AUSTIN, Texas — This week on Behind the Poms, KVUE's Daranesha Herron visited Lake Travis High School.
"Lake Travis has always had very high-level athletes, high-level gymnasts and stunters," said Head Cheer Coach Devan Vollmert. "What we seem to be missing, and I think we're finally there, is the will to win."
Vollmert’s faith in her girls is unshakeable this season.
"They want to get out there and they actually want to do well, not just for themselves but for their school and for their teammates," said Vollmert.
Since the summer, Lake Travis cheer has been drilling their competition routine, sometimes three to four hours a day.
Two minutes and 30 seconds, that’s all you get to prove to judges you’re the best. So it's repetition until the girls can perform the routine without a second thought.
Their unwavering goal of winning their next three competitions defies gravity and, for one junior, biology.
“By my X-rays, like, a lot of people think I shouldn't be able to walk or do anything that I do," said varsity cheerleader Skylar Salle.
Salle got a rare hip infection when she was six.
"So I was in a coma for 11 days," said Salle. "Over the span of 40 days, I was in the hospital, in the ICU, and I had eight hip surgeries on my hip in that time period."
A recovery that would rattle most of us, but the 16-year-old fought through countless hours of rehab with metal screws in her knee.
She’s still throwing people in the air and hitting every motion. When given the chance to rest, she chooses to elevate her team.
“I don't let anything limit me," said Salle. "As long as, like, you yourself know you can do it, that's all that matters.”
The power of knowing is built through the effort of preparation. So every game day means more complex skills and stunts. The athletes are never teetering on the line of mediocre, instead reaching for the gold.
"First place, it's always going to be the goal," said Vollmert. "Regardless, I always tell them we're aiming to do our best, as long as they walk out there and they just leave it all on the mat and they had a good time.”
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