Samantha Cordray braces herself six feet above the ground to perform the skills she has worked on diligently. She takes a deep breath before doing a back handspring to provide momentum to her fellow cheerleaders helping them lift her up. As she is in the air, this is where she shines to the judges and the performance as a whole.
Cordray is a junior at Revere High School and a part of Revere’s Varsity Cheer team for both the football and basketball seasons. She has been cheering since sixth grade, and her passion has only grown since being on Revere’s team.
Outside of Revere cheer, Cordray is on a competitive cheer team called Level Five Elite Cheer and competes as a Flyer, she gets lifted into the air by base cheerleaders. Her interest in flying started from her talent in tumbling.
“What got me to competitive cheerleading in the first place was that I was really good at flipping. I knew I could advance my skills with this not only at Revere but also in competition,” Cordray said.
On Friday nights Cordray competes at football games in the fall or in the gym during basketball games in the winter performing these rigorous skills she has worked so hard at. She practices her routines at her competition gym and she is working hard at them to keep her skills in tact.
“I am always in the gym I feel like, but I love it. Right now since basketball season is over I can focus more on my competition team where I can really put my personality out there,” Cordray said.
Competition cheer is much more routine focused than high school cheer, and the team plans for months to practice a two-minute routine that they perfect to achieve a high score. Cordray reflected on one of her best moments in her cheer career.
“My most successful moment in cheer was definitely when my team and I scored great (a perfect 100 points) and won the 2022 Summit world championship,” Cordray said.
At competition cheer practice she works hard at her skills, but also at Revere she shines as a teammate. Her fellow teammates and coaches notice her diligence and dedication to the sport. Giselle Lorenzo, a Revere senior and the team’s cheer captain, explained just how important Cordray is to the team.
“She takes games and practices very seriously, and I really appreciate that in an underclassman. She is really determined, and you can see that when she is performing,” Lorenzo said.
Cordray’s high school coach has coached her for several years and also sees her hard work. Revere’s varsity cheer coach Kelly Staats, a coach since about 2004, notices her strong will.
“Sam is special. She adds that extra talent to the team. She has a ‘wow’ factor that most cheerleaders strive to add and her sportsmanship is incredible. You can see Sam cheering girls on or being very involved with the team in general,” Staats said.
With her intense commitment to cheer in general, Cordray has people who she can thank for continuously supporting her and her work.
“What keeps me motivated is my friends and my cheer teammates. They really are my biggest supporters,” Cordray said.
In the future, Cordray plans to continue with competition and high school cheer where she can display her special talents that she has worked hard to perfect.
