A Team of One: Georgia Wins First Place at the GFL Cheer Off

Written by Isabelle Bennington

Georgia had been cheering with the Gwinnett Football League (GFL) at Peachtree Ridge since kindergarten. But as she entered what was supposed to be her final season, her eighth-grade squad had dwindled from eight cheerleaders to just one: Georgia.

Although she was offered the opportunity to join the seventh-grade team, Georgia was determined to finish her eighth-grade season. So, she decided to continue cheering on her own.

And her determination paid off!

Competing as a team of one, Georgia earned first place at the annual GFL Cheer Off.

After years of cheering alongside her teammates, Georgia finished her final season in a way she likely never imagined. Her story highlights the dedication, perseverance, and love for cheerleading that can keep athletes going, even when their circumstances change.

Watch Georgia's story in the video below!

Editor's note: The featured image shows Cheer Professors contributor Isabelle Bennington during her own eighth-grade cheerleading season, not Georgia, and is purely for illustrative purposes.

Isabelle Bennington

Isabelle Bennington is a graduate student in Communication at The Ohio State University whose research interests center on cheerleading, gender, and media. A lifelong cheerleader and self-described cheer addict, she brings industry experience as an athlete, coach, and researcher to her work. Her paper, “Cheerleading, the Gendering of Sport, and How Femininity’s Historical Lack of Value Is Harming Athletes,” received the Elizabeth Meese Memorial Award in Research on Women. She is also a contributor to The Cheer Reader: Inside an American Institution, with her chapter, “For the Love of the Sport: An Insider’s View.”

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