Snow Hill - On Tuesday night, the Greene County Middle School (GCMS) Cheerleaders competed in the Pitt County Athletic Conference’s annual Cheerleading competition. They finished the night second in their conference. 

Yolanda Johnson, GCMS Cheer Coach shared, “This is my third year coaching at GCMS. As a cheer coach, cheer is not just a sport. Academics and behavior have to be first priority.” 

Academics play a huge part in the team. Johnson shared, “The county requires a grade of 60 in order to participate. In order to represent GC and GCMS, cheer girls must make at least a 78 or higher to actively participate and perform at games, with no behaviors in classrooms.” She credits her team’s success with how the coaching staff teaches, “discipline, motivation, and self-reliance skills. We don’t just teach cheer motions.”

The cheerleading season is a long season, Johnson shared, “We started cheer camp in July 2022. The opening season began on Sept 9, 2022. We have been rolling ever since July. Rigorous practices are held Monday through Friday from 3:30 - 6:00 pm.” 

In addition to cheering for football, boys basketball, and girls basketball, the team begins to develop and perfect their competition performance. Performing at several local county fair competitions and ultimately leading the team to their last competition at the Pitt County Conference Cheerleading Competition. 

Johnson shared that intense competition practice begins in late December for the team. They practice Monday through Friday and even on Saturday. She shared, often the girls didn’t, “think they could win any place. But because of Coach Vette, my assistant, and myself encouraging, motivating, and inspiring them, they decided to give it their all and just have fun.”

At the end of their successful season, they have a 2nd place victory on their hands and have brought pride to GCMS and themselves. Johnson, in addition to coaching, also teaches 7th grade Science and is a member of the school’s STEM team. Prior to joining the staff at GCMS, Johnson coached for teams in both Lenoir and Wake Counties with 9 years of total time working with Cheer. She credits her team’s success to her assistant coaches that continued to inspire and encourage the girls. The girls will wrap up their season with the end of the Basketball season in mid-February.