August 28, 2025
The Villages High School to Host Inaugural Local Competitive Cheerleading Competition
By Kyle Coppola
The Villages High School to Host Inaugural Local Competitive Cheerleading Competition
The Villages High School Cheerleading Program is set to make history this fall as it hosts its first-ever local competitive cheerleading event on Saturday, Nov. 22. The competition, to be held on the school’s campus, will welcome up to 40 teams from across Florida in a day-long showcase of athleticism, spirit, and school pride.
“We have invited every team in the state to attend,” says coach Stephanie Biegel, who teaches Math for Data and Finance and also serves as the leader for the school’s cheer program. “there are limitations to what we can host, as well as other competitions that may be happening the same day in other regions. We are setting our goal at welcoming about 40 teams this year as a stepping stone. I work along side two other amazing coaches, Amy Zimmerman who is also our HR coordinator, as well as Audrey Allen who comes in to coach our JV team.”
(The VHS Competition Cheer team is regarded as one of the best in the local area.)
The November competition will feature a range of divisions, including All-Girl Tumbling, Non-Tumbling Traditional, Coed, and Game Day categories. Registration now open via the program’s social media pages. The event will be divided into sessions by division to best highlight the skills and routines of each team.
Adding to the momentum, The Villages High School was also announced as the official host site for the FHSAA Region 2 Regional Competition, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 16.
(The Villages will host around 40 teams as the school hosts their first ever Competitive Cheer Competition.)
“We’re thrilled to have been selected to host Regionals,” says Coach Biegel. “We are even more excited to invite our region 2 schools to the local competition in November so that they can get a lay of the land, and be comfortable with the location so that on the day of regionals, all they have to worry about is putting their best routine on the mat!”
The announcements come on the heels of a standout summer for The Villages cheerleading program. The Varsity and Junior Varsity squads attended UCA Summer Camp at the University of Central Florida, where they earned numerous Superior routine ratings and saw 12 athletes named All-American Cheerleaders. The program also brought home the prestigious Leadership Award, voted on by fellow athletes at the camp.
“That award was especially meaningful,” says Coach Biegel. “It reflects our school’s core values and how our athletes carry themselves both on and off the mat. Out of approximately 28 teams, to be selected as the team others would want to join, that says a lot about our culture.”
In addition, athletes from the program had the chance to train with college-level coaches during a stunt clinic hosted by the University of South Florida’s All-Girl Cheerleading Team.
“We’re just so proud of our athletes, our supportive families, and the school community that has helped get us here,” says Coach Biegel.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
