There is no hiding the fact that this is a different kind of season for the Woodford County High School cheer program.
There’s a new head coach this year. Many athletes from last year’s team have graduated, left cheer, or moved to other districts.
Most of the athletes practicing this summer are new, learning to work together while taking on the expectations that come with wearing one of Kentucky’s most well-known cheer uniforms.
If anyone is nervous about these changes, first-year head Coach Alissa Anderson doesn’t let it show.
Most importantly, she sees a group ready to start the next chapter of one of Kentucky’s most successful cheer programs.
Woodford County starts the season with a tradition that few can match. The Yellow Jackets have won several state and national titles, including a national championship in 2026. That history brings high expectations, but Anderson believes her athletes are focused on what they can achieve together this season, not on past successes.
“They’re very energetic, very determined this season,” said Anderson.
“There were a lot of kids that transferred out before I got the coaching position,” she continued. “But the people that are here, it’s with grace. They’re very excited to keep the program almost all the way it was before.”
This positive outlook has shaped the first weeks of practice.
Rather than trying to copy last year’s team, Anderson and her staff have focused on building team chemistry, setting expectations, and helping the new group find its own identity.
She is not doing this alone.
Anderson is joined by assistant coaches Megan Freeman and Sabrina Sutton. They have helped guide the team’s summer practices as the Yellow Jackets prepare for the season ahead.
One thing working in the coaching staff’s favor is time.
The Yellow Jackets recently finished their choreography for the season. This means they can start refining their routines well before competition season begins.
“We just finished choreography with Bryce Luther from V-Rock,” Anderson said. “We’re ahead of the game.”
This early progress gives the coaches more time to polish routines, improve execution, and keep building team chemistry.
This season, Woodford County will compete in both the Game Day and 2½-minute divisions. This gives the Yellow Jackets a chance to show off their crowd-leading skills and their competitive routines.
But Anderson hopes the program will be known for more than just what happens during competitions.
For her, representing Woodford County begins long before the judges start scoring routines.
It starts on Friday nights. It continues during basketball season too and it grows each time the cheerleaders step onto the sidelines in Woodford County colors.
“I think it’s very important to pour back into your community because at the end of the day, they’re the ones that support the cheerleaders,” Anderson said.
“Cheer holds a big name in Woodford County. I come from a community with three high schools, so it was really hard to get community support. Pouring back into the people that support you is extremely important.”
That philosophy has already resonated with the athletes.
Senior Reese Divine believes one of the biggest goals this season is making sure the cheerleaders are visible throughout the school year, supporting every Yellow Jacket team they can.
“I think I am most excited to really cheer our teams this year,” Divine said.
“I think we’re going to try to be present at most of the football games and a lot of the basketball games, so really just cheering on our community and the other sports programs within our school.”
For many fans, the cheerleaders are a big part of the Friday night football atmosphere.
They lead the school chants after touchdowns. They’re celebrating alongside the student section after a big defensive stop. They’re helping maintain the energy when momentum begins to shift.
Divine understands that role carries responsibility.
“I think it’s super important,” she said. “I know definitely the crowd is like, ‘Where are the cheerleaders?’ So I think it’s just very important that we show up for the people in our community and definitely be a face for the public, cheering them on.”
That sense of responsibility extends beyond games.
According to Divine, one of the biggest surprises about this year’s team has been how quickly the athletes have come together despite the roster turnover.
“So many of the best moments we’ve had have simply been at practice,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of team bonding this year. I think we’re really connected. The smaller team lets us have really close bonds. We’re all really just friends.”
These friendships help build trust during long conditioning sessions and endless stunt practice.
Practices include lots of conditioning and repeated work on stunts as the Yellow Jackets get ready for both football and competition seasons.
“We’re really getting prepared and building up our strength for this new season,” Divine said.
As a veteran leader, Divine has seen her own perspective change over the years.
While winning is always important in a championship program, she believes real success starts with something simpler.
“I think my biggest growth has just been understanding the importance of being a team,” Divine said. “Sometimes we just focus on winning and not really about connecting with the people or really building trust and friendships along the way.”
That message mirrors what Anderson hopes becomes the identity of this year’s team.
For freshman Eleanor Lewis, that team identity is already starting to form.
Although she is only entering her first year of high school, Lewis is no stranger to the program after spending three years cheering and even gaining varsity competition experience before officially becoming a freshman.
She believes the biggest lesson cheerleading has taught her has little to do with tumbling or stunts.
“It’s been really fun,” Lewis said. “I can grow more as a cheerleader and a good person just by being in cheer.”
When asked where she has grown the most, her answer came quickly.
“The biggest thing is being a team and a family,” Lewis said. “If you’re not a family, there’s no way to grow together.”
That family atmosphere has become one of the defining characteristics of the new roster.
Like Divine, Lewis believes the relationships being built now will become the foundation for everything the team hopes to accomplish later in the season.
She’s also eager to experience one of the traditions that makes Woodford County unique.
Friday nights and the excitement of a packed home crowd.
The energy that comes from cheering in front of an entire community.
“It’s just a different kind of feeling,” Lewis said. “The energetic crowd and everything just pumps you up.”
When the Yellow Jackets make a big play, Lewis says the interaction between the crowd and the cheerleaders creates an atmosphere unlike anything else.
“You get all the people cheering back with your cheers,” she said. “You get people getting excited when you’re stunting. It’s just a fun feeling. You just want to keep doing it.”
Those moments are what Anderson hopes define this season.
There will undoubtedly be challenges. Any first-year coach inherits adjustments.
Any roster with so many new faces requires patience. But Anderson believes the pieces are already coming together, and some of the toughest times are over.
The athletes are buying in. The chemistry continues to grow with each practice.
Most importantly, the team has embraced the idea that while this roster may be different, the expectations surrounding Woodford County cheer remain the same.
The Yellow Jackets are no longer trying to replace the athletes and coaches who moved on. Instead, they are building something that belongs to them.