Two Marion C. Moore School seniors are helping build the future of cheerleading in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS).
Moore cheerleaders Juliet Riley and Gracelyn Mullins stepped up to serve as assistant coaches at Luhr Elementary this year as the school launched its first cheer team in quite some time.
"I want to see kids grow," Riley said. "I want to see kids going into sports when they're older. I want to be a role model for that."
Mullins echoed that sentiment, saying younger students look up to them because of their age and experience.
"They still have a lot of room to grow, especially when it comes to cheer," Mullins said.
The high schoolers' involvement comes after Moore nearly went a season without a cheer team. Despite student interest, no coach had stepped forward until social studies teacher Jessie Lance volunteered.
"They had kind of made it to the start of football season without a cheer coach, and I, with my love of sports, I just couldn't stand them not having some sort of group," Lance said. "And so, I went ahead and kind of stepped up into that position."
With no prior cheer experience, Lance said she was learning cheer on the fly with help from her athletes.
"It was all kind of brand new to me," she said. "So, I kind of just taught myself along the way, but it's been really fun."
Around the same time, one of Moore's feeder schools, Luhr, was looking to start up its own cheer program under Holly Bruder, a longtime collegiate softball coach who was also new to cheer.
When the two teachers connected, they assembled a coaching staff, bringing in Riley and Mullins to help guide the elementary students.
"I have not only the head coach of Moore high school, I have two fantastic cheerleaders who are helping me out," Bruder said.
For Riley and Mullins, coaching gives them a chance to give back to a sport they love. Riley sees her younger self in the Luhr students and wants to help the grow, she said.
For Mullins, the experience of being able to see a student fall in love with the sport is what excites her the most.
"They enjoy it, but we also enjoy getting to see them, like, having fun and all that," she said.
While everyone is still learning the motions of coaching cheer, the most important formation is helping out a community while growing the sport.
"I want to kind of give back to the community, to Luhr Elementary, who, you know, are with my two kiddos personally for seven, eight, ten hours a day. I think we deserve to represent them in a positive manner," Bruder said. "What better way than cheerleading or sports? There is no better way."