By Chris Cox

Most people don’t fall into teaching or coaching positions. They are drawn to them or even called to those positions. For Community Christian cheer coach Traci Wells, she certainly feels called to lead this CCS cheer squad.

“I feel like God has equipped me to coach,” Wells says. “He’s given me lots of patience and love for these girls. My own daughter cheers and is on the squad. So, honestly, all 26 feel like they are my own daughters.”

That calling and feeling of family among the cheerleaders has helped Wells grow the squad from 14 in her first year at CCS to 26 this year.

With such a large roster, and only three seniors, Wells is excited for what these girls can accomplish, not just this year but in the years to come.

“We are trying to build a culture of what cheer is at CCS,” she says.

So, what kind of culture is Wells trying to build? It’s one that starts in the hallways of Community Christian.

“The very first meeting I had with the girls, I told them I expected them to be the most well-respected girls in the school,” Wells says. “I want them to be young women of integrity.”

Two of the girls tasked with building that culture are the team captains, Cameron Craig and Faith Street.

“Cameron is a great all-around cheerleader with great tumbling and jumping skills,” Wells says. “Unfortunately for Faith, she had hip surgery and is unable to compete with us but she’s a great leader as well. She is very loving and very encouraging.”

While the culture of the program is continuously being built, success in competition has already arrived. In 2020, CCS won the Class 3A Game Day State Championship and they have their sights set on repeating this year and adding a strong showing at the competitive competition as well.

Despite what they do in competition, Wells knows she has a special team.

“They’re a great group of girls,” she says. “They love the Lord and what they do out there is to bring honor and glory to Christ. I think that makes them special.”

The Community Christian cheer roster includes Sidney Casey (Sr), Cameron Craig (Sr), Faith Street (Sr), Shylah Gibson (Jr), Lilly Hudson (Jr), Makenzie Lehman (Jr), Jentrie Madory (Jr), Mayci McHughes (Jr), Emma McMahon (Jr), Audrey Shannon (Jr), Jasmyn Smith (Jr), Emma Wells (Jr), Hadley Banks (So), Katelyn Brown (So), Presley Brum (So), Mikalin Doan (So), Mattie Hall (Soph), Cora Hinckley (So), Alajah McKinnon (So), Hannah Williams (So), Abby Boyd (Fr), Paige Cook (Fr), Avery Hollingsworth (Fr), Marin Polk (Fr), Avery Reynolds (Fr), and Layla White (Fr).