Cheerleaders

Being able jump in the air, kick up your leg, or even having a strong voice is what most people assume is needed to make the cheer squad in today’s society. These beliefs and depictions of today’s cheerleaders are strongly influenced by today’s media. For example, the hit television show “Glee” depicts one of its main characters, a cheerleader named Brittney, as an airhead. This blond hair, blue-eyed girl is reflected as the “typical cheerleader”, with statements that include the following, ' 'I was pretty sure Dr. Pepper was a dentist ' ' (Murphy). The show also depicts the other cheerleaders as stuck up, promiscuous, irresponsible and cliquey. From wearing the cheerleading outfits everyday to sleeping around with the football team,

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

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 the article “THE SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEERLEADER AND RITUALIZED SEXUAL EXPLOITATION,” I learned many things. The first surprising thing was the cheerleading started off as mainly a boy sport and now you don’t see nearly as many boys as you do girls involved with cheerleading and I think that is partly because in today’s society boys get made fun of for being a cheerleader. (Bennett) Another major thing that bothers me about cheerleading is that many girls get into cheering for the wrong reason, let’s just say that a lot of it is popularity. All in all there is so much you can argue on either side for cheerleading and hopefully schools are starting to see how cheerleading has changed into something other than rooting on your team, or competing for a national title.

Cheerleading began for me at the age of twelve. In the past I had played soccer, basketball, softball, did ballet. Basically every activity my mom could possibly put me in. All of those activities were okay, but cheerleading became something that was special to me. I first began cheering in middle school for the Hazelwood West Junior Wildcats. I cheered on the team throughout middle school literally dedicating all of my free time to cheerleading. I lived, ate, and dreamed cheer. I went on to continue cheering throughout my high school career, cheering for all Hazelwood West athletics, including: soccer, football, basketball, and wrestling. I was a hardcore dedicated athlete, and I had spirit like no other. From

Even though she was in a new environment my friend’s confidence about her cheering remained the same. Her new school had tryouts coming up and she was determined to make it besides if she didn’t fit in anywhere else the cheer squad would be the perfect place. Layla practiced for a week straight after school to be sure she had every move down packed. Two days before tryouts came and everything went left.

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

Cheerleaders put in at least 8-10 hours a week practicing hard to get up in the ranking and do certain special

About 66% of catastrophic sports injuries, come from cheerleading (Soltis). That is more than the percentage that comes from football injuries. Instead of throwing a two pound ball around, competitive cheerleaders throw –and catch- people (Encina). Throwing people like cheerleaders do puts lives at risk. Yes, it’s dangerous, but the cheerleaders dedicate themselves to this sport and love doing so.

“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

Cheerleaders must pay attention to the games and be aware of what is going on in the game.

When people hear the word “cheer leading” they tend to think of a group of pretty girls frolicking around being peppy in short skirts and pom-poms while being optimistically spontaneous and enthusiastic without having to put in any effort toward a physical and mental state that challenges one’s ability. It never comes to mind, to question whether the fact competitive cheer leading is a sport. Being peppy is the common stereotypical outlook that has been put on cheer leaders. It can be seen as

Sampson explains,”Its an adrenaline sport. It’s rough.” All star cheerleaders often say what they do resembles more conventionally male dominated sports like football or hockey. “If something goes wrong, someone could end up in the hospital.” An allstar cheerleader got injured and the medical assistance explained to her “Exercise, Ice and Alot of advil. Do everything you can to keep it stable” Also explaining the regimen that any sore armed pitcher or gimpy-kneed offensive lineman might use. Another injury occurred at one competition, Gryskiewicz said saw a male cheerleader tear his bicep straight off the bone. The muscle had completely rolled up his armpit like a window shade. All these facts prove that competitive cheer is just as dangerous and risky as any

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.

We aren’t all blonde and are not smart. We don’t all have football or basketball boyfriends and are all really preppy. We don’t just cheer for the basketball team, although that is our main goal. Many people question how hard cheerleading can actually be. Well the answer is a lot harder than one would think.