Sports Spotlight: Alyssa DeVore, Legacy Charter cheer

A senior on the Legacy Charter cheer, soccer and softball teams, Alyssa DeVore keeps herself busy with her passion for sports. While her cheer season just ended last week, DeVore currently is prepping for the soccer season.
 

When did you first get into cheerleading?

My first years of cheerleading were actually on this field, and then I kind of got out of it. And then I moved to Legacy, and since sixth grade, I’ve been cheering for Legacy High School.
 

What has kept you in cheer for so long?

Just, honestly, (it’s) the football — I just love football, and I can get into games free. I just love watching the field and being on the field instead of being in the stands, because then I feel like I’m more “at” the game.
 

What has been the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself since you started cheering at Legacy?

Honestly, my confidence and my strength have changed a lot with my group. Between all of us, we have grown together, and I just feel like I have an extra family to talk to.
 

Do you have a highlight moment during your time at Legacy?

Probably when we’re at practices and we’ll just be doing stunts. Even at the football games, it’s just hype — the hype of the fans and the entire atmosphere is just amazing, in my opinion.
 

What is your favorite part about cheer? The hardest part?

My most favorite part is probably the games and the atmosphere that they have. Everyone is just coming together, even though we’re in the middle of the pandemic — everyone is still able to come and enjoy a game. Probably the most difficult thing is just stunting and learning new things … as a group you have to do it together, and if it’s not together, it’s a domino effect.
 

What has this last season of cheer been like during the pandemic?

It’s not as different as I thought it was going to be, because we got to practice indoors before it got more serious, in a way — we had a slight outbreak at our school, so we had to get tested and everything. They said, “You can’t practice indoors,” so we ended up having to come outside, which wasn’t much different. We had practices every day, and now we can only have them one day, but we’re honestly such a strong team that we are fine with it — it hasn’t really affected us as a team.
 

You play a few sports — including soccer and softball on top of cheer. Why play so many sports at one time?

I just like being active, and I honestly like making the friendships and family of each team, because each team is different. Cheer is different than soccer and softball — there are diverse groups, but here we’re all together, while in soccer we play with the guys.