KP Cheering Finding Their Own Way

As the King Philip boys football team made its historic run through the season and into the Division 1A Super Bowl, where they defeated Reading 21-18, Coach Maura Doyle and her cheerleading squad was on the sidelines cheering the Warriors on to victory. Although the boys were getting all the attention, the girls had no small part in the football victory.
“The girls love cheering at football games and being a daughter of a football coach I wanted to focus a lot more on the games than they had in the past. Attending the University of Kentucky, where cheering is a big part of athletics, I wanted to get our girls more involved with the crowds and I think that we accomplished that this year,” Doyle said. “A lot of the football players have shown their appreciation for all the hard work that the girls have done for them throughout the season – that really meant a lot to them to know that they were acknowledged.”
Helping the football team get to Gillette Stadium to participate in the State Super Bowl was all the girls talked about, according to Doyle, and although they were not the ones winning the actual game, they were no longer the forgotten soldiers. Instead, they were a part of them team’s success.
In addition to cheering the Warriors onto victory week after week, the KP cheerleaders were involved in three competitive invitational tournaments, in which they earned themselves a second place finish in one and a third in another. In addition to the invitationals, the girls also accumulated the 86 points to advance into the State Tournament, KP’s first trip in five years.
Once at the Regionals, the squads performed their routine and then had to wait for the final results.
“It’s so much more than just cheering – there is dance and stunts also involved in our routine. We knew that we had put together a decent performance, but advancing into the States comes down to actual points and we didn’t find out how we actually did until the next day,” Doyle said. “When the word came to us that we had qualified to take part in the States the team was very excited, but we really had no time to celebrate as we were preparing for the Super Bowl game at Gillette.”
Once in the State Tournament, KP finished in 13th place, and although it may not seem like much, it really was a historical day in KP cheerleading.
“It was very exciting for the girls – it was the first time that they actually felt recognized as athletes, not just a pep squad,” Doyle said. “A lot of these girls are gymnasts in the off-season, so they had already considered themselves to be athletes, but by participating in the States they now had validation.”
Although Doyle acknowledged every girl is equally as important as the next, Alex LeBlanc and Grace Patenaude captained this year’s wild ride.
“These two are the foundation to everything that we do stunt-wise in our performances. Alex is an unbelievable athlete that will be attending the University of Alabama for cheerleading and Grace is not only a great leader, but the main base to all of our stunts,” the Coach said. “So much goes into our routines, from our bases to our flyers – everyone has full trust in each other and is never afraid to try new things.”
Come next season, the girls will be looking to improve upon this year’s performance and should be in great shape as they will only be losing three seniors. In addition to LeBlanc and Patenaude, KP will say goodbye to Nicole Fox, the Warriors gymnastics captain and strong tumbler.
Having all their hard work come to fruition and being able to shine in the spotlight, the KP cheerleading squad will never have to worry about being known as just a pep squad. They have definitively proven themselves and arisen from out of the shadows and into the spotlight.