Oglethorpe County’s Kensie Brown, a senior cheerleading captain, and Lili Holt, a junior, will make their second appearance as Fellowship of Christian Athletes Cheer All-Americans at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday, Jan. 9.
The FCA All-American team will perform cheers and dance at FanFest pregame festivities and on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium sidelines before the game.
“It’s one of the highest honors that a cheerleader can receive,” said Morgan Williams, OCHS cheerleading coach. “So being their coach — it makes me proud that we have girls that work hard and have this skill, that they’re able to earn All-American.”
Along with earning the All-American title for the second time, Brown was also offered a position on the FCA Cheer instructional staff next season. She plans to accept it, and Holt said she hopes to join the staff after her senior year.
“FCA is a Christian-based program, and my religion is super important to me, and so I can almost embody being a Christian and a cheerleader at the same time, because both of those things are super important to me,” Brown said. “And so I think that will make it a lot of fun and make it really meaningful to me.”
The OCHS cheerleading program attended the FCA Cheer summer camp, which appoints All-American cheerleaders, for the first time last summer.
“I think it kind of sets a little start to a legacy in the future for all the younger cheerleaders, if they want to get to that point,” Brown said. “It kind of gives them a little boost, if that makes sense, a little motivation.”
Brown, a stunt base, and Holt, a stunt flyer, tried out for the team at the FCA Cheer camp this past June. Cheerleaders have to be nominated by either staff or coaches.
“So the first day of camp, we learned this specific routine in cheer, and two days later, we found out that was going to be our tryout material,” Holt said. “And throughout the nights leading up to the tryout we practiced all day, every day.”
Tryouts consisted of performing cheers, dances and jumps that were taught during the camp by staff members.
“You have to pick it up really fast, and so that makes it really stressful, but in the end, it’s all worth it, and it’s a lot of fun,” Brown said. “So all that stress and all that just being nervous about everything is worth it in the end.”
Cheers and the dance from summer camp, along with new material, will be performed at Peach Bowl events.
As for preparing the rest of the performed material, Brown, Holt and the other cheerleaders will follow a tight schedule, with practices beginning at 1 p.m. Jan. 8.
Later that evening, there will be a semi-formal banquet for the cheerleaders, staff, guests and chaperones. On Jan. 9, early events leading up to the game will consist of breakfast, additional practice and dressing in their uniforms.
Then, the All-American cheerleaders will perform the cheers and dance at FanFest around 2:45 p.m., capture pictures on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium slidelines and perform on the sidelines before the game.
“It’s just exciting to see the girls actually able to do more with the sport they love, just like you would see with football or volleyball,” Williams said.