After a season away from the sidelines, Pojoaque Valley High School cheer coach Cassie Martinez is returning with renewed vigor, ready to lead her pack to the state meet.
“I needed a mental break,” she said. “It was just one of those years. When the position opened back up, I was just fortunate enough to get the job.”
And she’s already got the Elkettes back on the road to The Pit, where the state championship will be held early next year.
“We just attended our first competition, the Rio Rancho Spirit Rally and it turned out to be really good,” Martinez said. “We got second place in our division. We’ve been having a good year. I have a really good and strong team. I feel like since day one, when we had all connected and had tryouts, that I had a lot of strong returners come back. But I also a have a large group of newer freshmen this year and that’s also kind of exciting that I get to build on that.”
Pojoaque has seven seniors on the squad that will form the veteran group.
“Three of my seniors I’ve been coaching since they were in eighth grade,” Martinez said. “They were happy I came back.”
Those seniors, Miquela Branch, Angelica Baros and Adaya Garcia, along with juniors Mireya Archuleta, Ariyah Salazar and Elena Marioni, will be counted on to guide the team forward, Martinez said.
“I feel like I have a lot of girls taking that leadership role and I like that, instead of everybody looking at one person as their captain,” she said. “They’re each capable of being leaders in their own special ways. I really like the way things are going right now.”
The cheerleaders are ready to take a big step forward this season, Archuleta said.
“Last year, it was definitely a friendship, bonding year,” she said. “We had to work through a lot of stuff. But being with the same girls on this team this season, it helps us. We know each other. It’s always just fun when we’re around each other. We like going to practice. It’s a lot of people’s escape place.”
And the team is committed to showing just what it can do, Archuleta said.
“Giving top performance and showing your pride and your spirit makes the whole experience fun,” she said. “The coaches are awesome at what they do and they see the potential in us and help us get better and better every day.”
Cheering can be an exhaustive endeavor because the team not only practices regularly, but it shows up for many other events like football and basketball games in addition to other sports, as well as the spirit competitions.
“Competition is definitely one of my favorites because it brings out the you that not many people see,” Archuleta said. “It is a competition and we’re pushing our bodies to the greatest extent that we can and showing the pride for the school. That’s where we get to show people how loud how we are.”
As for just how far the Elkettes can go, well that remains to be seen, Martinez said, but she has high hopes.
“I think my goals are to just continue building a strong program,” she said. “I really feel like I started something that can be successful. I want them to improve in their performance and for it to be valued and supported. I cheered in Pojoaque in high school, so I always have that drive to make the program successful. I feel like there has been a time that it wasn’t and I want the people to appreciate my girls and the athletes to feel valued.”
And when the last cheer echoes across The Pit floor, well that’s when everybody can take a step back, relax and enjoy the results.
“Obviously, winning trophies and those things are always fun and great,” Martinez said. “And yes, every cheer team dreams to get those trophies. But honestly, I feel like when the people in our community are really able to see the team and just to see their growth and be around them, as well, and say, ‘Your team is really good, they work so hard.’ That’s the overall success. I feel like we have all of our other coaches support and they know we support them.”