A new streaming series tells the story of a Philadelphia high school cheer squad
The series follows underdog George Washington High School students compete in the National Cheerleaders Association High School Nationals, the biggest cheer event anywhere.
Spirit, the docuseries on George Washington High School national cheerleading championship run, is now available for streaming on Peacock.
The four-part series follows the underdog team’s rise to become the first cheer squad from the School District of Philadelphia to compete in the National Cheerleaders Association High School Nationals, the biggest cheerleading event anywhere.
Produced by basketball star Steph Curry, the series had previously aired to limited audiences on Comcast’s Black Experience platform.
Directed by Philadelphia filmmaker and La Salle University alum, Matt Howley, who learned about the team through a 2022 Inquirer story, the series tracks the 15-person coed squad from its humble beginnings, including collecting change to scrape their way to the nationals.
The series delves into the trying home lives of students, like star player Adamaris Lopez, who competed while successfully fighting her father’s deportation.
“A lot of us come from poverty,” Lopez, who now studies nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, says in the first episode. “People don’t really expect us to come from low-income houses to win a national championship.”
Other players discuss traumatic home lives and the loss of loved ones from gun violence. Despite placing 10th in the nation, many of the George Washington students had no previous experience in cheerleading, a pricey sport where many children begin young.
“Matt did a tremendous job capturing the dynamic of the team and the individual stories,” said Coach Michelle Sorkin-Socki. “It really showed that it was more than just cheerleading. They were able to overcome their individual adversities. They found that power within each other.”
The team, which placed fourth in the nation this year, and has been to nationals now five years in a row, attended a ritzy red carpet premier of the series at the Franklin Institute last year.
Many of the players have moved onto college, but keep in contact about the film, said Sorkin-Socki.
“It’s bonded us,” she said.
All of it — the national rise, the series, the attention — has been surreal, said Sorkin-Socki.
“But I think the students felt heard,” she said. “I think they felt seen.”
The series has not only had an impact on the former players, the coach said. But on younger ones too.
“They know they can do great things,” she said. “Their trauma doesn’t define them.”