BY SAPNA PATHAK
At this year’s NHIAA spirit championship, the Goffstown Grizzlies took 10th place. But on the bus ride home, their head coach made them cry.
Tears of joy and sorrow followed as Doris Gamache handed each of her cheerleaders a letter summing up her thoughts on their successful season and saying her final goodbye to the Grizzlies spirit program.
“I didn’t want to make this year about my leaving,” said Gamache. “It was about them. This team has been such a standout group in my 11 years of coaching. The seniors have led so well, we’re totally okay with 10th place.”
A little more than one month after placing fifth at the annual Kiwanis cheerleading competition, Gamache watched as the Grizzlies took the floor second, showing surprising poise under pressure.
After falling during the first part of a stunt, Melissa Lovett got up to finish the second and more difficult piece of the same double-stunt. Lovett’s quick thinking allowed the Grizzlies some extra points, but more importantly, bolstered Gamache’s confidence in her squad.
Having hired an outside choreographer for the first time, Gamache said she wondered if the routine was difficult enough for Class L competition.
“It’s hard to say how big a factor it was,” said Gamache. “Every time I’ve choreographed it myself, the girls come off breathing hard, and this time nothing. I was still waiting for the ‘Wow’ factor. It was very clean and had four stunts, but they fell on two, so was it too hard or not hard enough?”
Senior captains Amy Gamache, Erika Schneider and Jessica Hart and junior captain Jessica Trudeau formed the team’s core. Their support of teammates and strong leadership have made Gamache’s exit a bit easier.
“I could not be leaving on a greater note,” said Gamache. “These were the best captains I’ve ever seen. I told the girls in their letters, ‘Always remember an angel will be watching,’ so they know I’ll always be there if they ever need me.”
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Competing in the Class I competition were the girls of John Stark cheerleading. The Lady Generals placed fifth with 148.0 points. In her second year as head coach, Danielle Tirrell helped Stark to a sixth-place finish at Kiwanis.
The Generals improved from their 12th-place finish at last year’s winter spirit competition.