“Now performing, from Gray Maine, The Gray New Gloucester Patriots!”
The crowd erupts in cheers, and I take a deep breath. Many of my teammates are shaking, filled with nerves, but I feel at home. I wiggle my freshly sprained ankle. It hurts,but I smile through the pain anyway. This is it. It’s Now or never.
The music blasts out and the routine takes over. Cheerleading has been a part of my life since I was seven years old, when I begged my mom to join the local cheer team. Starting out, I was pretty bad, as many would expect. I would trip over my own feet, hit my head while doing a back handspring, and manage to fall on my bottom while doing a jump. I’m surprised I made it past the first practice. Never would we have guessed it would become one of the most influential parts of my life.
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Younger girls were getting closer to the skill I wanted, so I began to push myself until I got it. I wanted to be the best, and I wasn’t going to stop until I was. Soon I learned a harsh reality: There will always be someone better then me. At a young age, I learned what jealousy can do within a team. My teammates would make fun of me, call me a showoff, and discourage me from doing what I loved so they could feel better about themselves. I often felt alone, but it taught me to have thicker skin. My so called friends putting me down made me realize that sometimes it’s easier to do what you love on your own rather than have negative people standing beside you. As the years went by, I grew to be one of the tallest girls on the team which made it hard to do skills I once was able to do. When I reached high school, I refused to pull many of the skills I once had. There was a huge dent in my confidence, which made me feel inferior to other girls on the team. The other girls were confident, which made me live in their shadows. The little girl I once was, was not happy with
Cheerleading is fun! Of course we cheerlead because it’s fun! From cheer camp to laughing on the sidelines, cheerleading is always a good time, especially with your friends. The memories made my cheerleaders whether they be from practices, games, or spirit activities (like decorating for senior night or baking treats for football players) are memories that will be cherished for a cheerleaders lifetime. Cheering is such a positive and happy experience because we are always doing something fun or accomplishing something new, like learning our new pyramid or mastering our routine. I get to get dressed up in my uniform with my bow in my hair and my white, red-track stained cheer shoes and not only cheer on my favorite football team but run around and cheer and stunt with a team of fun-loving girls and bring my community
Cheerleading isn’t a sport. Loads of cheerleaders have faced this controversial statement. An image of peppy girls, twirling in short skirts for the football team fills most people’s minds when considering the topic of cheerleading. The truth is, we are a strong team that works together to lift each other up, literally. Although we work day in and day out to perfect our stunts, tumbling, and routines, our talent still goes unnoticed by our peers. Negative stereotypes often surround cheerleaders. In my high school, we constantly battle to gain the respect of our classmates not just as athletes, but even simply as people. Some of the most involved and highest ranked students in our school make up our cheerleading squad, but those traits are forgotten
Have you ever just thought and engaged on curiosity on how it feels like to stand and balance on hands of people? Being thrown high in the air with just trusting three people to catch you? Lifting people together while exhibiting strength and trusting that the stunt won’t completely fall? Lastly, having the guts to cheer, shout and to put on that cheerful smile despite all the pain and sacrifices you made just to complete the routine? These people are extraordinary athletes. These athletes just don’t perform difficult stunts but they also uniquely combine the factor of performing and getting the crowd’s attention through their routine. They are called Cheerleaders. Most of the people who aren’t familiar of the content of the sport would think that Cheerleading is just for the purpose of performing and cheering for their own team or school, but to Cheerleaders, it’s more than just those conditions. It’s just something more special than that. It’s a vision and of course, pure passion.
It also brought joy to other athletes by joining the sport of cheer. It was needed to bring even more entertainment into the world. Cheerleading teaches you how to work as team, fight as a team, and win as a team. Cheerleading teaches you to not be selfish, because you can’t just focus on yourself, you have to focus on your team as a group not just on individual. If someone doesn’t throw a certain skill, my coach will pull them aside, asked them why they didn’t throw, and tell them to next time not be selfish.
I know that cheerleading is a sport. Have you ever got asked if you think that cheerleading is a sport or not. That is what I am going to tell you today. Cheerleading is just like football and basketball it is a game where you compete and get points. But with cheerleading it is not about throwing the ball accost a field or making a basket. It is about how well it is performed. To do good they have to prates a lot and they also have to have a lot of upper body mussel.
Many think of cheerleading as just an activity which is nearly mindless. They do not recognize the hard work and skill that is crucial in becoming a first-class cheerleader. They believe that there is no ability or athleticism that is needed. They almost demean cheerleaders as unintelligent. They believe that cheerleaders are only out to look pretty and to entertain a crowd.
...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.”
The young people of the cheer world have helped create a new and exciting way to show spirit, which needs to be recognized. Cheerleading is a sport. A sport that is still coming out of the wood work. This sport is only going to grow with or without recognition. To cheerleaders it's official, and now it's time for the whole world to be on the same page.
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
My coach repeatedly yelled for me to get up and do it again repeatedly. For the 3rd time I got up, took a deep breath, and walked back to the end of the cheer mat. I stood there, calmly gathering myself from the last fall. My next attempt was no better than the last one, it resulted in my body slamming to the floor, right hip first. Although I physically felt weary and frustrated, my mind felt ambitious to continue. I got up and walked back to the end of the mat, without being told. I was ready to try again. A full is one of the hardest skills to master as cheerleader. Being a part of my high school cheerleading team I have experienced embarrassing losses that have made me question myself and my cheerleading abilities. have taught me wanting to win more than other teams is not enough, working harder is.
That was my favorite part of cheerleading because a bunch of squads from different schools come to compete against each other to see who’s the best. We would put up flyers around the school so people might come to watch us but they never did and some were even taken down. Now as far as our cheer squad went, we weren’t that good still because we had an inexperienced coach who did not know how to choreograph dances or cheers. So we continued to be made fun of and not taken seriously by our classmates, which was extremely annoying because we just wanted some respect for the work that we put it. When sophomore year came around we were starting to get a little sick of never placing at competitions and to our luck, we got a new coach the next
When most people think of cheerleading, they think of the spirit squads that attempt to pump up the local crowd at high school basketball and football games. People are not aware of what these athletes are doing when they are not in front of these crowds. Strangers to cheerleaders who do not follow the sport extensively do not know the exact involvement of the athletes in this sport, at all ages. Cheerleading requires athleticism like all other sports as you must be in shape and at a great fitness level to be involved in most circumstances. Cheerleaders have to know what they’re doing at all times; while knowing what everyone else on the team is doing as well, which involves a high level of mental preparation. Cheerleading, high school or club teams are now considered one of the most dangerous sports, and there is even a rule book for competition cheerleading now. The book consists of the same concepts that any other team sports such as football would include. The book has rules and regulations for jumps, stunts, tumbling, and many other conditions that involve the sport; School cheerleading, on the other hand, has very few rules and very seldom do they tumble or stunt. Most schools are not allowed to stunt they’re what is referred to as, “ground bound.” People that do not know the facts about cheerleading have deemed cheerleading as not being a sport, they usually call these teams a spirit club and show disrespect towards these athletes. If people knew all of the facts and strengths of cheerleaders, they would consider cheerleading to be a sport just as much as your common sports.
I went from anger and hatred to pride and joy, which wasn’t easy to accomplish at first. I’ve always been a competitor when it comes to sports. Although this does not sound humble I am not used to being beat, especially in triple jump. I have placed 8th, 5th, and 2nd at state in the event and have broken the Seneca High School’s triple jump record in my career. The day I saw my sister as my main competitor my first thought was, “she is going to break my record I’ve worked so hard for.” For some reason I couldn’t get my mind past the fact she might actually beat me. To me, my school record I set was something I needed to defend for as long as I possibly could, and I couldn’t let my little sister be the person to break that record. Especially while I was still in high
It was at this moment that I realized that there truly is no “I” in team. A team is not characterized by the individuals within, but rather what the individuals can come together to achieve. For so long I had tried to discover where I belonged on the team. In reality, I should have realized that from the moment I stepped on the court, I was already a member of the varsity team. With a newfound sense of strength, we continued the game. Every single point we won felt like we were putting our lives on the line, while every single point we lost felt like ten-ton chains were holding us down. Even so, it was just another volleyball game. One I had experienced on multiple occasions, perhaps not to the same magnitude, but it was a relatively familiar situation. Strangely, it felt different. I felt more relaxed, more confident, and I was having more fun. At the time, I was not sure what it came from. I was too focused on finishing out the game to pay it much attention. But reflecting on it now, I realize that without a doubt, it was because I truly felt like I belonged on the team. For the first time, I knew that my team was behind me, ready to help me up whenever I fell. We continued on with the game. Despite being down two sets to one at one point, we now found ourselves nearing victory in the fifth set. Finally, we were able to overcome the opponent to win the match three sets to two and secure the second SPC championship for Greenhill Boys Volleyball in three