Molly McCall, 1st year varsity and All-American cheerleader, joined her first competition cheer team in 2020. However, it was soon shut down because of COVID. Sad that her cheer season had been cut short, McCall didn’t let it stop her. She continued to work hard and practice her tumbling in her gym.

“I’ve always just kind of liked being upside down and doing flips,” McCall said.

In 2022, McCall’s heart pounded as she read through the names of the seventh grade cheer team list, hoping hers would be on it. Relief set in when she saw her name. 

McCall then made the team again the following year.

After middle school ended, McCall decided it was best she transfer schools, meaning that she missed the cheer tryout for Kingwood Park. Knowing that she couldn’t do school cheer, she chose to go back to a competitive team, but there were struggles along the way. McCall had felt like she wanted to quit. 

“It was just so much burnout,” she said “We would just do full out after full out and it was very overwhelming.”

In the midst of that competitive season, it was again time for cheer tryouts for Kingwood Park. However, there was a problem. McCall’s mom had gotten a call about her grandpa, who had fluid in his lungs. Two hours later she was on a flight to Springfield, Mo. to be with him and her family.

She emailed the cheer coaches hoping they would let her send a video of her tryout. After sending in her video, McCall had 24 hours until she would know if she made it or not. Sitting in her grandpa’s hospital room, she got the notification. Scrolling through the list, there she was – varsity.

“When I saw my name on the list, I was so happy,” McCall said.