January 24, 2025
Villages Charter High School Competition Cheer Team Rises as Competitive Powerhouse
By Kyle Coppola
Villages Charter High School Competition Cheer Team Rises as Competitive Powerhouse
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — The Villages Charter High School Competition Cheer Team has quickly emerged as a rising program in Florida’s competitive cheerleading landscape. Under the leadership of coaches Amy Zimmerman and Stephanie Biegel, the program has flourished in just four short years since its inception in 2021.
The cheer program, a relatively new addition to the school’s athletic offerings, has grown into a cornerstone of school spirit and community pride. “It has been an amazing experience to build this program from the ground up,” said Zimmerman. “We’ve worked hard to raise awareness about what competitive cheerleading truly entails, while fostering a supportive environment for our athletes.”
(The VHS Competition Cheer Team. Photo Credit – Debra Snyder.)
This season, the team reached a major milestone, competing in its first-ever Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) regional competition and earning a third-place finish in their division. This achievement was a big success for VHS Competition Cheer and is encouraging as they continue to find success. The team is preparing to tackle state and regional competitions, as well as events hosted on college campuses to give their athletes a taste of the next level.
VHS Competition Cheer juniors. Photos Credit – Debra Snyder.)
Beyond competition, the program has prioritized developing its athletes through youth camps, clinics, and foundational training in stunting, tumbling, jumps, and crowd-leading techniques. These initiatives have created a pipeline for future talent which will lead VHS Comp Cheer into next half of the 2020s.
The team remains a vibrant presence on the sidelines, supporting the Buffalo Nation during football and basketball games year-round. Looking ahead to the 2025-26 competitive season, Zimmerman and Biegel are focused on elevating the program’s difficulty in stunting and tumbling. “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished so far,” said Biegel. “But we’re even more excited about what’s to come as we continue to grow and represent our school and community.”
(Only in the teams fourth year, VHS Competition Cheer continues to improve every year. Photo Credit – VHS Comp Cheer.)
We are incredibly proud of the Cheer programs in Lake & Sumter County. They all do an amazing job representing their schools. They are passionate and a sporting event just doesn’t feel the same without them. We wish the VHS Competition Team continued success as well as all our cheer programs in the area.
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.
