TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – They say the older you get, the more you realize your parents are always right.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom cheered, and she talked about that and how much fun she had with it,\u201d said Florida High senior Chyleigh Sheffield.<\/p>\n
So at the urging of her mom, Sheffield tried out for the cheer team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI pushed it away for a while, said I don\u2019t want to do cheer, my mom did cheer so I want to do something different, but I feel into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She fell in love with it. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she was in eighth grade, super shy, watching that come out of her has been awesome,\u201d said Florida High head cheerleading coach Kelly Parker. \u201cIt\u2019s why I like to coach, not just seeing them develop as athletes, but develop as people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI took one big step and it changed my whole life,\u201d added Sheffield. \u201cI know not to be scared to try new things. I learned how to be a harder worker, and what hard work can do for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the basketball court to the sideline at football games, it\u2019s competitive cheer that really brought Sheffield out of her shell, and all the time put in has helped lead them to a bid to nationals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very glad to be able to do that for my last year because I don\u2019t know what I would have felt like if we didn\u2019t have!\u201d<\/p>\n
The same commitment that got her to nationals has her near the top of her class, as Sheffield has a 4.39 GPA.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s one of the ones they look to for this is how we should be acting,\u201d said Parker. \u201cThis is how we should be behaving. If Kylie is doing this, we should probably be doing this too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust keeping a good balance of this is school, I have to do this and make sure this is right first,\u201d said Sheffield. \u201cBeing able to see that my grades are still as high as they are and I still do this so much, I\u2019ve been really proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
And proud of the person she\u2019s become along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s brought me so much, it\u2019s taught me so much, and I don\u2019t know where I would be without it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she wants to study psychology.<\/p>\n
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