Exemplification Essay: How Cheerleading Is A Sport

Cheerleader: a person who is a member of a group (typically a group of young women) who shouts out special songs or chants to encourage the team and entertain the crowd during a game in sports like American football and basketball (Merriam-Webster). In the beginning, cheerleaders did what they were known to do. They lead cheers, with spirit and megaphones, for the crowd to follow. Then, as time went on, cheerleading evolved into co-ed teams, high-flying stunts, which brought about how cheerleaders are perceived today. In the past ten to fifteen years, cheerleading has grown with the number of people who participate and the quality of how they perform their skills. Cheerleading is a sport based on the physical and mental strength the athletes

have to have.

For those who see what cheerleaders do today, but don’t understand it, they may not see it as a sport just yet. They see what the athletes can do, but don’t see it as what it should be. They like to say that cheerleaders do not engage in enough competitions for it to become a sport. Alyssa Roenigk, senior writer for ESPN and former University of Florida cheerleader states, “If cheerleading squads began practicing and competing enough to satisfy those requirements, they would be forced to drastically scale back the number of games at which they cheer. Or stop cheering at games entirely. The minute that happens, rest in peace, cheerleading.” It shouldn’t matter how much an athlete competes. However, what should make it a sport is the skills they perform and in the setting they perform them. “The competition at high school and collegiate national championships -- some of which are aired on ESPN -- is incredible, but these events take place only once per year,” continues Roenigk. Just because competitions are televised once a year does not prove that it is not a sport. There are many competitions throughout the year that the athletes can attend. As a result, an athletic competition is an event that shouldn't have to be constantly watched, through technology or in person, for someone to determine its worthiness as a sport.

There are many sports that are known and acknowledged worldwide by organizations.

There are organizations for the sports at a national level as well. However, there are certain sports that have not been accepted into these organizations. Scott Hensley, writer for NPR.org states. “The NCAA hasn't recognized cheerleading as a competitive sport. Last August, a federal appeals court ruled that Quinnipiac College in Connecticut couldn't count cheerleading as a sport under Title IX as a way to offset disbanding women's volleyball.” If a national organization can not recognize a sport without wanting to affect another sport, then maybe it should be working on strengthening the program. By accepting a sport to a national organization, it can help the sport by giving it more recognition that it deserves. “Obviously I would absolutely love to see cheerleading in the Olympic Games, it would be the best kind of publicity that a sport could receive, but as it stands, I'm not sure that it is developed on an international scale to the extent that enough countries would truly be able to represent cheerleading at the highest level.”(Argent pg.3, paragraph 3). To have cheerleading in the Olympics would be a major boost in pushing the image of the sport. This would result in the public acknowledging the skills and strength that the athletes possess. By doing so, the backing of the sport will increase and could gain more recognition from national and worldwide

organizations.

The ability to ascertain a person’s skill level can result in a significant amount of stress. Another contributing factor of stress is the capacity to perform tasks at a varying degree of difficulty. To accomplish the tasks at hand can affect stress and ability levels and change daily schedules. From an athletic perspective, stress and testing abilities are often major setbacks. These setbacks can be associated with mental blocks. In a blog made about mental blocks, it was explained that, “Psychotherapist Richard Schaub, PhD. suggests that the mental block is a fear that is born from your innate love of life and the resulting hyper-vigilance to protect all that you love. Cheerleader translation: You love the sport and life so much that you may over-think, overact, over-react, or become downright anxious to protect any perceived threat to all that you love. You’re scared. So you begin to play it safe.”(WoCalvo and Kulberg, paragraph 1) By over-thinking a skill or over-reacting, an athlete can become so nervous that it hinders the capability of performing this skill. Even though they have done it many times before, they are still scared of failing. Also encouraged in the blog it was urged to, “Use your fear the right way. Allow your mental block to spark questions for you, or increase your physical strength and energy in a positive way.” (WoCalvo and Kulberg, paragraph 4) By using your fear the right way(s), the athlete can build up their confidence to allow themselves to once again perform the skill. Once you start performing the skill, you can continue until you move onto the next. Having a mental block can be challenging for an athlete however, it can have a positive outcome if utilized in the right ways.

Not only is the mental strength of an athlete tested, but the actual strength and flexibility of an athlete is challenged as well. When using both strength and flexibility, this can challenge the form of the skill being performed. Tumbling, whether it be individual or as a team strength, flexibility and form all play an important part in cheerleading. “Cheerleading injury is caused by the high demands to the musculoskeletal system with its gymnastic-like maneuvers and potential to fall from a height or collide with team members.” (Bangulo pg. 4, paragraph 4) With the gymnastic-like movements, it can be hard to keep your form without tumbling into others. Without strength and flexibility, form can be easily lost. When tumbling, it is important to keep form with flexibility and use strength to execute the skill correctly. “Learning how to control the movements while maintaining momentum requires strength and form. Furthermore, a solid technique can allow for teams to synchronize tumbling skills in routines.” (Peterson, paragraph 5) Keeping technique while tumbling can be a challenge, especially with more than one person being involved in a routine. If one person is ahead or behind count it can cause collisions with other tumblers or stunts. It is important for tumblers to keep their form with flexibility and use their strength to complete their pass.

The practice and training an athlete commits to directly contributes to the quality of their performance. If an athlete chooses to work hard and uses constructive criticism effectively, they can improve and perform well. If an athlete chooses to do the opposite, they will not improve and their performance will not be as successful. The amount of practice and training a cheerleader puts in contributes to their performances. In a journal of a Canadian chiropractic association, it was exclaimed that, “One theory that has been investigated in other sports is the landing technique of female athletes. Landing patterns affect how the body absorbs energy and force”(Bagnulo, paragraph 5) If an athlete absorbs too much energy or force it can affect how the athlete performs. By absorbing too much force and practicing too much can result in injuries that can affect the performance. As a result, the athlete can experience exhaustion that pushes them to the point where they no longer have the energy to perform. In an interview done by the writer with Coach Peterson, it was mentioned that, “Both stunting and tumbling also require lots of training to develop technique to avoid injury, perfect skills, and improve skills already learned.”(Peterson, paragraph 3) The amount of training an athlete consumes can greatly affect their performance, either positively or negatively. Too much practice could cause injury. However, practice is necessary to perfect and improve the skills that make the routines more clean and polished. It is necessary to find a proper balance between the amount and degree of training, while not exerting too much pressure on the body.

Injuries throughout sports impact how skills are performed especially with a harmful mass. Sport related trauma, in cheerleading can be associated with a heavy amount of weight. Due to this weight, and if a skill or stunt is not being performed right can cause injury to the athlete(s). In a narrative review about cheerleading, the following was provided, “ Cases found in the literature include splenic rupture in a 16-year-old female from being tossed in the air and caught; coxa saltans/snapping hip syndrome in a 16-year-old high school cheerleader due to overuse from twisting maneuvers of the hip; bilateral ganglion cysts and triangular fibrocartilage tears in a 19-year-old cheerleader that developed gradually over four years from ulnar abutment syndrome; and a 17-year-old cheerleader who sustained bilateral ACL tears on an awkward drop landing.” (Bagnulo, page 6, paragraph 3). Although injures can be caused without a mass, the most severe are when a mass is involved. Injuries can occur if or when an athlete doesn't complete a stunt or skill the proper way.“At Children’s Hospital Colorado, we recognize that cheerleading has evolved into an activity requiring more athleticism and high-level skills than ever. Gymnastic moves now frequently replace previous cheerleading styles, and the difficulty of stunts has led to an increase in cheerleading-related injuries.”(Children’s Hospital Colorado Orthopedics Institute, paragraph 2) Due to the level of difficulty increasing, the amount of injuries have also increased. The level at which cheerleaders perform now can be more exhausting on the body. This could also cause injury if the athlete is not properly training with the skills or at the correct level. “The new policy means the AMA supports having appropriate accrediting bodies declare cheerleading a sport, and supports better safety measures including avoiding inappropriate surfaces when performing flips and other stunts and following rules for properly performing stunts.” (Tanner, paragraph 5) The American Medical Association supports cheerleading as a sport. They also support acquiring higher level safety measures for the athletes. These safety measures would help reduce injury in cheerleaders. “AMA members say cheerleading is as rigorous as many other activities that high schools and the NCAA consider sports. Adding it to the list would mean more safety measures for cheerleaders and proper training for their coaches.” (Tanner, paragraph 1) By advancing safety throughout the sport, it could not only reduce injury, but also help the sport gain more recognition. Proper training for coaches would increase the level at which the athletes are taught and the knowledge of how to properly perform a sill.

Cheerleading itself has grown into, not only a sport, but for some a way of life. The amount of training and preparing cheerleaders do can affect their daily schedule. Throughout time, cheerleaders have become more commonly know for what they can do, not what they can yell. Due to this, the amount of hard work, practice, and strength (mentally and physically) has increased. The amount of work and training the athlete puts in can affect how physically and mentally stable they are. If an athlete is not able to perform with strength, they will not be able to perform at all. Strength both mentally and physically is very important to a cheerleader. Without it, they would not be able to perform at the skill level today.