Page 15 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 79

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #79 June 2019 15

Oliver Juneau Talks Cheerleading and Winning

at the 2019 World Championships

By Molly Kett According to Juneau, his proudest
moments of cheer all happened during the
weekend of the World Championship 2019.
liver Juneau began cheerleading with
Othe end of his volleyball career. In “At Worlds, the day of my first
September 2017 when he first went to Trent performance, my team and I had managed to
University, he was being drafted to be on hit a perfect routine with no deductions. I
the school’s varsity volleyball team, but had also accomplished my personal goal of
unfortunately did not make the team. performing two different tumbling passes on
“As I left the practice where I was given the Worlds’ mat. But best of all, my team
this sad news I stopped by the front desk of and I had finished 1st overall and we were
the school’s athletic centre and asked if the advancing to finals,” says Juneau. “Day two,
school had a cheerleading team. From there, I my team, and I had accomplished just as
made onto the Trent University Cheerleading much and finished the overall competition in
team,” says Juneau. “I decided to take this first place. My team and I have been able to
sport one step further and tryout for an elite hit a perfect routine with no deductions twice
team with the Flyers All-Starz. After going and were able to handle the pressure of being
through these tryouts, I was finally placed on in first place going into the second day.”
the infamous Notorious.” Juneau says that the way they announce
One of Juneau’s favourite aspects of the the winners at the world championship is
sport is the tumbling. designed to evoke anticipation, calling up ten
“Since the moment I started doing sports at finalists to the stage and distributing awards
8 years old, I always wanted to do tumbling from tenth, down to first.
and this sport allows me to do so,” says “Once we reached the top five marks
Juneau. “Another great aspect of the sport everyone in the team was unbelievably
is the performance component. When you excited, for this was the first time it had
cheerlead, you are placed on a mat in front of ever happened for many of us,” says Juneau.
a massive crowd that is cheering your team “When it came time to call up fourth place
on, singing your teams song, and yelling there were two teams form USA and two
so loud that you can barely hear your own teams from Canada: mine and the one to
music. This is a great feeling.” whom we had lost all year. When calling the

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ASK THE COACH fourth position the announcers presented the but I was never really best. This taught me

Carina Vincelli team as such: ‘In fourth place from Canada’ to push and not get beat down by defeat.
and then took a very long pause before It also allowed me to appreciate more the
Age: 17 Grade: 12 announcing the other team. That pause smaller accomplishments such as personal
School: SJCSS Hometown: Cornwall caused the entire team to breakout in tears goals. This was especially useful for me this
This month’s Ask the Coach question is asked of Saint with fear that we had possibly not done as season,” says Juneau. “When I started the
Joseph’s Secondary School senior girls’ soccer coach well as we thought we had.” year, I was a very bad cheerleader. I wasn’t
Marc Legault. Asking is Carina Vincelli. “She is our Finally, the top three were up, and as the able to complete basic stunts and had terrible
sr. girls’ soccer team captain and the driving engine of third place was called Juneau says that the technique for everything. I saw it within the

the team as a centre midfielder,” says Legault. “We will entire team huddled in one last hug. looks on my teammate’s faces throughout
miss her leadership and skill next year as she goes on to “We all knew in that moment we all loved practices that they were unimpressed with me
play on scholarship in Georgia.” each other, and we were proud of everything and I was letting them down. So, I decided to
we had done no matter the outcome. As push harder. I went to all my tumbling lessons,
Question: Why did you get into coaching soccer?
we stood in our huddle, we waited for the started going to the gym, and suddenly things
Coach Chevrier: I started coaching soccer 25 years ago when my career as a high
announcers to call out Flyers All-Starz started getting easier. All season we had
school teacher began. I always felt that coaching high school sports was a great way
Notorious. The entire team broke out into never won a single competition. We did not
to get to know students in a different capacity. My involvement as a coach with the
jumps of excitement and tears of joy. This let that beat us down as team we simply came
Seaway Valley Soccer Club began when my own daughters were old enough to play. was a title and an award no one on the team back stronger. I owe a lot to my failures and
Coaching club soccer appealed to my desire to develop players’ individual technical

ever believed we would win,” says Juneau. my coaches and everyone around me who
skills and tactical understanding of the game. I now continue to do that as the club head
“We always trained to be the best, but we made me push harder.”
coach for the SVSC. Coaching has been immensely gratifying as it has provided me never thought possible with the great calibre
with long-lasting memories and friendships. of teams we were against. The rest of my day Next for Juneau is the next season with his
1916 Pitt Street N., Unit 1A (Heritage Business Centre) was spent randomly breaking out into tears team, where he plans to refine his skills and
CORNWALL • 613-933-1200 from the overwhelming thought that we were have an even better season.
truly world champion. All the hard work and
the time spent on this sport was worth it. You “I would just like everyone to know to
can’t help to feel grateful but also have the simply never give up. Whatever your goal
greatest sense of pride” is, stay positive and optimistic towards it
Juneau says that he owes his cheerleading and you will find yourself closer than you
Registered Massage Therapist Sheryl Calvank-Rodriguez, RMT success to all of his failures. thought,” says Juneau, “As well as a big
“Throughout all of high school I was shout out to Flyers All-Starz Cheer Gym for
always just an ok athlete. I did all the sports, being a great club.”