Standing behind the doors, waiting to try out for Kingwood Park’s cheer team, Lila Evans had never been more nervous. She listened to 100 different voices saying different words, jumping, spiriting all while trying to focus. She went into the tryout with a deep breath and did the cheer.  

“P-A-N-T-H-E-R-S!” Shoot. 

“I messed up, that wasn’t the motion,” Evans thought. 

Locking eye contact with one of the seniors in the room, the senior gave her a thumbs up and mouthed, “You got it.” 

Evans hoped the judges wouldn’t notice the very small mistake by how sharp and smiley she was trying to be.

In the car, she heard her phone ding. Kingwood Park cheer posted on instagram. Evans unlocked her phone and looked at the list. “Lila Evans” – 5th down on the list. She made the cheer team.

At just 14 years old, Evans already has worked to make an impact helping others. With student government, cheer, and dealing with dysautonomia, she has done it all with a smile. 

Evans participates in all of her activities on top of keeping up with school. Now in ninth grade, she’s a flyer on the Kingwood Park cheer team. She loves doing corkscrews (a twisting dismount), which shows her fun and bubbly personality.  

However, Evans has struggled since being diagnosed with dysautonomia, a condition that malfunctions her nervous system and causes her to feel dizzy or pass out easily. This has caused some challenges with being a cheerleader, making it difficult to sometimes stunt or tumble. 

The only reason she didn’t do eighth grade cheer was because of her dysautonomia. 

When she came back, she was ecstatic to return to cheering. Evans has tried to show that even with struggles, always do what you love. 

“No matter the obstacles,” she said, “keep going.”