Cheerleader Research Paper

Cheerleading has been closely related to American football, beginning in Industrial Times (1850-1920) through modern times. In fact, cheerleading seems to go hand-in-hand with American football. According to the official cheerleader’s handbook it was one cheerleader named Shirley Windsor who after seeing his schools potential in their first game against Nebraska with the help of fellow students paid to build a new stadium. This essay aims to explain the importance of cheerleading, most specifically the key founder and organizations, safety dilemmas, and the culture surrounding the sport.

According to the magazine a Cheerleaders Guide to life, in the 1960’s, the National Football League teams began to organize professional cheerleading teams. It was the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who gained the spotlight with their revealing outfits and sophisticated dance moves. They were first seen widely in Super Bowl X. This caused the image of cheerleaders to permanently change, with many other NFL teams emulating them. Most of the professional teams’ squads would be more accurately described as dance teams. They don’t usually lead cheers instead, they are crowd pleasers themselves.

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

Next, always ready to organize against injustice, as Varsity Captain of the Cheerleading team, she suggested to ‘kneel’

“Modern cheerleading has evolved into a sport that is more akin to mixed martial arts, where legs and arms are constantly flailing and at any moment a participant is risking a violent shot to the head” (Cheerleading- the Forgotten Sport).

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

There will be two or three college cheerleaders who will teach you everything and they will also be the judges. Therefor they are ALWAYS watching you. They are always mentally judging you. There will also be a rather big group of girls trying out, usually no more than 20.

Many have seen her. Many know her. But who is the American cheerleader? Is she a blond haired, blue eyed sex symbol? Is she a drug-addicted girl with no brains and even fewer moral values? Maybe she is just your average, pretty, girl-next-door with a loud voice and lots of spirit. What is clearly true is that cheerleading and cheerleaders have evolved greatly over a century-long history. What started as one bold college student has turned into an activity with over 3 million participants (Brady 1); one that is backed by a $150 million industry (Williams 2). Modern cheerleading has come a long way from its historic roots, but large differences still exist between the iconic cheerleader, the stereotypical cheerleader, and the truth.

But interestingly enough, there are four types of cheerleaders, scholastic, recreational, pro-entertainers, and all-stars. Cheerleaders who perform on the sidelines at football and basketball games, are scholastic cheerleaders, or more commonly called the "spirit squad". Therefore they usually do not qualify for scholarships or awards, unlike competitive cheerleaders who can receive awards based off of athletic ability (Siegel). Sideline cheerleading requires more enthusiasm than dedication (Wilson). The sideline cheerleaders need enthusiasm to keep the crowds at school and sporting events in high spirits.

“But it’s not about pop-poms and skirts. We work really hard. If these girls are not athletes, I don’t know who is.” When cheerleaders compete they only have one chance to show they’ve got. “You have one performance, just one shot to make it the best you can.”

“Currently there are three different types of cheerleading you can participate in. The first form of cheerleading is Sideline Cheerleading (High School/ College Cheer). Sideline cheerleading’s primary purpose is to serve as support group for athletic programs in the school, as well as entertaining the crowd through cheers, stunts, and dance. Competitive Cheerleading (All-star/ College Cheer) is the second form of cheerleading and can be a mix of school squads and all-star gym squads. For competitive cheerleading you compete against other squads or gyms with a two minute and thirty second routine. In these routines, the cheerleaders perform extreme tricks and higher level stunting and tumbling than sideline cheer in hopes of getting the highest scores possible. The last form of

Cheerleading varies in many different ways. It could mean yelling, to intense physical activity for sports, audience entertainment, or just for competition. Although it doesn’t seem like it, cheerleading started as an all-male sport. Whereas now, most males think that it is a girls sport. In 1877, Princeton University had a “Princeton Cheer”. It was yelled by the students from the stands. It was also yelled by the baseball and football athletes themselves. Thomas Peebles, Princeton graduate, moved to Minnesota with the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the University of Minnesota.

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an athletic activity that is a combination of gymnastic elements tumbling, dance, acrobatics and traditional cheerleading skills such as jumps and arm motions. A team consists of 3 to 36 athletes, male and female ages five and up. Cheerleading can compete against other cheerleading teams witch choreographed two and half minute routine to music. Cheerleading is divided into six different levels from level one for beginners and level 6 advanced skills. (World Cup Shooting Stars Cheerleading Club, 2015)

First of all, competitive cheerleaders perform a two minute and thirty second routine on a spring floor. They were a uniform to compete in and represent their team. During the routine they do a elite stunt, pyramid, sometimes an opening stunt, jumps, a dance, running tumbling, and standing

The cheerleading program was falling to pieces at Groom, and it had been for a long time. Teachers would cringe every year the school board went searching for a new sponsor. They