Being A Cheerleader Research Paper

Truth is, there are two very different types of cheerleaders. There are the traditional sideline cheerleaders who cheer on other teams for support, and then there are the competitive cheerleaders, who perform in front of audiences and judges to receive their own first place title. Competitive cheerleaders are just as much athletes as cross-country runners or gymnasts! Cheerleading is even expanding and growing into more than just a hobby. Erik Brady agrees when he writes in his article in USA Today, “The world of cheer no longer means sideline squads that exist solely to support other teams” (Brady). Cheerleading has grown extensively in the past twenty years. It now has its own magazines and web forums, such as Fierceboard or Inside Cheerleading. People join All-star cheerleading teams, which are just like travel club soccer or softball teams. The difference is that the hobby of cheerleading isn’t getting recognized for the sport that it is.

What is a Cheerleader? A cheerleader is a confident, positive, and a helpful individual when it comes to community service. Being a cheerleader has taught me leadership qualities and that has not only helped me in the sport but also in school, work, and my self-esteem. They typical STEREOTYPE of a cheerleader is that they are mean, unfriendly, and stupid. When it came to my senior year I was given the name if Captain of the cheer team. I have set a level of BUREAUCRACY within the team and set rules and goals for the team to achieve and follow. At this time in my life I was help to a higher STATUS and given more responsibility. These girls started out as a SECONDARY GROUP when we first started out on the team together, but after years of being with one another everyday three hours a day- we quickly became like family. This transition from SECONDARY GROUP to a PRIMARY GROUP was the best thing to happen to me, I had a team of sisters. Our COALITION had a common goal, which was to bring excitement to our fans at footballs games, and bring championships home to our school at competitions. (TCO 4, 6, 8)

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

In cheerleading athleticism is not required and competitions are not held. Cheerleaders participate in athletics as bystanders. They are there to support and entertain their school.

Right before a game, football players huddle up as a team and they get “hyped-up” to win. The coach of the team gives them a game plan and they follow it. This same thing applies for the cheerleaders right before they take the mat. Their “game plan” is the routine that a choreographer made for them. Coaches change the routine to make them win. Cheerleaders have to act as a team. (you build a bond with your teammates practicing so much together.) At competitions, all the cheerleaders match from bow to toe. Cheerleaders always encourage their teammates when they are discouraged or feel failure in not being able to complete a stunt.(they

One component cheerleaders also must have is flexibility. “Flexibility is the range of motion in a joint or group of joints or the ability to move joints effectively through a complete range of motion. Flexibility training includes stretching exercises to lengthen the muscles” (VeryWell). Flexibility must be present in order for flyers (the girls that are lifted into the air) to pull positions in midair, for the whole team to perform various jumps, and also helps in tumbling, which is a very important skill to have when participating in competitive cheerleading. “Tumbling is a form of gymnastics that requires athletes to use their bodies to flip, twist, roll and jump” (OmniCheer). Tumbling can take years to develop and isn’t an easy skill at all. Some girls work their whole life to just master simpler areas of tumbling and only the best of the best can do some of the hardest tumbling, which incorporates twists while flipping in midair. The last skill that cheerleaders must have is coordination. There is a lot of dancing whenever it comes to cheerleading. Dancing can be considered easy but not when it must be sharp and synchronized with all of the other teammates, along with adding in facial expressions, which appeal to the judges. These aspects take loads of time to perfect and some of these skills take years to even begin learning how to do.

In order to be successful in cheerleading you have to have a strong body and mindset, because cheerleading takes physical and mental strength. Cheerleading is a yearlong sport so if an athlete survives for that long then that means the athlete is dedicated to his/her team. When the athletes finish the entire season they are acknowledged at a banquet. At the banquet the team talks about things in the past and they look back at everything that happened earlier in the season. The seniors of the team and everyone who is on that team for the last year get really emotional. Cheerleading is a tough sport to do but the experiences that they gain with their teammates make the it not so

Cheerleading has competition, just for them. A competition is where all the cheer teams in the county go. They compete for a trophy. The judge rate there cheers 1-10, ten the highest, and one the lowest. Cheerleaders have competition daily.

Shawna Fox once said while talking about cheerleading "we make it look easy, but like all sports it takes hard work and dedication. " Just like most sports cheerleaders have to have muscle, cheerleaders have to do a lot of hard stunts and jumps and cheerleaders risk serious injuries. Cheerleading is a sport because there is a lot of hard work put into it. Just like most sports cheerleaders have to be in shape and have muscle. Cheerleading involves skills which requires the strength of football, grace of dance and the agility of gymnastics (Aacca.org).

“It takes determination and an open mindset to work, you have to be coachable.” Coach Q, on what it takes to be a cheerleader. Being a cheerleader is more than just cheering. From sidelines and routines, to tumbling

According to LoveToKnow,com, anybody can shout really loud into the crowd and do a simple routine as long as they smile a lot. Me and my friends, who are definitely not cheerleaders, can do that much. You have to run, or jump, or do something that requires for you to be fit in just about any other sport except for cheerleading. You just do not have to have great deal of skill to be a cheerleader like you would in almost any other activity or

In a huge arena filled with thousands of screaming fans, hundreds of anxious athletes, and thousands of some overly involved parents; a huge national title at stake describes the weekly scenario for a competitive cheerleader. Many people like to say that cheerleading could never be a sport because all they do is cheer on other sports right? This is not the case at all. Yes cheerleaders must support the basketball and football teams, but in all actuality they use these games to train their skills for majors competitions and to compete against teams in the area. Just as a football player uses a scrimmage game to prepare for the big championship, a cheerleader uses the performance at the halftime show to perfect his/her skills for competition

Cheerleading has two qualifications that are not met for it to be considered a sport. It states, “The Women’s Sports Foundation makes it clear that “any physical activity in which relative performance can be judged or qualified can be developed into a competitive sport as long as: The physical activity includes the above defined elements (got them!) and… The primary purpose is competition verses other teams or individuals within a competition structure comparable to other ‘athletic’ activities.” Technically cheer meets all the physical athletic requirements but because of the fact cheerleaders primary purpose is to cheer on athletic teams on the sidelines, they do not think of competitive

Cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports in the game. Besides throwing people in the air and launching themselves into tumbling passes, cheerleaders take hits like a champ and fall down to jump right back up. Being a cheerleader myself, I attribute this perseverance to one of the many lessons learned from being involved in the sport. Cheerleading is not only a way to better oneself physically but also as a person. Through cheerleading, people learn the importance of teamwork, dedication, and responsibility.

In cheer there is training, its a very important part of cheer, it helps build the shape you need to perform the skills you need for cheer and gets you in shape. During training, you put together a 2:30 min routine that has stunts, tumbling, and Jumps. On popular teams such as the great white sharks, girls who make the team practice every day for about 6 hours. That's 42 hours a week. Cheerleaders work just as hard as any other athlete. I tumbling you put together a variety of insane tumbling skills. In stunting, you Throw flyers as high as 30 feet in the air while they twist and turn, and catch them. Not to mention how dangerous it is, if you don't catch your flyer she can get seriously injured and be in critical condition. University of Kentucky cheerleader Maurice Grant, who also played football and ran track in high school, said "I think cheerleading is definitely a sport. You work just as hard as anyone else." Therefore there is no question that cheer meets the physical expectations of being a sport and should be