After three years of not competing, the Ventura High School cheer team is rumored to be competing again
For about three years, the VHS cheer team has been away from competition, only making an appearance at sport events, pep rallies and other activities put on by the school. Now, possibly starting around Dec., they may be back to competing against other highschool cheer teams. The exact reason for being out of competition isn’t completely certain, but they stopped competing around the time of a coach transitionary period, which may be a likely cause for the suspension of competing.
When asked to be interviewed about the topic, the cheer team’s head coach, Robin Webster, declined the offer to answer any questions, leaving information concerning going back to competition fairly vague. Webster is only on campus for coaching, and does not teach a class or hold any other staff position at VHS. Before Webster, Orby Orta was the former head cheer coach, but resigned his position in Sept. 2022, leaving Webster, who originally was assistant cheer coach, to step up and take over his position.
Cheerleader Darby Mussehl ‘26 said, “I’m pretty sure [we will compete again, but] I’m not, like, 100 percent. Back in summer, I kept hearing that we might be competing again, but I’m not so sure when.”
The seemingly popular response from cheerleaders about the competition situation is fairly uncertain. Another cheerleader, Madi Zavala ‘27 said, “I’m not too sure about [how long we didn’t compete] but I think like two to three years. I don’t know why [we weren’t competing].”
If the cheer team does end up competing again, they can be expected to be back at it by the end of basketball season, which is in Dec. The cheerleaders mainly perform at football and basketball games and possibly for some soccer or volleyball games. If the cheer team were to compete again, they would most likely wait until the season for the sports they cheer for are over.
It appears as though the VHS cheer team has a good chance of returning back to competitions, with many of the cheerleaders looking forward to it. “We’re hoping to do [competitions again] and get the money for it this year,” said Zavala.
![“[The game] was pretty lopsided. Didn't go in our favor. You know, our guys continued to fight throughout the entire four quarters of the game, but it was just a night that didn't go our way. And so I think we just build from here and get ready for league and make a run for league,” said head coach Tim Garcia. Photo by: Vail Newman](https://thecougarpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1cover-1200x800.jpg)
