By Derrick Smith
Athletes work hard to reach the goals they have set for themselves. While they put in the work, it also helps to have people in their corner rooting for them. Erin Kirkland says that she has a couple of people that have helped her get to where she is today.
“I have two big influences in my life,” she said. “Outside of the cheer world, it would be my older sister. She has paved a pathway for me to follow. In the cheer world, I really look up to Angel Rice because she is an amazing tumbler.”
Kirkland is a senior at Duncan High School. She is a base, tumbler, and team captain for the Demons. She has participated in school cheer for five years, but she is also a member of competitive cheer which she has done for about seven years.
There is a lot of work that goes into being a successful cheerleader and Erin says seeing the progress is what makes you want to work harder.
“It has taken an extremely large amount of time to get good at what I do,” she said. “I am not the greatest cheerleader to have walked the earth, but I get better and better with each passing year.”
With her being a member of cheer for as long as she has, Kirkland has made some great memories with her teammates.
“I think the highlight moment of my school cheer career would be competing for the first time as a school team this year and winning,” she said. “The highlight of my competition cheer would be getting third place at Cheersport, which is a really cool competition in Atlanta, Georgia.”
Throughout her education, Kirkland has learned from a number of teachers that made an impact on her. But she says that there is one teacher that she has this year that she has really enjoyed.
“I love all of my teachers,” she stated. “But my favorite teacher this year would have to be Mrs. McGhee. She has taught me a lot about newspapers, marketing, yearbooks, and more.”