Competitive cheerleading more than spirit fingers

Local team takes nationals

Kirsten Dunst may have worked her spirit fingers in the movie “Bring it on,” but the girls found on the Cheer Time USA competitive cheerleading team have something more: a national win.

Dunlap resident and soon-to-be Bradley University freshman Katie Maloof still is excited about the win three months later as she described nationals.

“The first day Kelly (Taphorn) called me and she said, ‘We’re in first.’ I couldn’t even believe it,” Maloof, 18, said. “Going into the second day our team was a whole different team. We were so confident and ready to go out and do it again. We kind of knew we were going to get first but we didn’t want to jinx it.”

The local team bagged a national win in the Senior L4 division at the Champion Spirit
Group Super Nationals held on February 13-14 in Chicago.

Five teams competed over the two days and Cheer Time USA found themselves at No. 1 at the end of both days. But, the first place on the first day came as a surprise as the girls did not perform to perfection.

“They were confident because we were competing very well after Christmas. Our first day performance was not our best, not the cleanest,” coach Kelly Taphorn said.

Practices for the United Starz Academy teams, located in Morton, are May through March and the Cheer Time USA team practices five hours a week to prepare for multiple competitions throughout the year.

“We usually do two to three nationals a year. Different competition companies hold nationals,” Taphorn said.

“We’ve gone down to Florida for the ESPN nationals that’s on TV, which will be in March and we plan to go this year.”

The Champion Spirit Group nationals scores performances separately, each performance being worth 50 percent of the final score. Scoring is based off official CSG guidelines.

Preparing for nationals took time and patience, but once the girls were there, everything fell into place.

“One thing about us is our girls are really mental. We have the skills to be really good. But most the time something happens, we get nervous and don’t perform well,” Maloof said of the Cheer Time team.

“Something clicked before that nationals and we knew exactly what to do and how to do it.
We knew we had competition there, but we were all excited.”

Maloof said she believes a bad performance from a previous competition encouraged the team to do better at nationals.

Before graduation from Dunlap High School, Maloof juggled competitive and high school cheerleading, track and school work. The busy schedule did not slow her down.

During a regular week, Maloof’s schedule included high school cheerleading practice Tuesday and Thursday, Cheer Time practice Wednesday and Sunday and any games or competitions with those teams.

“I think I could get through it because I really, truly love cheerleading, sports and performing, and that’s what drives me to do my homework and get it in on time on top of cheerleading practice.

“It makes you work and it boosts my work ethic,” she said.

Looking up to her coaches, Taphorn and RC San Jose, Maloof said the team wouldn’t have accomplished so much without them.

“Really, what would our team be without coaches? No matter what they keep pushing us.
They’re good role models, good people to look up to,” she said.

Maloof has lived in Dunlap for about four years and has decided to stick with competitive cheerleading for one more year before trying out for Bradley’s team.

“Technically most of the time when our girls reach college level our girls don’t do Cheer Time, but I’m young enough that I can do it one more year,” Maloof said.

“I was going to try out (for Bradley) this year, but I could not stay away from competitive cheerleading.”