Nov. 21 marked Katie Adler’s last game with a bit of style.

As a grand finale to Alder’s seven years spent as the Chelsea Youth Cheerleading squad’s coach, the team won first place in the mid-state regional competition and third place in state.

“They worked so hard and looked awesome,” Alder said.

The cheering squad includes girls from pre-K to sixth grade. About nine of them have been with Alder since she first began coaching, when they were in kindergarten or first grade.

Alder said she has had some great assistant coaches who have helped “show the girls their good examples… Hopefully, the girls have learned more than how to cheer. I pray that they have learned how to work together as a team.”

She will miss coaching them, she said, but hopes to stay a part of their lives from the sidelines. She added she is grateful to the parents for sharing their children’s lives.

“They have been true blessings,” she said.

Shelba Nivens can be reached by e–mail at ssnivens@bellsouth.net.