New Kingwood Park High School Cheer Coach Brings Vision to Young Squad - Kingwood

Kingwood Park High School is building a strong foundation in both academics and activities as it prepares for the 2009-2010 school year.   The excitement is building as Kingwood Park High School will have it’s first graduating class in the upcoming school year. 

Kingwood.com visited with head cheerleading Coach Courtney Heintschel and cheerleading sponsor Lori Lero who teaches U.S. History and AP U.S. History to find out more about how the KPHS Panther squad is coming along.   Ms. Heintschel brings a wealth of experience to the Panther squad having been a cheerleader herself for 4 years at Kingwood High School.  She has also coached at a variety of Cheer Camps bringing guidance to a wide age group of girls.

Ms. Heintschel stated that she hopes to bring both structure and vision to the KPHS cheerleading team.  “We are building a year round team at KPHS” which will be active during all seasonal sports including football, basketball and baseball.  This year round approach builds discipline and responsibility in team members as well as providing the structure to focus on their talents. 

Ms. Lero added that nurturing team members is one of the best parts of being involved with the Panther squad.  Although cheer is not currently considered a UIL sport, team members are still held to this high standard.  The girls’ academic performance is part of the criteria for making the team.  Team members learn to balance their time responsibly in order to succeed at both. 

The Kingwood Park Panther Cheerleaders play a vital role in the team spirit of this new high school, and not just at sports venues.  The squad is responsible for sign making for all KPHS spirit related events.  It was easy to see that the team members reflected the energetic personality of Coach Heintschel. 

A unique approach that Coach Heintschel has instituted is joint practice for Varsity, JV and Freshman squads.  There is inherent competition amongst all the girls; however the joint practice allows senior team members to mentor their younger classmates, creating a more beneficial result for all. 

It is safe to say that Panther fans can expect to see a spirit driven and talent filled KPHS Cheerleading squad for the 2009-2010 school year.  As in most team sports, it is evident that the sum of this talented team far exceeds that of any individual team member. 

Ms. Lero and Coach Heintschel agreed that there are many valuable life skills gained by participating in cheerleading including personal responsibility, leadership skills, time management, and team work.  A key point emphasized by Ms. Lero is learning when it is appropriate to exhibit individual leadership versus team work.  It is safe to say that this is a skill that most of us continue to refine well into adulthood, so the earlier KPHS students start the better.

We finished our chat by asking Coach Heintschel what adjectives would squad members use to describe her.  The Coach volunteered that “disciplined” was sure to top the list.  As in most sports, discipline and respect build the strongest foundations.  Coach Heintschel commented that when she instituted the rule that  too much chatting during practice would result in the girls running laps; they thought she was kidding.  Coach Heintschel added with a smile (like a proud parent) that now she no longer has to point out what the consequences are when this rule is broken; one look and they just start doing laps.  Indeed these are the seeds of maturity that Coach Heintschel and Ms. Lero have planted and from which a strong talented team will emerge.  Go Panthers!

Visit the Kingwood.com "Schools" section to check out photo coverage of the KPHS Cheer Clinic and Varsity Basketball game coverage.

Photographs courtesy of Stacy Turner / All Star Memories