Photos Provided By Patuxent High School Cheerleading Team
LUSBY, Md. — The Patuxent High School cheer team is no stranger to the jumbotron.
Last weekend, the team traveled to Washington, D.C., to perform with more than 200 other athletes at the Washington Wizards halftime extravaganza — a show that brings together cheerleaders and dancers from Virginia, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The teams are given choreography and all meet up before the big game to rehearse together.
Since first signing up in 2018, the halftime extravaganza has been a yearly tradition for the Patuxent High cheer team, whose season runs from September through March. Outside of a busy schedule of competitions, games and training, the halftime show gives the team something to do outside of their regular season commitments and without the pressure that comes with it.
This year’s song was “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” by C+C Music Factory, and watching the performance, most audience members would have no idea that teams had only practiced it together for the first time earlier that day.
“Their commitment is incredible,” said Leah Somerville, program director for the cheer team. “So it’s exciting to be able to reward them and give them something bigger, something more than the regular season. It’s not what they have to do, it’s more about the fun. And to be in front of a crowd that size is something really special.”
Any cheer team can register from the middle and high school levels, and Patuxent High is one of the teams that keeps returning to the event. Somerville said that she and the team have made it a yearly tradition. Local cheer team the Solomons Steelers also participate, and Somerville said it’s an incredible experience to watch the high schoolers mentor and bond with the younger kids.
Photos Provided By Patuxent High School Cheerleading Team
Somerville has been with this particular team since they were young kids and has watched them grow as athletes and as people. One of the values she was determined to instill was for all the kids to be community-focused; being a team, she says, isn’t just about competing or winning. It’s about being a part of something bigger. She and the team participate in community service and events throughout the year to give back in any way they can.
“I’ve always told them that when you show up for your community, they’ll show up for you,” Somerville said. “They’ll support you if you support them. Building those relationships is an important ability to have in your life, no matter what path you choose.”
And over the years, she watched her team grow with each new halftime show — from mentorship, to bonding with athletes from other schools, to learning how to show up for a friend in need. Somerville’s team is now mostly freshmen, sophomores and juniors.
“This is such a great group, and I’ve been fortunate to coach them since they were little kids,” Somerville said. “They’re extremely dedicated and talented, and it’s bittersweet to see it come full circle.”
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