Friday night football games are just one of many events the Franklin cheer team participates in. The team cheers at many Franklin sporting events during the fall and winter seasons, in specific competitions, and during its seasonal “Mini Bolts” camp, where kids ages kindergarten to eighth grade spend a practice with the team and show their skills as part of a halftime performance.
Joining the cheer team is a competitive process that consists of a three-day tryout ending with many athletes getting cut. There were around 50 students who tried out in 2025, with only 22 making the team. Many of the athletes on the team do some sort of dance outside of cheer, while some are completely new to the dance or cheer world.
The team practices four times a week with games on Fridays during the football season, and two practices a week with games on Tuesdays and Fridays during the basketball season. Oceanna Woodard, a sophomore, who has been on the team for two years, says, “I get to go spend time with my friends, and we get to do stuff as a team that I wouldn’t be able to do if I weren’t on cheer.”
Being on cheer can open travel opportunities for students, for example, the cheer team went to a training camp at Great Wolf Lodge, which Woodard wouldn’t have been able to visit otherwise. She explains that when she was a freshman, she often secluded herself, but she feels much more social on the team this year. She shares that after a year on the team, she has gained more confidence in her social and performance skills.
Many cheerleaders enjoyed the beginning of basketball season, as it brings a change to the practices with the promise of learning new cheers. Sophomore Ellie Nine comments on how she enjoys the switch to cheering indoors. “I like doing it all together because it sounds really loud [on the gym floor],” she says.
Despite cheering at Franklin games for the fall and winter sports, the cheer team also participates in competitions. There are seven competitions remaining for the team this year, spanning from December through February.
There is recent excitement within the team as they were just awarded second place at the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association (OCCA) Game Day Championships on Nov. 15. As for past years, the Franklin cheer team placed ninth in the state competition in 2024 and 14th in 2025. When asked about what the team could improve at the next competition, Lucinda Myrus, a first-year senior, says they need to be “sharper and more energetic.” The cheer team has meetings after competitions to review their scores, mistakes, and what to improve on. Woodard also hopes to improve her sharpness and volume when reflecting on the competition.
The team coach, Savannah Williams, has been at Franklin for three years. Previously, she was a cheerleader at Tyee High School in SeaTac, Washington, and a coach at Federal Way High School, also in Washington. When asked about whether she enjoys the football or basketball season more, coach Williams explained, “football is what you think of when you think of cheer, but basketball is very fast-paced, and we can see it all [the basketball court].”
From May to March, being part of the cheer team comes with joy and hardships. Williams enjoyed the first home football games this year because “[the cheerleaders] got to see all of their hard work come out and people see us [perform].” The overall goal is for the team to walk out of the season feeling more confident about their abilities, seeing their growth, not just as cheerleaders but also as young women. Williams values seeing that the team “really cares about each other and have each other’s backs and want to see each other succeed.”
With the ups and downs of a ten-month season, the Franklin cheer team improves with every practice and every game. Whether you’re attending a game to see one of the Franklin teams play or just cheer on your bestie, it is important to show up and support the athletes who put endless hours of sweat and tears into their sports.
