Flying, running and tumbling all in a compact three minutes, the DGS cheer team has been preparing physically and mentally for its upcoming cheer competitions with the Midwest Fitness Club (MFC) and is aiming to win the West Suburban Gold Conference (WSGC) for the second year in a row.

The varsity cheer team has been working with MFC for three seasons to help with training, make progress in the weight room and hopefully increase its chances of winning cheer competitions. MFC specializes in strength and conditioning for athletes of all ages, and its goal is to help boost performance by training specific muscles geared toward a particular sport.

Head varsity cheer coach Shannon Lahey explains what they have been doing so far to prepare for this upcoming competition season and what obstacles they have had to overcome.

“We have been doing a lot of mental preparation. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of individuals that have been out for various reasons and illnesses, so we have not had a full squad since homecoming. As a result, it has been very difficult to prepare skill-wise, … but we have been training in many other ways such as MFC and switching people with different spots, such as flyer to base or base to back spot. We have been doing a lot of that kind of preparation,” Lahey said.

Lahey believes in hard work and determination, which motivated her to bring in MFC. She believes that they will help strengthen her cheerleaders by training specific muscles, which may result in better performance and an overall better score.

“MFC has helped us tremendously. They have taught us not only how to workout but what [the cheerleaders] can do for the muscles that they need for the sport of cheerleading. They really have enlightened us in terms of weight training in general,” Lahey said.

Junior Brynn Dvoracek and sophomore Hailey Lloyd are both returning cheerleaders and believe that MFC has helped them tremendously and will give them that extra edge over their opponents during competition season.

“I believe it has helped us extremely. I have had other people tell me that we look stronger, and we have seen each other progress since day one,” Dvoracek said.

“[MFC] has helped us build endurance and strength for our stunting. It has also helped us with our team chemistry because when you work out together, you create a bond with your teammates, and it really helps us understand what we are made of,” Lloyd said.

The first cheer competition date for the Mustangs is Dec. 16, followed by the WSG conference cheer competition on Jan. 20. Sectionals will be the first weekend in February.