Sports Spotlight: Zaria Williams, Ocoee High cheer

As a four-year member of both the Ocoee High sideline and competitive cheer teams, Zaria Williams is a leader on the sidelines and on the mat for the Knights. After her senior year, Williams hopes to continue cheering — while studying nursing — at either Florida State University or Louisville.
 

When did you first get into cheerleading?

I first got into cheerleading when I was about 3 to 4 years old. Starting off, I didn’t know how to feel about it until I kept going along with it and learning more things. Then, I really started having a passion for it and never wanted to stop doing it.
 

What has kept you in cheer in for so long?

One thing I really love about it is meeting new people that come along each year and building friendships — the sisterhood we have and the teamwork to make things happen and to be successful. And we do a lot of difficult stunts, so just learning new things and making them work — it’s really cool to see how far we can go while doing it.
 

What’s your favorite part about cheer? Your least favorite part?

My favorite part about cheerleading is probably competing against other teams, and the most challenging part, I’d say, is competing with different teams. A lot of teams in our division, we go head-to-head. They’re looking for us, and they’re looking at videos like, “Oh what are they doing this season?” or “What can we do to top that?” It’s just really competitive, and to see who comes out in the end is just really exciting.
 

You’re on both the sideline cheer team and competitive cheer team. What would you say is the biggest difference?

The biggest difference, I would say, is the practices. They get really intense going into the competition season. Maybe it will add another extra day of practice or add a couple of hours just to get the routine down pat — sideline season isn’t that intense, and it’s more about the fans, too.
 

Do you have a favorite stunt that you like to do?

I’d probably say the pyramids, where we all get up and connect together, because it’s the big finisher right before we do the ending dance. It’s like, we get up, we connect together, we do a crazy spin or switch, and then we end it off on a good note, and that feeling is the best feeling ever.
 

Do you have a highlight moment from your time at Ocoee?

I wouldn’t say States 2018, but I would say States 2020. We won in 2018 and the next year, we came in second place, so it was kind of a beef for us. So what we were working on for season 2019-20, it was just like, we were going for it, because we were so beat from that second place by just a few points. It just felt like we were working so hard, and when we heard our names for first place, it was the best feeling ever.