising, both for this year, and the future. The team won 1st place in the non-tumbling division at a recent competition held November 3rd at Monarch High School, and came in 3rd overall, and placed 2nd in the non-tumbling division and 3rd overall at the West Broward competition November 15th. With many more competitions and games ahead, this team should continue to refine their technique, and increase their abilities.
“My goal is to put this team on the map,” Jones said. “To let everybody know that Miramar is the best.”
If they follow the lead of their new coaches, they very well could be.
Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports
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