Dec. 7, 2024, was the proudest day of Amber Ogle’s 15-year coaching career, and it had nothing to do with both of her Total Sports Development cheer teams earning top-two medals in their competitions that day.
It had everything to do with how her vision for the cheerleading program embracing a family culture was coming to fruition, but not in a way she could have ever imagined.
Ogle, the co-founder and president of cheerleading at TSD, oversees the program’s two teams, TSD Rain and TSD Hurricane. TSD Rain, which includes 18 cheerleaders aged 8 to 12, is coached by Kaylee and Kendall McJunkins, while TSD Hurricane, composed of 18 cheerleaders aged 13 to 18, is coached by Rae-Lynn Hixon and Coral Ogle, Amber’s daughter.
Both teams competed at the Comp in the Swamp event at Decatur High School in Federal Way on Saturday, Dec. 7. TSD Rain earned a first-place medal for the third straight competition to start the season, while TSD Hurricane earned second place.
Each squad endured plenty of adversity during the competition. Amber Ogle got a call that morning that one of the TSD Rain cheerleaders received devastating news, but the cheerleader pushed through and competed with her team.
“All of our girls are extremely dedicated to our team, and they understand what it takes to be a family and be there for each other,” Kendall McJunkins said. “We all built her up in the situation that she was having and put a lot of positivity into her.”
That same day, the TSD Hurricane team wasn’t certain if it would even compete due to a flurry of unfortunate events. Their prepared dance had been adjusted in the weeks leading up to the competition, and they knew going into the event that one of their cheerleaders wouldn’t be there.
When the Hurricane cheerleaders were in the warm-up room, one of their flyers dropped and fractured her elbow. Another cheerleader decided she needed to leave. The coaches pondered dropping out of the competition or changing the entire routine with about 20 minutes before facing the judges. Athletes typically work through a new routine in weeks, not minutes.
Their cheerleaders, albeit emotionally affected by their teammates’ injury, passionately told their coaches that they wanted to go for it, so Hixon and Coral Ogle used every second possible to create a routine. They were given additional time and a bigger mat to put something together, and the time for awards was pushed back so the Hurricane squad could compete.
“We wanted to know how they were feeling, so I asked them, ‘Do we want to try to do this? I have a couple of ideas if you guys are willing to try,’” Hixon said. “Every single one of them spoke up and decided that they still wanted to compete because cheer is something we all love. I admire them all so much for that.”
The girls were inspired to perform for their injured teammate, and through the competition, they grew closer because of the emotional and physical rollercoaster they endured in Federal Way.
“I truly believe that after what happened, all of these girls are now finally understanding the true meaning of competitive cheer,” Coral Ogle said. “Stuff like this is so unfortunate, but the reality is that it happens a lot, so the fact that they could pull it off and even place second is really rewarding for us, but it’s also so rewarding for them.”
Amber Ogle said she was so proud of how not only her cheerleaders handled such a hectic day but how her young coaches, whom she handpicked, corralled the team and got them ready to compete in a limited amount of time.
“The reason that I was so proud was that the girls came together and wanted to do this for the girl who had gotten hurt and that they believed in not just themselves but each other,” she said. “It just proves how much of a family TSD is because we came together, we believed in each other and we did what we did because of the unity that we have.
“Being a director of this program, that’s exactly what I wanted. Obviously, you want to take trophies home, but when you see it all come together and the unity that you see right in front of you come together, like is exactly what I dreamt of,” Ogle continued. “This is the foundation that I was working for.”
The coaches can attest to the foundation that Ogle has built with the TSD cheerleading program and the culture she has quickly established.
“She is so supportive of everything that we do,” Kaylee McJunkins said. “She’s always by our side, and we wouldn’t be here without her. She gave us the opportunity to coach, which has been the biggest blessing for us.”
TSD Rain and TSD Hurricane will next compete at the Spirit of Northshore at Bothell High School on Saturday, Dec. 21, before the junior state competition on Sunday, Jan. 19, at Yelm High School.
