Celebrate holiday cheer … literally

Youth cheerleading competition to be held Saturday in Bishop.

For the first time, the Mammoth Youth Football League (MYLF) Cheerleading competition will be held close enough for Mammoth residents to see their team in action. The event takes place Nov. 21 at Bishop Union High School, starting at 8 a.m.

Mammoth has three cheerleading divisions performing, up from last year’s two. Last year, both teams took first place. I know I sound like a proud (biased) parent when I say this, but really, there was Mammoth … and then there was everyone else. Mammoth was flawless, polished to the next level and totally owned the mat.

There’s a reason for this. It’s their coach, Amber Dessert. Amber has been coaching my daughter Maureen for four years. There wasn’t much of a team when Amber took over that same first year my daughter started. As a single mother in her early twenties Amber was bringing her then one year old son to practices. After a long full day at work she was teaching a group of 5, 6 and 7 year old girls choreographed cheers and dances with baby on hip, completely as a volunteer. The same group of girls have stayed with her over the years and countless volunteer hours have been invested since then. Her son is well loved by the cheerleaders. He runs around and joins in the cheers, even during games. They’ve become like family.

Amber is as tough on her girls as any of the football coaches, yet the respect and commitment she has elicited is the hallmark sign of a truly great coach. And a truly great coach will bring out the highest and greatest potential in each of their athletes. That is what you will see at their performance, not just a few shining stars but every member of the team nailing their performance.

The girls too deserve high credit. Cheerleading is not for sissies. It is physically and emotionally challenging. As competition approaches, the pressure is mounting. Last year, my daughter would sometimes be in tears after practice. I asked her on the way home from winning first place at competition last year if she would rather have a softie coach that didn’t push or a tough coach like Amber. Maureen chose Amber.

Amber has built the team’s confidence, not by false praise and constant encouragement, but by demanding results. Her D2 “flyers,” little Analyse and Jovita, can perform stunts that the other teams will not even attempt. Jovita can do it as well. The flyer for D3, Estefania, is also exceptional in her stunting and sure to wow. D1 flyer Michelle is a natural, while the girls at the base are super strong and fearless.

“Keep the Faith” is the team’s rallying cry. As Amber often tells them, “Be the best, regardless of outcome.”

Regardless of how the girls perform, expect to see a lot of tears at the end of Saturday’s competition. This is because Amber Dessert is stepping down as cheer coach and moving to Huntington Beach to join her boyfriend, who moved south in June. She has remained here to fulfill her commitment to her teams for this season.

Amber told The Sheet this week about her family’s involvement in MYFL (Dad Curt coaches football and Mom Therese is league president).

As she recalls, her brother Jesse, then 7 at the time, came out for MYFL four years ago. Curt saw that no one was really in charge so he just stepped in. “Dad wasn’t a player in high school,” said Amber. “He literally went home after that first practice and spent hours researching how to be a football coach.”

Following her father’s lead, Amber wandered over to cheerleading practice and pretty much did the same thing. “There was a program,” she says, “Just no coaches behind it.”

Amber says her parents are looking to hand over the MYFL reins soon, as Jesse only has two years left.

Keeping MYFL going will always require new faces to step forward.

The gap between the available resources and the ongoing financial costs is a constant challenge.

Parents too have become more reluctant to allow their child to play tackle football at a young age. This leaves the team with barely enough players. Parental concerns are not without reason. The last game of the season was played in Trona, which has a dirt field.

Youth football players are impressive in their dedication, hard work and courage. Most do not come from privileged backgrounds. They know how to take a hard hit and impressively, get back up and keep going. The risks of football are balanced by the lessons and the rewards, just like anything else in life. Just like the cheerleaders, the football players are bonded more tightly through their shared experience of triumph and strife. Football is unique in that way.

Due to the challenges described above, it is entirely possible this is the last year for MYFL. Without a football team, there will be no one to cheer for, so no cheerleading either. I very much hope to see it continue, because it is a family for the same kids who have been a part of it for years. MYFL has been very fortunate to have the Dessert family keep it going for so long.