East Student Athlete of the Week: Morgan Kaylor

This week we are tumbling into a cheerful Athlete of the Week; Varsity cheerleader Morgan Kaylor. Kaylor was recognized by her coach Emily Clements for her exemplary display of the E.A.S.T principles (Excellence, Academics, Spirit, and Tradition).

Morgan has been cheering since she was 10 years old and started at ICE Allstars in Naperville. She now continues to develop her passion for cheer through the high school sideline and competition seasons.

Emily Clements, a teacher here at East and the Cheer head coach views Morgan as the epitome of a dedicated athlete.

“She’s really punctual. She’s one of the first people there all the time. She’s very positive, and she’s a very lead-by-example athlete. So she always comes ready to work with a positive attitude and just ready to do what is best for the team,” Clements said.

Knowing Kaylor’s qualities, she was an obvious choice as athlete of the week for not only her coach but also her parents, Stephanie and Shawn Kaylor.

“Morgan takes every practice seriously to prepare for competitions with the goal of the team performing their best and succeeding,” her parents said. “Morgan is very hardworking and always has a positive attitude. She’s also a great leader and caring person who balances her time very well.”

Morgan’s parents are very proud of their daughter’s accomplishments since she began cheering. Competitive cheerleading has developed Kaylor in more ways than one and shown her the importance of commitment, perseverance, and most importantly, teamwork.

This season has been off to an amazing start for the East cheer team, no doubt because of their hard work and school spirit. At their recent sectional competition, they even qualified for state. With state approaching soon, the girls are working hard in practice to ensure they’re all prepared to give their best performance.

“We’re just practicing a lot, and we all keep making sure that we’re focusing on ourselves and we’re not focusing on the teams we’re competing against,” Kaylor said.

Clements especially ensures her team is well prepared for these high-stakes competitions by making their practice environment as similar to a competition day as possible. This makes a big difference for the team by taking away the comfort of practice to keep them sharp for when the judges are watching.

“The Fridays before competitions, we have a morning practice, and we run a full out with full warm-ups, like we would for a competition, just to get them in the mindset of what it would feel like, timing-wise, of warming up at the same pace that they would at the competition,” Clements said.

Making it to state has been a main goal for the cheer team throughout this season. Now that they have achieved that goal Kaylor is looking forward to competing with her teammates for what could be the last time.

“At state, I’m looking forward to just bonding with my girls and having a good time,” Kaylor said. “It’s exciting knowing that we achieved our goal for the season.”

While the girls have been working tirelessly at practices to make it to state Morgan has been a great example for her teammates. Her coaches recognize Kaylor’s positive mindset and see how many of her teammates respect and look up to her.

“She’s a super big team player, and a lot of people respect her opinions, because she’s very knowledgeable about what she’s talking about in regards to cheer,” Clements said. “A lot of people look up to her for her positivity and her skill and overall look up to her as a teammate.”

Morgan’s parents also recognize her positive attitude and natural born leadership. They have seen how she’s been a leader by volunteering around the community as well.

“She has enjoyed getting involved in the school’s community by volunteering as a Wolves 101 leader, freshman seminar leader and in the college & career center,” her parents said.

Kaylor’s parents credit her for being determined to succeed in whatever she puts her mind to, a trait also recognized by her coaches. Her parents can’t wait to see how this drive helps her in the future as she pursues a major in Pharmacy.

Written by Seniors Devin Hatch and Jordan Fikis, along with Junior Allie Heren. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.