Most of us join sports to be a part of the team. From baseball to cheerleading, it’s all a team activity.
Or it’s supposed to be.
But when one young girl, when she took the stage at the Nebraska State Cheer and Dance Championships, the stage was empty around her. She was the only cheerleader from her team to show.
Why? Because two weeks before, all but Katrina Kohel, quit the cheerleading team. While most squads have up to 20 cheerleaders, the tiny group from Morrill High School had only 4 teammates.
Then there was one. Kohel said she knew she’d never quit – and would, if she had to, compete on her own. And that is what she told her coach, April Ott.
I said, ‘On your own?’ And she said, ’Yeah.’”
“So,” Ott said, “I went home and thought about it. I thought, ‘Well, why not? The fees were already paid for. We had our hotel rooms. Let’s just go.'”
Katrina Kohel and her coach April Ott. Photo courtesy of Ott
But since the original routine required a full team, Ott and Kohel reworked the routine so Kohel could do it solo.
“I’ve put a lot of time into cheer. It’s just always been a part of who I am, so I didn’t want to end on that note. I wanted to go out on a high one. For that to come true, I didn’t want to end it just by going to watch state. I wanted to compete.” Kohel said.
Her coach believed in her, though. “She was completely confident the whole week that we practiced,” Ott said. “It was just 100 percent confidence, and she just owned it.”
And she just didn’t compete – Kohel placed 8th out of 12 squads – the highest her highschool has placed out of the past three years.
Katrina Kohel performs a solo cheerleading routine after her entire team quit ahead of the championships. Photo by Donna Wirdeburg
“It’s almost overwhelming, the amount of support I got from (the crowd),” Kohel said. “The whole arena was cheering me on. It wasn’t just one little section — it was the whole arena.”
It was definitely out of my comfort zone,” Kohel said.
Kohel said that after the adrenaline rush, she realized what she had just accomplished.
“A lot of people have told me — and just like a lot of the comments that I’ve read — ‘I don’t think I would’ve been able to do that,'” Kohel said. “‘I wouldn’t have had that confidence and all that.’ I’m just proud of myself for being willing to step out there and do it.”
Her coach said Kohel has inspired her, and she believes others as well.
“Katrina stood up for herself,” Ott said. “I feel like this is a story for everyone. Never quit. Just stand up, just keep going. Whatever the adversities are, just keep going.”
Watch the cheerleader in action, below!
