Savanna Derrick poses alongside friends, and teammates Sadie Eddy (left) and Camryn (right) during their time together on the Wallace State Cheer Team.

Savanna Derrick has been involved with cheerleading almost as long as she can remember, but it wasn’t until her time at Wallace State Community College when she met two teammates, who would go on to become her best friends, that the Good Hope High School graduate fell in love with the sport.

Derrick began participating in gymnastics as early as 3 years old, and when she became old enough to join the Good Hope Youth Cheerleading team she recalls that it was simply on a whim. But her interest and natural capabilities never waned and the passing decision to participate in cheer as a child has given Derrick the opportunities to compete at the collegiate level.

“All through high school I knew I wanted to cheer in college, and I worked super hard my senior year, going to private tumble practices [one on one coaching sessions focusing on more advanced cheerleading techniques] on top of my school work,” Derrick says.

That extra work paid off, landing Derrick a position on the WSCC cheerleading team. It was here that she met Camryn Behel and Sadie Eddy (a Hanceville High School graduate); the two teammates with who Derrick would quickly form an unbreakable bond.

“I had been cheering forever, but really it wasn’t until I got to Wallace that I really fell in love with it. Having those friendships is what really makes it all worthwhile,” Derrick says.

However the trio would only spend one year together on the WSCC Lions squad. With Eddy and Behel having already been in their second year by the time Derrick joined them, her newfound friends‘ time at the junior college level was coming to a close.

Despite their separation the following year still proved to be a fruitful one for all three girls. Behel joined the UAB cheer team, Eddy continued on to the University of West Georgia where she competed in and won the NCA College Nationals competition. Derrick remained at Wallace where she was promoted to captain of her team there.

Amidst all of their individual triumphs, Derrick’s separation from her friends only strengthened their bond.

“We all talked every day and we absolutely hated being apart from each other. So originally I was planning on going to West Georgia with Sadie, but after talking it over more and talking with Camryn, we decided that we would try out for UAB instead so that all three of us could be back together,” Derrick says.

With the reunion planned for UAB’s April tryouts, there was one final obstacle that Derrick would need to overcome. As Derrick had stated before, the entire year leading up to her first collegiate tryout was spent vigorously training. This would not be the case as she planned for her advance to the next level.

A broken ankle in December left Derrick unable to train or workout in any capacity all the way up until her tryouts.

“I was seriously stressed out the entire time. I couldn’t do anything all the way until April. was in a cast at first and then a boot, and I didn’t get out of the boot until about a week before the tryouts,” Derrick says.

Whether it was all of the years since her childhood spent participating in the sport, or an unwavering drive to compete alongside her best friends once more, Derrick’s months spent worrying were without merit, as she recalls her first attempt at a standing tuck since before her injury was successful during her tryouts and landed her (as well as Eddy) a position on the 2023 UAB Cheer Team.

Being reunited with her friends has been exactly as Derrick had hoped it would be. Though Derrick says the competition at this level is more intense than her previous endeavors.

“They are throwing some really crazy skills here, and the training is a lot more intense. We have workouts in the morning, and then we will run the stadium everyday before we have 5 o’clock practice,” Derrick says.

But just like her time at WSCC, the time that Derrick is able to spend with her best friends in their shared home off-campus is making easy work of the challenges that come with competing at this level. In fact, the advanced skills of her teammates has instilled a stronger drive to become better herself.

“Everyone on the team wants to be there and puts in the effort and wants to be good. The coach is awesome and really cares about everyone on the team. We are really competitive, like if I see someone land something then I really want to land that same thing. The thing is that everyone here is good and they want to be good, I think that’s one thing that makes us all better,” Derrick says.

Having been unable to compete in any national competitions while at WSCC due to injuries (most recently Derrick’s and the previous year a teammate’s) Derrick is ready to showcase the talent of her new team both at home and nationally.

“I’m really ready for a football game, like a District 1 school football game. I’m also really excited to compete, I haven’t been able to go to nationals since I was at Good Hope and Sadie thinks that we have a really good shot of winning this year based on what she saw last year,”

For the time being though, Derrick is focusing on her practices, her friends and her summer courses. However, even there the sport that she began on a whim during elementary school is guiding her farther towards her future.

“I’m majoring in education and specializing in special education. I want to become a teacher, but what I’d really love to do is be a high school cheer coach. My dream is to take a high school team to nationals one day. I just love to compete and I want to win,” Derrick says.