222 The Harding cheerleading team received a new addition to its coaching staff. For 14 years, Kellee Blickenstaff was the head coach, but in the 2022–23 school year she split those duties with Kerri Behel. Behel was a member of the 1999–2000 Harding cheer squad and a cheerleading national champion in high school. Blickenstaff had wanted to add Behel to the staff for a few years. Now that her children were older, Behel felt ready to take on the position. The first step to being a successful coach was winning over the team, which Behel did quickly. Senior Liz Thornhill talked about the team’s attitude towards additional coach. “The team was very excited,” Thornhill said. “We love Mrs. Kellee, but when change happens it’s always new and exciting, so we looked forward to it. We got to meet Mrs. Kerri before we left for summer. She was very kind and passionate, so her passion kind of made all of us reignite our passion, which was cool. We’re all happy.” A change in personnel meant changes to the way practice and training were handled. Junior Emma Brantley was happy about the ways Behel contributed to practice. “I think it’s great to have another leader in addition to the captains,” Brantley said. “In the past the captains The cheer team welcomes additional head coach Kerri Behel. CHEERS to new beginnings would run practice, which was great, but it is nice to have a little extra structure, and that encouragement she brings to every practice is awesome.” Having two coaches was beneficial to both women. Behel spoke of how helpful it was to have a partner to share the burdens. “We really share the responsibilities well,” Behel said. “We both are capable of doing all of it, but it’s so much nicer for me to be able to say, ‘Hey Kellee, do you have the uniforms taken care of?’ or she says, ‘Hey Kerri, are we ready for this Saturday?’ [Blickenstaff] has done an excellent job giving the cheerleading team more opportunities for 24 years, so I feel like I’m continuing that legacy with her.” Behel wanted to focus on getting the cheerleading squad engaged in the Searcy community. She talked about the ways the team found to give back to the city. “We want our community to see Harding in different aspects other than just on campus,” Behel said. “We are partnering with the volleyball team to do Bison Buddies at McRae Elementary, so our girls will go over there once a week to read to the second grade and open doors for car lines. We’re giving back to the community because they have given so much to us.” Written by: Ethan Conn
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