HENDERSON CO, KY (WFIE) -
Friday, the national champion Henderson Colonelettes got some very good news. They'll be performing in front of thousands at next year's Sugar Bowl.
It's the news they needed after their coach was killed earlier this year.
This news comes at a good time for the team, who lost Assistant Coach Michelle Lewis Cotter just last month.
The team says they're sticking together and say the Sugar Bowl performance will help put HCHS on the map.
'Practice.' It's a word the Henderson County High School Colonelettes know well.
"On Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, we have conditioning from eight to nine in the morning," said senior Kelsey Frields.
"And then after that, we practice for two hours," sophomore Alyssa Hurm added.
The girls say that practice pays off. Earlier this year, the team won nationals, and now they're getting in shape for the Sugar Bowl, where they'll dance in front of a crowd of 75,000, along with other teams from across the nation.
"We'll get to learn from famous choreographers and be with the best of the best," Hurm said.
But fame aside, the girls say these experiences help make them such a close-knit team.
The news coming at a good time for the Colonelettes, after the death of Assistant Coach Michelle Lewis Cotter in May.
"They group text every day, just making sure the girls are great, making sure anybody needs anything," Varsity Coach Chelsie Hanley told 14 News.
Hanley says Sugar Bowl and Nationals costs for each girl around $2,300
"Michelle was the first to find those fundraisers to help the girls out," Hanley said.
The team even had car decals made, Hanley saying Coach Cotter will be with the team wherever they go.
The Sugar Bowl is January 2nd in New Orleans.
Coach Hanley says right now the team is getting ready for camp in Louisville, where they'll compete for a bid for nationals.
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The team says they're sticking together and say the Sugar Bowl performance will help put HCHS on the map.
