South Cook News

At their Feb. 6 village board meeting, officials from Orland Park gave out three Community Pride awards to three different squads from the Orland Park Pioneers.

Mayor Keith Pekau spoke highly of the Pioneers cheer program and congratulated all of the girls for their achievements. The Orland Park Pioneers is a joint program for football, flag football and cheerleading. The city council had recently recognized the boys football teams for their success in the season, and councilman Brian Riorden commented that obviously the only reason the boys did well is because of the excellent cheer squads.

"As most of you probably know by now, I go way back with the Pioneers, all the way back to the very first game and the very first year," Pekau said. "My sister was a cheerleader as well so I go back all the way to the '70s with the Pioneers. All of the girls should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to do what [they] did."

The first squad to receive recognition was the lightweight cheer team, which is the youngest of all the teams. Second was the junior varsity team, followed finally by the varsity cheer squad. All three squads took first place in their division at the ICA State Cheer Championship this season. The village board recognized all the team members and awarded them with a plaque, reminding the girls to be proud but also to thank their parents and coaches for helping them reach such levels. 

The Pioneers are now open for registration for the 2023 season. It has free a cheer clinic open house March 4 for any interested athletes currently in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade. Registration closes on Feb. 25 for the clinic, which will teach the athletes some basic cheer moves and skills while introducing them and parents to the program.