If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
That might be the mantra for Talihina junior Addison (Addie to her friends) Olson, a member of the Golden Tigers cheer squad.
“I’ve seen myself as a cheerleader since I was little. My cousin Charity Brown cheered here, and she was a role model for what I wanted to be,” said Addie. “I first tried out in the seventh grade and didn’t make the team, which really disappointed but motivated me. I taught myself how to tumble and worked on my jumps and got louder and sharper over the next year and made the squad in the eighth grade and have loved it ever since.”
Cheer coach Amber Collins has high praise for the senior-to-be.
“She’s a fantastic cheer leader. She’s a great tumbler, one of our flyers in stunts and is on-point with all of her cheers and motions. She is definitely the heart of our squad. This past year I’ve seen her go from being kind of reserved to becoming more confident in her thoughts and opinions and she will be a great leader this coming year for our squad, which has a lot of new people on it. She’s perky, always has a smile on her face at practice and goes the extra mile to encourage and help any of her teammates.”
Addie points to her mom as being one of the main motivators in her life.
“She’s always pushing me to be better and never give up.”
As a team leader this coming year, Addie will have to deal with a certain amount of drama that always seems to appear when you have a group of teenage girls but she says she’s ready.
“I think you have to go into these situations with compassion and care and not attack someone over a he-said-she-said comment and be open minded to hear everyone’s side.”
In addition to cheering, Addie is involved in Project Rise which deals with Choctaw culture and Gear Up which is scholarship and college focused.
“Although I enjoy game nights and stunts, I think my favorite part of cheer is the team dynamic and the sisterhood it creates.”
After this next year, Addie has her sights set on trying to cheer in college and has already made contact with Eastern State about their cheer squad.
