by Jennah brar
When you first think of or mention cheerleading, you might think of pom-poms and a group of girls on a field cheering on a football team or basketball game. Some might say that that’s the only way to cheer, or that it’s only a hobby; nobody considers it a sport. They’re wrong. There are 2 types of cheerleading, all-star and sideline.
People only see the performance and runs we do, but nobody sees the effort and practice it takes to compete in these skills. It begins with long hours of practice, where the athletes train their bodies to be strong, flexible, and perfectly in sync for tumbling and stunts. The first few months of being on your team are some of the most nerve-racking. You feel the constant need to push yourself and prove to your coaches that you have what it takes to be put in the front and be on this team. But it’s not only the beginning of the season where this applies though. You have to push to do this throughout the season to ensure you keep your place in the routine. During this time, it’s crucial that you don’t skip practices, as you are going to be required to choose cheerleading over everything as the season comes to a full start. As the season starts up, you can’t miss practice at all if you are sick, broken, or even attending a vacation that was planned; if you don’t notify the coaches a few months in advance, you are required to skip it and choose even practice over family events.
In the middle of the season is where it’s the hardest and most challenging. It’s filled with injurys, exhaustion, adding skills on, doing random runs that only make sense to us, and the constant rush to push to perform harder stunts, sharper routine changes, and upgrades skills in the routine. The middle involves conditioning, constant runs repeating missed skills and fallen stunts, and so much more. When you are injured during this time, you risk the possibility of being replaced. Even if they just say, “It’s only until you get better,” they don’t always mean it. Sometimes you get replaced for good, and you get put in the back of the routine, only coming in at certain moments.
Then comes the competition. The competition is where all your months of effort and energy are put to the test for the judges, and every comp is a big deal, as you can earn bids to competitions like Worlds, sometimes even fully paid. During your performance, the judges score based on difficulty, timing, and execution, just like gymnastics or dance, except completely different. And don’t forget, if you mess up, pop a tumbling skill, drop a stunt, or miss a count, you risk taking points off and scoring lower.
Throughout the season, cheerleaders rely on teamwork, communication, and physical power to succeed; they do this to help prove that their sport requires both athletic ability and discipline. By the end, it’s clear that cheerleading isn’t just about pom-poms and dancing; it’s a demanding, competitive sport that takes true athletes that are dedicated to mastering and succeeding.
Almost every time a cheerleader mentions cheer, someone always makes the comment that it’s not a sport and it’s just a hobby or art. But after reading this, what do you think? Is it a sport or just something you do for fun?
As you answer both of these, keep in mind that words might be powerful, but try to imagine what practices or even seasons are, because actions speak louder than words do.
I hope you enjoyed reading!