Ask a Maine high school cheering coach, and they’ll say a routine doesn’t feel like it truly has come together until the day of the state championships.

Coaches from Lewiston High, Biddeford, the Lisbon/St. Dom’s co-op and Ellsworth have teams that differ in numbers, skills and choreography, but the same holds true for each – the season starts with fundamentals and a group of coachable, hard-working cheerleaders.

Lewiston coach Matt Hanley, is in his sixth season, won regional and state championships last winter and placed fourth at the New Englands. Athletes who want to cheer at Lewiston start during the summer, at a private or NCAA camp, where Hanley begins making observations.

“You could have the most skills possible and not be a good teammate and not have that good energy, and that can really negatively effect a team,” Hanley said. “Lewiston looks for people who are positive, who are hard-working and are going to show up.”

At Ellsworth, coach Kat Archer said preparations ideally start the day after the state competition. Last year the Eagles were Class B champions, but she noticed an uptick in summer commitments with school, work and pre-college courses among Ellsworth athletes.

“We don’t start working on our winter season until tryouts, day one, which is usually the week before Thanksgiving,” Archer said. “We usually have about two days of tryouts, and then once we kind of have our team, we’re full speed ahead to work and build that routine to get us ready for our early January competitions.”

Biddeford cheering coach Kaitlyn Cote-Cadorette talks with her team during practice recently. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Biddeford’s second-year coach, Kaitlyn Cote-Cadorette, said the current team is different than years past. Cote-Cadorette graduated in 2008 from Thornton Academy, where she was on the school’s first team to go to states. Biddeford was a regular contender under Deb Lebel, now the assistant coach.

“Biddeford has such a great history. When I was high school, I think three out of my four years — and I’m a Thornton girl — I would have done anything to cheer at Biddeford because they were always amazing,” Cote-Cadorette said. “Three out of the four years, they won states while I was in high school and Deb Lebel is a cheering legend, so to replace her was such an honor.”

Now, Cote-Cadorette said the Tigers’ biggest challenge is keeping athletes on the team, whether due to grades, sickness or interest.

“First and foremost, the bull’s-eye, you have to be doing well in school,” Cote-Cadorette said. “Unfortunately that’s something we do struggle with, attendance and grades. (Academics is) No. 1 we have to look for.”

If athletes are meeting academic requirements, and willing to show up on time and ready to learn, Cote-Cadorette said she can teach them everything they need to know on the mat.

The Lisbon cheering team performs during a recent practice at the high school. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Nicole Adams is in her 12th season coaching the Lisbon/St. Dominic co-op team, the three-time defending Class C state champion, including Lisbon’s solo title in 2022 before the program added members from St. Dom’s. She said the team’s makeup is unique because there were no graduation losses after the last two titles. This season there are 21 athletes, generating stiff competition for a spot on the floor.

“This is going to be the first time I have seniors in three years, so this is definitely going to be one of those emotional years for us,” Adams said. “They’re three-time state champs. I know many people haven’t paid attention to that because we became a co-op in the middle of that, but they’re three-time state champs, so they know what it takes to get there.”

She said the routine starts to come together after a few halftimes at sporting events because performing in front of their peers is “10 times harder than taking a state floor.”

Cote-Cadorette said last season, she had to teach a base how to fly. Unlike other sports, she said it’s not as simple as a substitution to replace a cheerleader in a routine.

“When you do lose somebody, there’s not always just another person to replace them, especially when you’re talking about flyers, or even back spots,” Cote-Cadorette said. “To replace one of them, everyone’s position is so valuable, and it really is hard to just up and replace somebody when you’re limited on numbers.”

The Lewiston cheering team runs though a routine during practice at the Longley School in Lewiston. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

In Lewiston, Hanley said he’s able to rely on legacy.

“Lewiston has been so strong for such a long time, and the community just keeps rolling with it, and the skill progression keeps getting higher and higher,” Hanley said. “I’ve got kids (whose) moms cheered, and their moms cheered … so it’s that generational thing where I don’t have to specifically say you need x, y and z; it’s kind of known.”

All four coaches hire outside agencies to create a routine. Lisbon’s Adams said the highlight of a routine is the stunting and pyramid. This season several talented tumblers have joined the squad, so she plans to incorporate even more tumbling to coincide with stunts.

Archer relies on Ellsworth cheerleaders to add a personal touch.

“They always get excited during choreography to be like, ‘what can we add that’s just fun,’ ” Archer said. “It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t give us any points, it doesn’t do anything, but it’s just fun for them. I love that because it keeps the joy of the sport.”

Hanley wants people to recognize Lewiston for action-packed, high-energy, fast-paced tumbling, stunting and overall performing.

“Generally we are very fun to watch, we are very high energy, and we pack skills into the routine,” Hanley said. “We are a little bit faster paced, sometimes a little bit more sassy, instead of the more traditional, even though we’ve been trying to embrace the traditional side of cheering just a little bit more.”

Cote-Cadorette aims to bring back a move she remembers from when Biddeford was at the height of its program — ending the routine by laying on the floor.

“I always remembered they ended their routines on the ground, every year,” Cote-Cadorette said. “It was different but they always ended on the ground. Every single one of them, they weren’t in a stunt, they weren’t in a dance position. They landed on the floor.”