When I was ten, my dad took me to a high school football game to watch a friend of ours. The first thing I noticed was the cheerleaders. They were loud and proud to be there and support their school. They showed no shame, and I turned to my dad and said, “One day I’m going to be a high school cheerleader.” That dream came true in April of 2016. As I walked into the first practice, I was so nervous to finally be there. I met my new squad members, and we immediately clicked and started talking about our summer camp. We practiced and waited for it to roll around, and when it finally did, we enjoyed every moment. As we worked together and supported each other, we earned ribbons, got a bid to Florida, and grew closer together than ever before. At
camp we learned many different dances, cheers, chants, and routines to help us throughout the season. After each day of our three-day camp, we could perform for a chance to earn a ribbon. They were three different types of ribbons. One was the gold ribbon, which was the one everyone wanted. It meant that the team did very well on their performance and did not have to go twice. The second one was the blue one; this one meant that you did very well, the performance was good, but had to be performed twice. The last ribbon was the red ribbon; this one meant that the performance was good, but needed work. My team loved to strive for the gold ribbon, and even though we did not always get one, we used this motivation to push ourselves harder. Along with earing ribbons, we could also strive for a Florida bid. This bid included tickets to stay at Disney World resort hotel and cheer at the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl pre-game show. It was a big deal to get this bid, so we pushed and pushed ourselves to try to win this. We practiced in our rooms at night and worked hard at camp during the day. When the last day finally rolled around and we had to perform our routine for the final time, we gave it our all. We ended up getting the bid, and even though some of us could not go to Florida, we felt accomplished because we came together and won. Most of the girls on the cheer squad did not know each other. We all came from different schools and were strangers to each other. We started to slowly get to know each other during practices over the summer, but nothing brought us closer than camp. We had to room with someone, and we all decided to room with someone we did not know. This helped us really get to know the other person. Also, the squad had to spend more than eight hours a day together, so we learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses. If it was not for this experience, I do not think our squad would be as close and supportive as it is. I was very thankful for this chance to become closer to my squad. That football game was freezing. I could not believe they were standing there cheering while I was sitting under three blankets and drinking a hot chocolate. I was glad I stayed to watch the whole game because the experience made me want to be a high school cheerleader. If I never joined, then I would never have gotten to know a talented group of girls, and a trip to Florida and I would not have gotten to grow close of them. We would not have had the chance to earn ribbons and win together.
Competitive cheer is two minutes and thirty seconds of pure adrenaline rush and craziness. School cheer is all year round and happens once or twice a week and these cheerleaders are known as the "raw raw" cheerleaders. Both competitive cheer and school cheer have many things in common but they also have many things that are different. But, many people think that competitive cheer is more of a sport than school cheer is.
When I arrived at my new and enormous high school, I got lost. It was June, and since classes had just ended for the day, large crowds of kids filled up the hallways, and I got bumped around like I did not exist. Thankfully, a cheerleader saw me and figured that I had come there for tryouts since I wore shorts, cheer shoes and a big bow in my hair. She took me to the gym where at least sixty girls had shown up for the competition. The first things I saw were cheerleaders doing high level tumbling on the gym floor with no fear. The upperclassmen led us in warm-ups, and they seemed nice. A lot of the girls I met had been cheering since they were five and six years old. I saw a lot of talent in the room, so I knew it would not be easy to
Ever experienced cheer camp a famous college? Surround by its famous color orange and blue? Well, I did! A tremendous amount of people have their different ideas an exciting experience in their life. Although out of all of the exciting experiences I’ve ever experienced , I would have to say my favorite is when I visited The University of Florida for cheer camp my sophomore year. I was overly excited about spending four days at The University of Florida; I stayed up all night the night before packing and getting ready to finally stay at a college for four days with my fellow cheer sisters. From that experience I learned a lot about sticking together as a team, and friendship! But, most importantly, I learned that bonding together as a team is what got us to finish strong at the end. Those four days really opened my eyes to a lot of different things and I’m glad I can say that I really enjoyed myself.
When I was about six or seven years old, I started cheerleading because my older sister, Tiffany, was a cheerleader (and what little girl doesn’t want to be just like their older sister?). Thanks to Tiffany, and, of course, my mom for signing me up and getting me where I need to be, I found a love and passion for something I would cherish for the rest of my life.
The pom poms twirling in the hands of a girl who has wanted to be a cheerleader ever since she can remember. A dream of one day being on top of the pyramid holding the pom poms in her hands while yelling, “Let’s go Webb City!”. The enormous balls that cheerleaders call pom poms are much more than people think. To some cheerleaders pom poms have a certain taste, smell, look, noise, and touch, while the people sitting in the stands just think it's a shiny ball that the cheerleaders just shake. I know, people wouldn’t think a pom pom would have such an impact on a cheerleader or a football game but they actually do. A cheerleader’s job is to get the crowd going so that they can pump up the football players and get them motivated to win the game. A big part of getting the crowd going is pom poms and a loud voice.
Throughout the years I have been cheering, all of my family and friends have supported me. Cheering may not be the most traditional sport that my parents may have wanted me to be a part of, but it is the sport that has brought many good memories to me. Making new friends that have he...
...for my first cheerleading squad, in the seventh grade, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. In fact, the try outs were so hard and so demanding I did not make the cut. This did not discourage me at all; it only gave me motive to try harder. Next season I came back with a bang; I made the cheerleading squad. Cheerleading is an experience that I would never give up for anything in the world. I learned more lessons on teamwork here than any other sport I played, because in cheerleading I mainly had to communicate with the other cheerleaders. Cheerleading involved much work and effort from me and my team mates. When I first started cheering I was a fairly fat cheerleader; by the end of the season my body was perfect enough for a show all bikini, and this is the one change that made me genuinely realize, “yes, I am an athlete; cheerleading is a sport.”
Because some cheerleading squads don’t compete, society thinks of it merely as a physical activity. Even though cheerleaders’ main purpose is to support other athletic activities, cheer squads whom compete, follow all physical criteria to be considered a sport. Cheerleaders put forth an incredible amount of determination. They practice tirelessly to show off their skills, with little or no recognition for their efforts. Cheerleading is a sport because it requires physical fitness, skill, dedication, and stamina. Cheerleading should be considered a sport globally.
Cheerleading has been a big part of my life. As my senior year winds down, it is one of the things that I will miss the most. If my best friend had not encouraged me to join, I don't know if I would have the confidence and self-assurance that I do today. Cheerleading has influenced my decision to join other activities and be active in school as much as I possibly can. Cheerleading has helped me grow from an awkward seventh grader to a well-rounded
The New York Times states that cheerleading is the fastest growing girls’ sport, yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport. A sport is defined as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature” (dictionary.com). Cheerleading at a competitive level is physically demanding and requires team work to be the best. The misconception of cheerleaders being weak, nonathletic crowd entertainers makes people believe cheerleaders are not athletes and that cheerleading is just a hobby but cheerleaders that compete at a competitive level are in fact athletes because it meets the standards of what a sport is, which includes rules and regulations, and overcoming air resistance.
Sadly, my family was going through financial struggles, forcing me out of the school zone I was destined to attend. When I discussed the situation wih the high school coaches they told me they would pick me up from my new house and take me to school every day; with the condition that I’d play football for them all throughout high school. Even though this was illegal I continued to go ahead and accept the offer. My first year of high school was so exciting that it went by in the blink of an eye. Sophomore year came and the clock ticked closer and closer to when everything would change. I started in varsity as a corner back but soon would have big shoes to fill as the team’s quarterback. Not only did this require skill and hard work but the ability and qualities of a leader as well. Ultimately, playing this position helped me acquire traits that would soon be necessary for success. That year was tough for us because the majority of the team consisted of inexperienced players, however the coaches knew I would be the one to lead the
Seeing those red, black and white colors come through the sign every Friday night lead by cheerleaders running with flags was thrilling. I never wanted the last letter cause if the people in front of you are running slow you might get trampled by a stampede filled with 80 horses. On the field cheering it felt like I was another person. It was like living a double life. Cheering made my voice heard. Doing those different cheers it felt like every motion, every word, and every smile mattered. It helped the crowd. It helped the boys. It the cheerleading squad. It helped
The topic I did is Do You Have the Muscle Energy to Do Cheerleading? The major muscles are the upper legs, which are the hips, hamstrings, quadriceps, and the gluteal. The muscle of the lower leg, which is the gastrocnemius, soleus, and the interior tibias, the core muscles which is the rectus, abdomens, oblique’s, and the spinal erectors, the upper body which is the shoulders. Each one of these muscles have a part during cheer. They all require energy and dedication to this sport. So the question is how much energy are actually put into your muscles doing cheerleading?
April 18th, it was the first day for cheerleading tryout. I came to the gym with a feeling of excitement. At there, I saw a lot of familiar faces. To my surprise, they are very friendly, and take the initiative to help me. Just a few days, they led me to become more confident.
During the summer of 2015, I went to AMC Livonia and ran into one of my former teammates, Morgan. Morgan and I were on Stevenson High School’s cheer team together when she was a senior and I was a sophomore. Naturally, we began to converse about my cheer career that was ending at Stevenson, and hers that was ongoing at WSU. I asked Morgan about tryouts and she explained to me that tryouts were over but I could email the coach to see if I could get in. In hindsight, I believe this was my first sign. Moving forward about four months. I attended Festifall with a friend and we were excited to see the cheerleaders present. I then signed up for the cheer and dance team’s email list. Looking back once again, I believed that this was my second calling. Not