The emergent Stomp and Shake team at Poplar Bluff Junior High participated in its very first camp with several other school systems, and wound up bringing home an award.

The PBJHS Stomp and Shake team, currently in its fourth year, won the coveted team spirit stick on Saturday, Sept. 26, during the Stomp N Shake Unity Team Camp at McCluer South-Berkley High School in St. Louis.

“We were the smallest and youngest school there,” declared LaRonda Mack, co-sponsor of the club. “We were up against high school students and a college!”

Mack, Junior High secretary, took over coaching the team after former cheerleading coach Brianna Jones founded it in 2023/24, with help from family and consumer science (FACS) teacher LaKeesha Higgs. Shelby Jefferson, social studies teacher, joined Mack last school year, and has sought opportunities for the club to enter the competitive circuit, though less common among rural districts.

“The award recognized PBJHS for their next-level spirit, elite sportsmanship, relentless hustle and positive attitude throughout a grueling day of training,” Jefferson reflected. “PBJHS is incredibly proud of each and every one of these student-athletes for representing the school with distinction, passion and unity!”

The camp workshop, hosted by Rhythm & Cheer based in Virginia Beach, featured a customized team choreography routine, skill development drills, team bonding activities, endurance challenges and one-on-one time with professionals, along with a clinic for coaches. The Junior High team has been invited to join in the organization’s St. Louis Cheer Jamboree Showcase next month. 

When Jefferson joined forces with Mack to assist with choreography, she said she "meshed together" her backgrounds with the PBHS Pom Squad and her sorority ties with Zeta Phi Beta at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. Jefferson describes the art form as a percussive, full-body performance involving heavy stomping and synchronized clapping to create a high-energy, call-and-response atmosphere.

Her father Andrew Jefferson, recently retired from the Wappapello Lake U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is credited with helping secure a sponsorship from First Midwest Bank to purchase official team jerseys. The team also led a fundraiser in advance of the school year to generate a budget for opportunities such as the recent camp.

With the mission statement: ‘Built on rhythm, driven by discipline, united as Mules,’ the Stomp and Shake team has performed during football and basketball games, as well as schoolwide assemblies. Pam Davis, Junior High principal, noted how her favorite part to witness is the synergy between the cheerleaders and stomp team. After completing a routine of their own, the cheerleaders turn their attention to the stands for the stomping to follow.

“We’re promoting the culture of Junior High with our little sections working in unison to tie it all together,” Davis commented. “They worked hard over the summer to get the kids conditioned, writing a social contract and vision, and I’m proud of them for taking that initiative—that leap of faith—to go to a big city like St. Louis, because it can be intimidating.”

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Cutline: PBJHS Stomp and Shake members (alphabetical order) Sara Boone, Jade Campbell, Ja’Mirah Hamilton, Keily Huskey, September McCoy, Lawnea Muirhead, Navaeh Pentecost, Emma Redcloud, Patricia Thigpen, Charleigh Vaughn and Carsyn Williams pose beside their coaches Shelby Jefferson and LaRonda Mack, and Rhythm & Cheer clinicians.