Photo by Deb Gau Students act out a cheerleading scene during True Light Christian School’s upcoming spring musical practice. This year’s musical, “The Game Plan,” follows members of a youth soccer team who learn to trust God’s plans like they trust their coach’s instructions.

MARSHALL — It was getting close to performance time for students at True Light Christian School. The whole cast of the school’s spring musical were gathered together Monday afternoon to polish their singing and acting before a Wednesday matinee.

“We’re going to try to run through the whole thing,” choral director Sheri Sternke said to the kids on stage.

“It’s kind of exciting,” sixth- grade student Silas Malone said of acting in the play.

“It’s exciting, and it’s nerve-wracking,” Ayden Keen said.

True Light students will perform their spring musical, “The Game Plan,” this week. Performances will be at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday and at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

“The Game Plan” follows a group of young soccer players and cheerleaders as they get ready for a big game. The characters all come to trust God’s plans for them in different ways. For example, Malone portrays a star soccer player who learns he’ll have to listen to his coach and work together with his teammates more.

Of course, there are also plenty of musical numbers. Sixth grader Jaelyn Nawrocki said students started with learning songs before they started rehearsing the whole play.

“We had been practicing the music longer, but we’ve been acting for a month,” she said.

The girls playing members of the cheerleading squad also learned to use pompoms and form pyramids for the play’s opening and closing numbers. Nawrocki and fellow sixth-grader Mya Walerius said that was a challenge.

It could get “tiring” to hold up fellow cheerleaders on the top of the pyramid, Walerius said.

But sixth-graders said it was also fun to be the play’s main cast this year. Malone said he was looking forward to sharing God’s message with the audience.

Sternke said things were looking good by the end of Monday’s run-through.

“How do our actors and actresses feel?” she asked the kids.

“Pretty good!” students replied.