On Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, the Varsity Competition Cheerleading team became the 2023 Game Day Coed New Jersey state champions. This is the first time the Competition Cheerleading team at JFKMHS has ever won a state championship. 

The Competition Cheerleading team took the mats at Brookdale Community College around noon for their performance routine on Saturday and their game day routine on Sunday. 

Head Coach Ms. Szoke was also recognized by the NJCDCA on Saturday with the 2023 Coach’s Recognition Award. 

“I was definitely very excited,” Ms. Szoke said. “I was also a little bit shocked to find out that the kids wrote [recommendations for] me, but I was very honored because I didn’t think that I really deserved it.”

“I always try to make sure that they feel confident in themselves and I try to build them up even when things aren’t going so great,” Ms. Szoke explained. “Everyone has bad days and bad performances, so it’s just important for them to know how to bounce back. I think this weekend [at states] we did a really good job of that. We didn’t have a great performance on the first day, but we bounced back and leaned on each other. I think that says a lot about our team and the amount of resilience they actually do have.” 

Congratulations to the Competition Cheerleading team on this big win.