KIME AFTER KIME: Family a mainstay on Foundation Academy’s cheer team

For the Kime sisters — Erika, McKenna and Maria — Foundation Academy’s cheer squad is the best thing they ever decided to do together. 

“When we were all together, it was just so much fun,” McKenna Kime said. “It definitely brought out the worst of us at times but also the best of us other times. I got to be in the same stunt group as my sisters ... and I think that definitely grew us as teammates but also as sisters and there’s just so many memories. I can’t imagine what life would be like if we didn’t do that together because that was pretty much my whole high school experience with them.” 

Since the squad’s inception eight years ago, it has featured at least one Kime sibling. This year, the youngest — Erika  Kime — is a senior. 

SISTER ACT

Maria Kime, 21, started cheering for FA when she was in seventh grade, as one of the cheerleaders that formed the first Lions cheer squad.

“I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that there has always been a Kime sister on the cheer team for the last eight years,” she said. “But I hope we left a good legacy; I would like to think that we have.” 

McKenna Kime, 20, joined the team in 2017 and cheered with her older sister for three years. As the middle sister, she enjoyed the privilege of cheering with both her sisters. In 2020, all three were on the team at the same time.

“My sisters are my best friends — definitely,” she said. “In terms of cheer, I appreciated (our bond) more. Erika (is) a flyer, and I was a back spot, so I flew her. I just remember when I flew her, it was more of a bigger deal, because she was my sister, so that kind of made me realize how important it is when you are flying someone to be a strong base and catch the flyer. It helped me see that when you are flying someone, you are holding their lives in your hands.” 

When the time came for Erika Kime, 17, to join the squad, she knew she already would have two great mentors in her older sisters.

“I didn’t know a single thing about cheer,” she said. “So, they were great mentors but then also my sisters, so it also got kind of hard during the season. We would get frustrated with (one another) or have arguments. But, ultimately, it was really good to have their guidance.” 

For all three sisters, the best moment they experienced together was in the 2019-2020 season, when Foundation made it to the state finals for the first time.

Courtesy photo

“That was a special moment — getting to do it together and then getting state runner-up that year,” Erika Kime said. “That year was really crazy, because the program was really small, like we had never even been in a finals at states. So, it was really cool just sharing that pride with my sisters.”

The three sisters occupied different spots on the mat. Maria Kime was a base, McKenna Kime was a back spot, and Erika Kima continues to be a flyer. That gave them completely different perspectives of the same sport — just like being sisters means having different ways of showing their love to one another. 

“We are very much so the classic youngest, middle, oldest,” McKenna Kime said. “Maria definitely is always wanting to take care of us. She’d be the more worried one at practices when something went wrong — just kind of the first one to run over and make sure we are OK. She’s more nurturing in that way, but also she’s … blunt and to the point. Erika is the youngest child. … She has a crazy sense of humor and is always making us laugh and has high energy all the time.” 

“McKenna is very straight down to business, strong-willed; she just did what she was supposed to be doing,” Erika Kime said. 

THE KIME LEGACY

All three of the Kime sisters served as captains of the squad at some point in time. This year — with Erika Kime being a senior — will be the last year the Kimes will be on the mat representing the Lions. 

“I’m the last one standing,” Erika Kime said. “My goal is just to leave the same legacy that I know. Both of them were on the original too, so … they were both so passionate about (the team) and they made things happen. To be able to be one of the most awarded teams at our school but also one of the smallest programs, it shows … the progression of seeing how hard they worked not only for themselves but for the program, for their sisters and for their team.” 

Besides all the moments the Kime sisters lived on the mat, having one another through it all made everything extra special.

“I don’t think I would have spent nearly as much time with them in high school if I didn’t do cheer,” McKenna Kime said. “This was an opportunity to spend so much time together, because we all had to go to practice, so we automatically had to be around (one another), and I just saw them from a new light in the sense of learning how to understand (one another) and get their explanation for something. It made me appreciate their point of view more and just trust that they want what’s best for the team and I want what’s best for the team. So at the end of the day, we can come together and build (one another) up.”