Cheerleading Through the Eyes of a Cheerleader

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From an outsiders perspective one may see brainless and beautiful robots, which scream and perform neat tricks. This is not the case from the inside; cheerleading is so much more than that. Many people are under the impression that cheerleading is not a sport. I am the voice of reasoning that will let you in, and I will show you that cheerleading, in fact, is a sport. Cheerleading requires much physical demand from the body just as any other sport would. Cheerleading, in general, is a team effort. There are many sides to cheerleading, which make it a versatile sport. When it comes to cheerleading there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

Pike, toe touch, eagle spread, left herkie, right herkie, these are all forms of jumps in cheerleading. When doing these jumps the cheerleader jumps high up into the air bringing both legs up and out simultaneously in a specific shape or form, while pointing the toes. The jumps that cheerleaders perform can easily be compared to the dunking of a basketball player. All of these jumps require adequate leg, thigh, and abdominal muscle just as any basket ball player. Not only must cheerleaders jump, they also must kick. By this I do not mean a simple karate kick, I’m talking about something much more difficult. In order to perform a cheerleading kick one must be very flexible. Cheerleaders have to be able to maintain their upright body form while raising their foot from the ground to the highest point possible above their heads with the toes pointed, sharp and precise, without looking sloppy or stumbling. This requires flexibility, skill, stamina, and strength. Not only must cheerleaders be able to jump high and kick higher, they must be able to hold another’s body weight. The base person must li...

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...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.”

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