Van Buren County cheerleader Lilly Norton has embraced a leadership role by building connections throughout the community and helping create an energetic atmosphere for the Eagles and Eaglettes.
Norton joined the cheerleading squad just weeks after moving to Van Buren County, giving her an opportunity to meet new people and become involved in her new community. She said the experience has helped her grow more comfortable connecting with others.
“It definitely puts you out there,” Norton said. “People start to recognize you and you start to recognize more people and you get into more conversations, it really connects you with your community. That helped my confidence, getting to know more people because of doing cheerleading.”
Norton said the squad keeps fans involved through stunting and interactive cheers that encourage the crowd to spell out the team’s name. She said the friendships among teammates also contribute to the group’s enthusiasm during athletic events.
“I feel like our energy doesn’t really get low often,” Norton said. “We’re a really high-spirit team. We all get along super well and we’re really happy all of the time; we’re all really good friends. I feel we don’t really have to bring up the energy often because we’re already so hyped.”
Norton said the community’s involvement extends beyond attending games, with residents also supporting the athletic programs through car washes and other fundraisers. Being part of the squad has given her more opportunities to build relationships with people throughout the county.
“It’s important to me because I like being noticed for being a part of the community,” Norton said. “I like being with the team all of the time. We spend so much time together and I don’t know, we just always do really fun stuff. It’s really important to me being on the team and getting to know all the people on the team because they are all so sweet.”
Norton said one of the biggest draws of cheerleading is the opportunity to spend time with her teammates and coach, Candice. After two years with the squad, she has also developed a particular appreciation for basketball games because of the strong community turnout.
“My favorite part of cheerleading is definitely getting to know the team,” Norton said. “I’ve cheered for two years now and my favorite part is definitely being around all the girls and Miss Candice, she’s a great coach. my favorite sport to cheer for is definitely basketball because that’s like the one the community’s most involved in, that’s where the most people show up. Um, so that’s definitely my favorite sport to cheer for.”