My first year of cheer was in 2009. My mom decided to sign me since I always admired upperclassman cheerleaders. I was definitely not a natural and I had a rough time getting the hang of things like most people do at first. Cheerleading has always been something I have had a passion for. The feeling of stepping onto that mat for practices and competitions; the blood, sweat, and tears. No matter how hard I am pushed and no matter how hurt I get, I still step onto that mat like I have a major point to prove and I give it all I got. “And on deck, is the Southlake Junior Pee Wees….” the announcer said briefly the morning of my first competition. I remember feeling my heart jump out of my chest, the sweat build up in my hands. The tears choked …show more content…
We stood there for a minute letting ourselves, judges, and peers take in what we just accomplished. We exited the mat out of breath but most of all so proud of ourselves. The announcer took a 30 minute break and the judges added the scores from each and every team. While others made the first, second, and third place state championship winners and runner-ups their trophies and medals. After the 30 minutes was up all the teams gathered onto the mat and danced until we were ready to hear the scorings. Competitions always start off with third place which makes your adrenaline burst through the roof when they don’t say your team first or second. That’s what happened to us. “Third place goes to…. Laporte pee wees! …. Second place goes to… Highland pee wees!..” The nerves got to us all as we began to realize that our team was or was not going to be called. We grabbed hands prayed. “Now please put your hands together for you Indiana State Champions.. Southlake Junior Pee Wees!!” We all jumped up screaming and crying. All the hard work we put in paid of. We were headed to Disney to compete against the toughest and the strongest. We had to proven to not only ourselves but to our peers we deserved
What seemed to be a very long and difficult game, the Worland High School Varsity Girls come through to winning the game against Powell. Still remaining number one in the 3A division in the state of Wyoming, Worland has put up a fight regarding their loss against Lander last year at state soccer in Jackson, Wyoming. Worland’s very first game of the season this year in 2014 was against Jackson. The defending state champions were demolished by the Warriors, and Jackson also did not score a single goal. Majority of the girls soccer players this year are very young, only three seniors are on the team this year. As observed on April 4, 2014, the Warriors went against a stronger team in their division, Powell. Not only does Powell have bigger, stronger, and faster girls, but they also started worrying the Warrior crowd after they had put two shots into the goal of the goal keeper. With the score 2-2 it became more and more intense in the crowd. Only about 10 minutes were left in the game, and like last year at state Worland did not want to go into overtime because if there was no goal after overtime match it would lead into penalty kicks. As horrifying as it is to have that kind of pressure within about 6 minutes left of the game a goal was finally made for the Warriors! The score was now 3-2, and Powell was not happy. As the head coach from Powell was jumping up and down saying that they have this game motivated his girls. However, Worland put up a fight and as close as it was Worland finishes off the game with a win. An evaluation of the game was indeed a struggle to write on; however, Anna Hepp will give me information from her perspective of the game along with the another senior, Yesie Herrera.
“They’re snobs.” “They’re ditzy.” “They are just brats.” Cheerleaders. There are many problems with stereotyping, and cheerleaders are no strangers to it. Every cheerleader could probably tell you a time when someone stereotyped them, whether that be them as a person or an athlete. While on some occasions cheerleaders really do fit the stereotypical vision of a cheerleader off of a movie, most are not your typical “cheerleader”; intelligent, polite, and athletic are all characteristics of these individuals. Making judgements about a person based on what sport they played is not deserved. Most people in high school would say they knew, or thought they knew how cheerleaders were, but if taking the time to get to know the kind of people they are, then people’s opinion would change.
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.
To stay on the JMU cheer team or to quit was a very hard decision that I had to make this past month. Knowing I had leadership responsibilities as a third year veteran on the team made this decision extremely difficult for me. I had to consider all the parties involved which consisted of myself, my teammates, and my coaches. Several factors fell into play when deciding what was best not only myself but for my team as well. The first and most important factor I had to consider was my physical health as I have back problems that requires annual back procedures in order to be able to cheer. A relatively new factor in my decision making progress was the hiring of the new JMU cheer coach, which was extremely difficult for the upperclassmen to adjust to. My last few personal factors that played a role in my decision consisted of getting a job and focusing more on my school work. Next I had to consider what was best for the cheer team. I knew as an upperclassmen I needed to support the cheer program to help keep it strong and consistent during the coaching transition. This was hard to do when several other upper classmen were quitting the team due to this change. I also knew I had a responsibility to teach the incoming freshman new skills the same way the juniors and seniors taught me when I was a freshman. Not only did my team need me but I also took into consideration the contract I signed when making the team my freshman year. After taking everything into consideration
It all started when I first joined the squad in 7th grade. I did it because it was something that I really enjoyed because it was energetic, fun, and I never had to pay to get into any football or basketball game! Although we weren’t the crazy awesome at the time, we still had a great time doing it and I never had any regrets, but I didn’t think I would
There is then an awards ceremony where the judges total up the scores and the team with the highest score wins first place and the next highest wins second place, and it goes on from there. With the adrenaline rush from performing and competitive aspect of this type of cheerleading, it is no surprise that “competitive cheerleading is currently one of the fastest growing sports in the world”
“Cheerleading involves skills which require the strength of football, the grace of dance, and the agility of gymnastics” (“Sport”). Many categorize competitive cheerleading as just an activity without any skill needed: there is nothing further from the truth! Competitive cheerleading is a sport that is dedicated to competition, fits the definition of a sport, and possesses a goal.
...rk, Michael A. "Winning. How Important Is It in Youth Sports?" Youth Sports Institute: Michigan State University.
It’s a time out, all of those Friday night lights, shining in your face as you toss your best friend into the air as she kicks and twists and lands right back in your arms. Football season, every high school cheerleaders favorite season. Down on the track, lined in perfect lines, they yell at the crowd, “Are you proud to be a Tiger?” and the immediate reaction from the football fans in unison was, “Yes we are!” Most people say they’re at the games for the attention during school, but if you’d take the time to ask the cheerleaders why they do what they do, you’d get the same answer that I got from my sister when I interviewed her. She took the time to explain to me why she became a cheerleader and then progressed into saying, “I stick with it [cheerleading] because
Every minute of the day we are doing something, whether we recognize it or not. How we spend our time can determine where we go. If I waste my time I will look back and wonder where it all went. Through all the practices, games, and extra events, it seems I am wasting my valuable time on something not worthy of my time or making a bad investment of my time. If you asked me if cheerleading was my life my answer would be no, but I spend a lot of time going to practices, games, and events that it is difficult to believe otherwise. Many people, including my sister, would say I should be spending my time doing something more productive than wearing short skirts and throwing girls in the air. However, I believe that I continue to cheer because it is worthwhile in my life.
When I was eleven years old I made a decision that changed my life forever. Ever since I was three years old I did gymnastics and I loved it. My dream was to become really good and win the olympics and become a world medalist. But this dream quickly was changed. After my eleventh birthday, I was starting to realize I didn 't want to do gymnastics anymore. I told my mom and she was heartbroken but let me do what I wanted, so I quit. Once I quit I decided I wanted to try something else, cheerleading. My mom was thrilled and found a allstar gym in sumner called React.. She emailed the coach but I already missed tryouts. The coach said I could come to practice and see if they needed me and if I would like it. I instantly fell in love and wanted to join. The coach liked me and loved that I could tumble. I made the team that night and my life hasn 't been the same since.
...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.”
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
As the Tiger rolled around, there arose a question of whether or not to keep the team together or break it up and give the two seniors a chance to compete in other individual events at regionals. I actually didn't know about this possibility until about five minutes before the race began on Saturday. We were all huddled together preparing for the start. Jeremy came up to Rodney and me and told us that if we didn't do well the team might be dropped. Kicking our motivational drive into high, the four of us focused on only one thing: running the time we all knew we could. Getting into the blocks I felt more ready than ever. At the sound of the gun, I shot out of the blocks. I sprinted around the track, concentrating on making a great hand-off.
A jolt of energy rushed through my body and hit my heart when they call me up to get the team trophy. Not fourth, third, or second, but first place for the third year in a row. Being a captain of a team is an amazing experience. You get to see your team physically, mentally, and emotionally prepare for competition. It's a lot of hard work, but if you try your hardest, make all the practices and have a passion for cheerleading its worth it. Every year we take a few weeks to build a competition routine, the out come is incredible, but the celebration is the best part.