CountyLine Magazine

Flames team member,Katie Harwell, practicingher cheer.Three Cheersfor theFlamestext and photography by Leah JordanPublisher’s Note: Leah Jordan is a rising sophomore,studying Journalism at Georgia State University.It’s a Friday evening, but rising seniors Christine Rueger and Kristen Hopper aren’t taking a breakfrom a week’s hard work. The two South Forsyth High School students are in the gym at FirstRedeemer Church coaching a cheerleading practice for young girls with special needs. Christineand Kristen put their idea for the Flames cheerleading team into action in January 2011. “We’vealways gone to the Special Olympics and wanted to do more. We thought cheerleading would besomething fun for little girls,” Kristen said. With a lot of work and motivation, the girls’ dreamcame to life. Once a special education teacher at South Forsyth sent an email to every other specialeducation teacher in the county, the First Redeemer Flames special needs cheerleading teamwas born through word of mouth, informational fliers and a lot of support from the community.Christine Rueger, Cheryl and Kristen HopperKristen’s mother, Cheryl Hopper, is the head coach, parent supervisorand point of contact for the team. She’s proud of her daughterKristen and her friend Christine for what they have achieved. “Therewould be no Flames if Kristen didn’t come to me and say, ‘wouldn’tit be great?’ I wanted to support her.” Technically, Cheryl is involvedwith the Flames because an adult leader is required, but her truemotivation is the help she wants to give her daughter Kristen andfriend Christine to pursue their passion in working with special needschildren. Cheryl discovered Kristen’s passion one day when she camehome from school with details of the special needs class she helped.“I was proud of Kristen for her work and accomplishments but did notunderstand her joy,” Cheryl said. “At the first practice, I did.”The time commitment from the coaches shows how dedicated they are to the team. Despite theamount of time they spend constantly planning practices, working with the girls and perfectingdetails, it is something the coaches truly enjoy. “This is my favorite thing to do,” Kristen said.Their efforts have visibly paid off—the program has grown and the Flames have gone from sevento ten girls this season. The two young coaches have had a plethora of rewarding experiences26CountyLine | July 2012 | www.CountyLineMagazine.net