Questions with Katie: Varsity cheer goes national

 Sydnee Soderberg, senior varsity cheerleader at LHS, has been cheering since eighth grade. With her coach also doubling as her aunt, she was in the world of cheer long before tryouts started in junior high. There’s only a semester left of her senior year, and she and the rest of her were rewarded for their hard work with an invitation to compete at the national level this March in Anaheim, California.
Katie Swift: What was your reaction when you learned that you were going to nationals?
Sydnee Soderberg: I cried — the entire team cried. It’s a truly exciting experience that we all feel so honored to be a part of.
KS: How did you find out you qualified for nationals?
SS: Our coach, Heidi [Hagen], gave us puzzle pieces that we had to put together as a team, and when we were finished it spelled out “Lewiston Varsity is going to USA Nationals.”
KS: Where is nationals held and what will you do there?
SS: It’s held in Anaheim, California, and we first compete March 25 and find out if we qualify for the semifinals, which are the next day. If we do qualify, we will compete in the semifinals and then find out what we made nationally. Our division is all-girl varsity advanced, so we will be competing against all the teams in our division.
KS: Are all expenses paid for or will it be expensive to participate in nationals?
SS: We have to fundraise, since it will be approximately $20,000 for the entire team to go. Each of us is responsible for fundraising $1,000, and we have multiple fundraisers like selling boxes of Krispy Kreme’s. The Mr. LHS [event] contributed to nationals, and we have a raffle for a $500 Visa card. Also, businesses can donate to the team and get their name on the back of the T-shirts that we have made for nationals.
KS: What did your national qualification tape feature? It obviously worked!
SS: We did our show routine, which includes cheer, tumbling, stunting, jumps and dancing. The show routine includes all aspects — it’s the all-in-one [routine] with the whole team. For the tape, we did our elite sequence which went well. We dropped a few stunts towards the end but we still qualified!
KS: You recently went to London with a few of your teammates. What did you go for?
SS: Josie Clark, Anna Walden and I qualified for UCA All-American Cheer Team at cheer camp in the summer. That gave us the opportunity to cheer in the New Year’s Day Parade in London, which required lots of fundraising but was worth it for the amazing experience.
KS: What was your favorite part about London?
SS: It was really cool to see a brick that was older than our country. Overall though, I have to say Abbey Road was my favorite, since I was standing where The Beatles stood for their most famous album cover. I took my shoes off for the picture even though it was freezing because that’s what Paul McCartney did.
KS: What is your favorite part of cheering?
SS: Definitely stunting. I love flying. Through competitions I’ve made so many friends across the country, and that’s amazing. Not to mention the bonds with my teammates — they have become my family and I’m so thankful for that.
KS: Where are you going to college and are you going to continue to cheer?
SS: Grand Canyon University in Arizona.  I am planning on continuing to cheer.
KS: What else should we know about you?
SS: I love my cat. She is my princess. I even learned how to say it in Spanish, “Mi gata es guapa,” which means “My kitty is pretty.”