For the first time in many years, varsity cheerleading returned to Jamestown Public Schools. Cheerleaders are pictured performing during a home basketball game’s halftime show. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

Jamestown High School’s cheerleaders are here to stay.

Returning after a hiatus, the varsity cheerleading squad is set for a second year run, cheering on the high school’s basketball team. They’ve recently completed a first-year cheer season for the school’s varsity football team.

The school’s cheerleading team had been disbanded for many years.

“It was a general lack of interest from the student body,” said Ben Drake, Jamestown Public Schools athletic director. “The football cheerleaders had between 10 to 12 girls. Then a few dropped out, then a few more stopped coming to practice, and they just kind of faded away. The same happened after the football season with the basketball season, until recently.”

However, the cheer squad is again on solid footing.

“We’ve just completed our first year cheering for the JHS football team,” said Kristin Kohler, the head cheer coach and a JPS career’s class teacher. “We completed a basketball season of cheer last year, and we’re set to do it again this year. There’s been tremendous support for our squad from the administration, teachers, parents and the student body.”

Moreover, the team is not only established, but is expanding and growing.

“We’ve added another coach, Lori Cobb, to help with this growing program,” Drake said.

Cobb works at Love Elementary School and has a storied history of coaching cheerleading teams. She was a volunteer cheer coach for the Northside Warriors Midget Football League’s Cheer Team, based out of Washington Middle School for years and assisted with the growth and development of the cheer teams routines and performances.

While the JHS cheer team is currently a “sideline” cheer team, it is not beyond expanding into a competitive, traveling team.

“Right now, the program is a sideline support program,” Drake said. “However, the growth of this team has exceeded my expectations. It’s up in the air as far as becoming a competitive team, but I’m not opposed to it at all.”

While the program is still in its infancy stages, the returning roster for the upcoming basketball season is anchored by some veterans of the cheer squad.

“One of our current co-captains, Laney Blakeslee, is set to return for her second year cheering during basketball season,” after completing our inaugural football cheer season,” Kohler said. “Plus a few of our flyers and base cheer members from the football season will make the transition to the basketball season with Laney as well.”