Alexandra Saunders Submission Letter:

I started cheering for La Plata Blue Knights when I was five years old. My older sister had already cheered for three years, and my younger sister would cheer after me; it would be our family’s thing. Back then, I’m sure none of us knew how much it would really become our family’s thing. It’s been an amazing thirteen years since I started on Ankle biters, and my involvement, as well as my family’s, is still strong.  

It’s tough to pick just one memorable moment. There was Final Destination that we worked toward for months. I’ll never forget the glittery eye shadow we got to wear and the huge bruise I had in the middle of my cheek for weeks that spring. There are so many other competitions and homecomings and pep rallies, and even practices that come to mind when I’m thinking of the most memorable. Even small moments come to mind, like when my team was waiting in the hallway during a competition, and we all had our own hairspray cans, so we created a hairspray can game. If I included memories from my coaching experience, it’d be even more difficult.

In 7th Grade I started Junior Coaching with the Ankle biters, and I haven’t stopped since.  Seven years later, I’m back with the youngest girls, and though it’s been frustrating over the years like it is for any coach, I wouldn’t trade these teams for anything. I’ve grown so much through cheering and coaching, and there’s no way I would be as confident of a leader if I wasn’t involved in LPBK. This league taught me how to lead, and it has helped me with Student Government, Relay for Life, and the La Plata High School newspaper, The Gauntlet. LPBK also helped me become much more social, and it helped broaden the group of people that I normally would interact with as a child. I’ve met so many amazing people over the years that have had a huge impact on my life in the past, and that I hope will continue to have an impact in the years to come.

The La Plata Blue Knights has become my family, and there are so many moments and teams and people that I will never forget. It’s hard to say what LPBK means to me because it means so much. It means every fall I’ll meet all sorts of new people to add to my LPBK family; it means that no matter how the team does at competition, we’re still all coming in for a group hug and group pictures in the end; it means there’s no barrier between all the different types of girls on one team, and they all come together to bond. La Plata Blue Knights is an amazing organization, and I’m proud and honored to be a part of it.