When coaches Tabi Harding and Niki Sanders get together with their girls every year, the same message is sent: “We expect and demand excellence.”
For years, the Manchester Valley cheerleaders have followed through and so far, 2024-25 has been no different. After winning the Class 2A West Region title in the fall, the Mavericks finished second in the state. This winter, the winning ways continued as for the sixth straight time, the Mavericks took home the Carroll County title.
“We are super proud of the girls,” Sanders said. “Every year with winning comes more pressure and the girls handle it just fine. They come in and they work hard. That’s why we have the success that we have.”
After capturing the program’s first county title, the Mavericks have been on a tear. While some girls cheer in the fall but not the winter and vise versa, Harding and Sanders get to work right away, instilling the core values into everyone that enters their program.
“[Harding] knows everything there is about the sport,” Manchester Valley athletic director Elizabeth Padgett said. “Our cheerleaders are winners and she has built that program from the ground up. Around the school they have just as much prestige and respect as our girls lacrosse and field hockey programs.”
This year’s Mavericks squad was configured with an interesting dynamic from the start. The group only featured one senior in Lili Canby, a four-year member who has seen the excellence of the program and the effectiveness of her coaches firsthand even before she became a Maverick.
“They were my coaches in rec so I knew what to expect going in,” Canby said. “They push you and they know how to get the best out of you. We may get nervous before meets but we are always confident because we know, Coach Harding and Coach Sanders have prepared us and we’re ready to go out there and perform.”
Harding and Sanders put their trust not just in Canby, but in all their girls throughout the years and the success has put the program on the map. With several county and regional titles, multiple top-three state finishes, the Mavericks cheerleading program for years has been a force to be reckoned with.
“They expect you to want to be there because they want to be there,” Canby said. “If they see talent in you, they’re going to push you and it’s all coming from a place of love.”
With another county title earned, the Mavericks have been back to work, preparing for a run at another regional titles run that should surely end with them in contention for a state title in a loaded class.
Boosted by a return to the top of the county, the program now cemented amongst the county’s most dominant in any sport, is ready to take things to the next level. Regionals are scheduled for Wednesday a Harford Community College with the state championships coming on Feb. 11.
“We’ve already been through so much adversity, but we’ve been nothing but resilient,” Canby said. “We’re prepared to go out there, have fun, not stress and win.”
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