One of the best parts of going to Ilwaco basketball and football games is seeing the cheerleading team and in particular the great athleticism of Sadie Newell.

I noticed she wasn’t cheering at the football game last Friday and asked where she was, only to find out that she had been asked to step down by her cheer coach, the vice principal and AD. I don’t know the circumstances, but I am having a difficult time understanding how someone who has represented IHS for four years as an outstanding student and athlete would be subject to this kind of treatment in her senior year. I have a hard time envisioning any behavior by the star quarterback or starting forward that would yield them a similar invitation to “step down.”

I have observed Sadie as a cheerleader, a friend and a gymnastics teacher for my sons. I have never seen her be anything but respectful and kind to everyone she meets, not just a select circle of friends. My sons look up to her as a positive role model, and she has invited them to feel very valued and special as her students and friends.

It is our job as adults to encourage students and support them in their strengths, not compete with them and put them down. I wonder if we would be asking the cheerleading coach and vice principal to “step down” from their positions if they held themselves to the same standard they are holding Sadie to?

I think Sadie should step back into the game and we should be looking for a cheerleading coach that can support and encourage talent, rather than be threatened by it.

Sherry Berteaux

Ilwaco