Bre Daley, Cheer and Basketball-

As the fall sports season comes to a close, junior Bre Daley prepares to turn in her pom-poms and head to the court, transitioning from her role as captain of the varsity cheer team to center on the girls varsity basketball team.

Daley is one of few three-sport varsity athletes at RHS, playing on the softball team in the spring as well. Though each season brings a new sport and set of skills to practice, one thing remains the same all year: her passion for being a leader and helping her teammates succeed. She credits this to her experiences cheerleading.

Daley has been cheering for 13 years, but only began playing basketball and softball in the seventh grade. She joined varsity cheer her freshman year and was promoted to co-captain her sophomore year, a position usually reserved for upperclassmen.

“Bre is a special case,” cheer coach Julie James said. “She knows what she’s doing and she’s an excellent leader. So [last year] the other captains asked if she could be a captain because even though she didn’t fit the guidelines, she had the skills needed.”

Daley’s love for the sport stems from when she was just three years old, sitting on the sidelines of her brother’s Rockville Football League (RFL) games, watching as the older girls cheered on the players.
“That’s what inspired me to pursue cheer,” Daley said. “I knew one day I wanted to be a cheerleader like them.”

She joined the Shockwave Allstars when she was nine, cheering with the travel team until her sophomore year. It was during this time that she developed the experience and leadership skills which she uses today in all three of her sports.

“At Shockwave you work individually on your skills and then put it all together in a team routine,” Daley said. “So I got to focus on myself and become a better cheerleader overall…but if I saw people goofing off, I’d try to steer them in the right direction so we all got better.”

Now as captain, Daley focuses less on her own skills and more on supporting the team. She helps plan new routines and leads the cheers at pep rallies and football games. At practices she makes suggestions to enhance her teammates’ technique. When performing lifts, Daley serves as a back, using her height to stabilize the flier.

“She’s someone I can go to,” James said. “Sometimes I see things in my mind but when I have the girls try it, they can’t quite grasp what I’m talking about, so Bre steps in and is like ‘okay this is what we’re doing and this is how we’re going to do it.’ She somehow is able to take my ideas and make it easy to understand.”

Daley plays an integral role on the cheer team, so when basketball season begins, James said she misses her leadership. But even though Daley isn’t technically a cheerleader anymore, she still serves as one, supporting her teammates and pushing them to try their hardest on the court.

Junior Jadiah Piatt played basketball with Daley last season and became her teammate on the cheer team this year as well. She sees just how many of Daley’s cheer and leadership skills transfer over to the basketball team in the winter.

“She’s really as much of a cheerleader on the basketball team, as she is on the cheer team,” Piatt said. “Even when she’s not in the game, she’s always on the sidelines making everyone stand up and yell and just bringing the whole team’s spirit up.”

Andrew Pace, Football and Basketball-

When senior Andrew Pace is not dodging bodies and scoring touchdowns as a receiver on the football field, he is crashing the boards as a power forward on the basketball court. Pace is a three-year varsity player for both teams and will soon enter his final basketball season coming off a division championship last year.

Influenced by his dad, Pace has been playing both basketball and football for 11 years. In addition to many seasons as a varsity player he has also played for outside teams.
“As soon as I got involved with both sports I fell in love with them,” Pace said. “I’ve played on seven different football teams and two different basketball teams.”

With Pace playing at competitive levels on both the Montgomery County Knights and Orange Alliance from a young age, he feels he was more prepared than other high school athletes.

“On the Montgomery County Knights football team, we competed for a national championship which prepared me for high school level football,” Pace said.

Pace quickly settled into his role on the football team, helping them to an improved 4-6 season after last year’s winless one.

“He is a very coachable player, and does everything we ask of him,” varsity head football coach Jason Lomax said. “Throughout the year he has gotten more and more mature and little by little he has taken on being one of the main leaders on our team.”

Pace’s numbers this year contributed to the Rams’ success as he pulled in over 20 receptions for over 300 yards and six touchdowns.

One of the best parts of Pace’s game are his high point skills, Lomax said. These skills focus on a player’s timing, specifically being able to catch the ball at the climax of the jump. At 6’3’’ and 180 pounds, Pace has been able to use his physical frame and athleticism to give himself an edge over his competition.
“He is really able to get up above his defender and catch the ball,” Lomax said.

With football season at its end, Pace is now gearing up for basketball season, hoping to build on last year’s success with his teammates, he said.

Despite a busy fall sports season, Pace has been preparing for his final year as a varsity basketball player by practicing an array of skills and mentally preparing for a season filled with expectations after winning the division title last year.

“Andrew does a little bit of everything on the court which I like. He defends, he rebounds, he can score for us; he is a smart player,” boys varsity basketball head coach Todd Dembroski said.
Pace’s teammates noted how they enjoy playing alongside him due to his dedication and work ethic on and off the field.

“[Pace is] an all around great athlete who can adapt to many different game scenarios,” football and basketball teammate Greg Blackwell said. “He stands out more on the football field, but is really a competitor and contributes in both sports.”