By Chris Cox
For a lot of coaches, not having a single senior on their roster could be cause for concern. But, for Rush Springs cheer coach Morgan Kovar, that youth is something she embraces. “I only have four juniors and the other eight are all underclassmen,” she says. “This year we have two girls who haven’t cheered before, but the rest are all returnees with at least one year of experience. As they grow the team grows. It’s been really rewarding to work with this group.”
Kovar began her coaching career at Rush Springs in 2017 with the junior high squad. She then added the high school squad in 2019. So, while this group might be fairly young, they are very familiar with Kovar. “I’ve been lucky to coach a steady group of girls,” she says. “Several of the girls have been with me since 6th and 7th grade. That’s so great because those athletes have been able to work together for years.”
Kovar believes that teamwork and chemistry will make this squad more formidable when it comes to their various competitions. “My girls love competition,” Kovar says. “We actually competed for the first time in Game Day at Stroud last year and I was so proud of how they performed! Our final score was 10 points shy of making the cut for state. We plan to compete again this year and I’m really excited to see how well we do now that we have that first experience out of the way.”
While the familiarity is there for most of these girls, Kovar still understands her squad is green. “My underclassmen make up two-thirds of the team,” she says. “But I will say, I am very impressed by the drive for self-improvement from all of them. It seems like every practice I hear, ‘Watch how high my toe-touch is getting!’ But it’s my favorite thing to hear.”
While Kovar and her Rush Springs cheerleaders are excited about competing this year, they also know they help create a vibrant game day atmosphere at Rush Springs events. “The cheerleaders have huge aspirations for game day spirit this year,” she says. “We had to rein back on pep rallies and other spirit events last year due to the pandemic, so we are eager to get back to business and create a high energy environment for our athletes and fans.”
The Rush Springs Cheer roster includes Taylor Abbott (Jr), Katelyn Fox (Jr), Kayla Hoover (Jr), Layla Miller (Jr), Nicki Crabb (So), Audrey Heath (So), Trinity Horton (So), Gracie Scott (So), Laci Watts (So), Karsyn Worden (So), Shelbie Caveness (Fr), and Ryleah Pratt (Fr).
