Movies portray cheerleaders as the popular girls that everyone likes and aspires to be. But when reality hits at Salem High School, it’s a completely different story. Cheerleading was taken as a joke by the other athletes and even students. It was considered a hobby, but to me it was a passion and something I worked hard to be. Being on the cheer squad in high school was difficult to deal with in school because we were constantly being snubbed by the other athletes and students in our school ever since we were kids in junior high which should not happen because everyone has the right to do what they love and they should not be judged for it being different than everyone else. It was always us versus them up until my junior year of high school when we finally earned the respect of our peers. 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 …show more content…
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
For example they have practices every day after school to practice their routines and stunts (Remnick). They have to make posters for all sport teams, go to all of the sporting events, and support and volunteer for the community. Also everything they do represents the school in some way, so they have to be on their best behavior all the time. Sometimes they even have to cheer for more than one sport at a time, so they will be cheering a game every night of the week, and they are expected to get homework done and get to bed at a reasonable time for school the next morning. They are more busy than a regular athletes, and sometimes cheerleading isn’t the only sport or activity the girls are involved in. When these athletes commit their time and efforts to something they are so passionate about, like cheerleading, and then people don’t recognize it it gets very
In order to be successful cheerleading takes dedication and hard work, we can still have fun, but you need to be focused when the time calls. Of course competitive cheerleading is a sweaty, fun, and overwhelming at times, but aren’t all sports? To think that one thing that changes a team 's overall score for deciding either first or last between the two teams would be hard work and dedication to win the competition. Just like in football, they get that one chance to make a difference and win within a split second do they run or throw. Well does the cheerleader try to save the stunt or is it not worth it. Football players get that one chance to win and cheerleaders get that one chance to make a good impression on the judges. Cheerleaders put in the hard work and dedication through practices like football players. Then the practice football on average 150 days per year, cheerleaders on average practice 226 days a year. Cheerleaders are dedicated, they’ll go through anything to win like Bangaoil. Bangaoil is a cheerleader who, messed up her ACL during cheer practice one day, and for about six months she stayed with her team instead, of going into surgery to help her team win third at the United Spirit Association’s Collegiate Nationals“Last year she spent downing Advil and bathing her knee in ice has been a success. That puts off the ACL surgery so she could help her UCLA team finish third at the United Spirit Association 's Collegiate Nationals two weeks ago was meaningless.”(Drehs, Wayne) Coaches will decide who will bring it all and give it all they have on stage. “Coaches like Vehling, who points to the gruesome injuries, the long hours, the agonizing training and those ultra-intense competitions as proof that cheerleading is much more than a stage for the prettiest girls on campus to flash their bloomers.”(Drehs,
Competition cheerleaders and school cheerleaders come from two different worlds with different goals and aspirations from their sports. In the world of competition cheer the members of the team work for hours and hours during the weeks for competitions on the weekends. At the competitions there is an abundant number of teams that are all in competition for the exact same goal, to get a bid for worlds. Worlds is the biggest cheer competition in the country and takes place in Walt Disney World every single year. More than 150 teams from 32 countries go to Disney World and compete to try to come out on top and win and get the trophy for their gym (Flocheer). They practice for hours on end for the biggest competition in the world to only compete for two and a half minutes in front of the biggest judges in the cheerleading business. Sideline cheerleaders practice during the week for hours all week and they put on their uniform every Friday night or every gameday to get to perform their practiced routine. Every gameday they get the chance to practice their main routines and sometimes they put on a half time show. Obviously, cheering during the halftime of a football game or a basketball is not the same as competing in front of the best judges in the country but it does give the cheerleaders a taste of what competition is like. Sideline cheerleaders get a chance to compete every week compared to competitive cheerleaders who only compete every once and
Cheerleading has affected many lives in a positive way and proven that sports can help build character and change a person for the better. I have been an all-star cheerleader at Cheer Extreme all-stars for the last two years but have participated in all-star cheerleading since I was three years old. Through this sport, I have become a summit champion, triple crown champion and bronze medalist at the 2017 world championship. While these accomplishments may have seem important at the time, I quickly learned that cheerleading is about more than the jackets and the rings. Winning has become a huge part of any sport but in a survey of seven cheerleaders they revealed the true meaning of the sport. When asked the
I cheered on a team in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. I cheered with the team until I moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This team was everything to me and so were the girls. We all got along perfectly and everyone loved us. Getting the attention and love from everyone was a big thing to me. Most of the time people would come to watch the cheerleaders instead of the football players at the games. Our team also did competitions with other teams around the state. We all pushed ourselves over and over again to make sure everything looked great.
Beep, the buzzer has gone off, now all eyes are on you. You and your teammates pull all the tricks you know. One girl is being lifted by three others, standing on one leg high in the air. Another is hurling her body through the air flipping across the ground; a thud is heard every time her hands or feet meet the floor. You have a large megaphone in your hands and you are yelling through it with everything you have. This is cheerleading. It is a place to compete, but there is also a place on the sidelines. It is a place for friendship and teamwork. Cheerleading of yesterday is nothing like cheerleading today. Cheerleading may not have started as a sport, but now it has grown into a full-fledged sport that is enjoyed by many.
”HEY!” “GO CHARGERS!” “D-E-F- (clap clap) E-N-S-E- (clap clap) D-E-F- (clap clap) E-N-S-E-!” “LETS GO CHARGERS!” Although we are the chargers, this is not where cheer began. Cheerleading’s roots are traced as far back as in the late 19th century. The University of Minnesota gets the credit for the first organized cheerleading. Johnny Campbell got some of his buddy’s together and got the crowd to yell for their team which encouraged many other universities to do the same. A few decades later the women began to join. Today, most of the teams are made up of a greater amount of females but males are still involved. I have joined the ranks of thousands of past cheerleaders, and throughout my life cheer has helped my social skills, leaderships skills, and helped me to gain respect for others grow tremendously and make me who I am today.
Long endless blue mats, cheerful girls in bows, intimidating judges. I was nine years old when I competed in my first cheer competition. All the girls on my team had competed in several other competitions. I felt alone and scared with my own thoughts, while everyone was preparing. Going out on the floor and not being prepared was a mistake. I was so distraught that I butchered the routine I knew how to do in my sleep. I realized that I had to develop my own preparation that would help me shine as bright as my teammates next time.
While many still don’t believe cheerleading is a sport, there are positive considerations for believing cheerleading should be a sport. Maybe because they are jealous that they’re not capable of having a flexible body, who knows. Also, asking them why they don’t believe cheerleading is not a sport they would commonly answer “it’s just not a sport”, “just because it’s not” or “cheerleaders don’t do much”. Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Business News writer for Times Leader, says that cheerleading “routines didn’t require a lot of skill.”
Cheerleading is a very extreme sport that requires a lot of hard work and dedication. It is a sport for everyone, whether you are a boy or girl and whether you are five or fifteen years old. In cheerleading there is teams for all ages, for both boys and girls, and for all levels. Cheer is a great sport that everyone should try, It helps build teamwork skills, teaches discipline, keeps you active, and allows you to travel.
Cheerleading to me isnt just a sport its my team ,my family, and my life I could bring spirit and love to this team along with the skills I already have. And yes others can bring love and skills to this team as well but i genuinely love the sport and it definitely shows when i'm out there. I think I deserve to be on this team,because i'm a hardworking very positive and outgoing person ,I help people when they're down and cheer them on at there best moments. In middle school i had cheered in the seventh grade but didn't make it for my eight and i wasn't able sign up for my ninth because my family was moving and we moved over the summer in august so all the tryouts we over with . So i decided to focus on my school work AS A Freshman I'm doing
Being a cheerleader has been a major part of my life for over eight years. To me, being a cheerleader is being part of a family, community, and more. Cheerleading has helped me to be a more spirited person. It has also helped me to also stay organized. Having cheer practice almost everyday gives me a schedule to follow which is an extraordinary key for learning how to be responsible. Additionally cheerleading has allowed me to see that most circumstances are hard to accomplish on your own. Cheerleading is a sport kind of like a puzzle. If every piece to the puzzle is not there the puzzle is incomplete. For example, if one person from our team is missing we would not be able to do a pyramid, it is not a sport like baseball, football, or basketball
I started competition cheerleader when I was twelve. From the first practice, I was obsessed. The adrenaline rush, constant traveling to new places, and just simple enjoyment kept me coming back year after year. The first few years were a little rocky because I was enrolled in a newly founded gym and most girls had little experience, but winning didn’t matter. I was with my friends for six hours a week and loved every minute of practice. I grew close to every girl and one of the coaches eventually became my best friend.
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.
These feelings later caused me to quit the team. I believe that the sport can be a good thing for all girls, not just the “popular” ones. I feel that it is a great way to learn how to be positive and be sociable, which can help in future jobs later on. I believe that cheerleading is given a bad rep, because of this type of situation, where girls think they have to bully other girls to fit in, and that’s not the case at all.