Apollo cheerleading finished out the season strong at the Universal Cheerleaders Association’s National High School Cheerleading Championship in an outpouring of support for Head Coach Wes Nall, grabbing a sixth-place finish and presenting tributes to honor Nall’s father who passed during their trip.
At the end of February the team arrived in Orlando, Florida, competing at the national competition with high hopes for some newfound success for the program.
“Coming out of the Covid years with quarantines and limited practice times, we made decisions early on to put ourselves in a position of success,” Nall said. “We set goals that we felt were attainable, but challenging. We wanted to advance to finals, and we wanted to place in the top-10. We set a lofty goal of a top-five finish, but we knew that would require a bit of luck to go along with our work.”
Apollo was coming off a state performance that didn’t go exactly how they wanted because of injuries and illnesses. However, it was their sixth straight year qualifying for state and they were hopeful to bounce back with more competitions ahead.
They were able to do just that, finishing sixth in large co-Ed non-tumbling and were a semi finalist in Super Game Day non-tumbling. With a team composed of a majority of cheerleaders that hadn’t competed on the national stage, Nall was thrilled with how they competed.
“I was very pleased with our performance,” Nall said. “We are a young, inexperienced team. We are about 60% freshmen and sophomores, and due to COVID, many of those young athletes had never competed at this level.”
Nall tipped his cap to his upperclassmen, saying that they really led by example and helped the program reach new heights as the season came to a close.
“My eight seniors took charge in the last couple of months,” Nall said. “They showed phenomenal leadership. They decided that they wanted to be the authors of their own final chapter. I gave them the tools to do it, and they put the plan into action by holding themselves and their teammates accountable.”
While Apollo was thrilled with their national accomplishments that were historic for the cheerleading program, it was bittersweet with the heartbreaking news that Nall’s father had passed as their time in the Sunshine State had come to an end.
“On our last day in Orlando, I received the phone call that my father had passed,” Nall said. “For the next week, through their senior night, his funeral services, etc, this team showed me how much I mean to them. 10-15 of them drove the 150 miles to attend the funeral or visitation of a man they had briefly met to support me. I hope every athlete that comes through my program recognizes that it’s about more than just skills and drills. They are part of my family.”
Nall’s father played a huge role in him becoming a cheerleading coach, teaching him and his brother Kyle a plethora of leadership traits such as compassion, sacrifice, hard work, discipline, and to finish what was started by how he led their family. Not to mention, he was his No. 1 fan in whatever it was he did.
“He coached me and my younger brother when we played sports growing up,” Nall said. “He was a huge supporter of anything my brother and I do. As an example, for the last few seasons, when the cheer team traveled to that area (Graves, Marshall, McCracken usually for football), he and my mother would meet us at a local restaurant and purchase a pre-game meal for the team. Due to his health, he wasn’t much of a traveler and lived 150 miles away, so he didn’t attend events. He was the first to ask how things went, the first to comment when I posted videos or accomplishments on Facebook.”
Nall said that his father always lived life to the fullest, encouraging people to chase their dreams like he did at the age of 40 by deciding to earn his teaching degree at Murray State University. He also was not afraid to share his opinion, but still make sure that if there was a disagreement that love was still there.
“He was never shy to give his opinion even when it differed from everyone else’s in the room,” Nall said. “However, a difference of opinion didn’t mean “we are no longer friends.” It simply meant, “I don’t agree, but I still love you.” He was a man of great faith, but a die hard traditionalist. He gave me the choice at about six years of age between being a UK basketball fan and a Cardinal baseball fan or being homeless. I like air conditioning and don’t like getting rained on, so UK basketball and St Louis baseball it was.”
Along with Apollo cheerleading’s win at nationals, team members made to honor Nall’s father on their senior night along with a barrage of messages from the whole team to let him know they were thinking of him. Nall was beyond thankful for the abundance of support and hopes that what the team did for him is something he will never forget.
“Those kids should have been celebrating their own successes,” Nall said. “Instead, they made the decision to send me support and messages of condolence. A couple of the seniors organized for them to wear ribbons in his honor on their senior night. They sacrificed what should have been their spotlight time to pay tribute to a man they had met but didn’t really know . It wasn’t just the kids, though. Many of the ones who traveled the 150 miles to dad’s funeral couldn’t drive. Their parents brought them. Those are things I may never be able to repay. That week was a roller coaster, but if they read this I want them to know how much it all meant.”
