Cheerleading Essay

Because of the physical demand, skill set needed, and the rules set to tumble, stunt, and jump, competitive cheerleading should be considered an official sport. Yet cheerleading has rules, guidelines, training, and many other things other sports also include. It also is definitely a physical and contact sport which has caused countless injuries throughout the years of the sports existance. But, most people only know cheerleading as sideline (school) cheerleading and have not had a glimpse into the world of competitive (All Star) cheerleading.

Cheerleading is a sport that many people don’t support in a way that they support the popular sports in most schools, like football and basketball. Cheering can open many doors and create an ample amount of job opportunities. By cheering you can also receive full ride athletic scholarships from many schools. A cute skirt and pompoms is not the only thing you have to work for when it comes to cheering. Just as any other sport you have to have a certain grade point average to try out for your cheerleading team and also you are held accountable for maintaining your grade point average with also being held accountable for remembering cheers, games day dates and events that you will have to attend with your team. Cheer teaches you many things other than being able to tumble and shout! As a cheerleader, you learn to encourage anyone that needs that boost of encouragement, we learn how to work together with other people. Your cheer team members will become your family!

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

Cheerleading is simply entertainment for viewers and is a social club for its participants. “Sports Beat - The Sport of Cheerleading: It’s a lot More than Just Pompoms and Smiles,” points out that a main benefit of cheerleading is the ability to “easily transition into the entertainment industry” (Hatton C-04). This statement supports our belief that cheerleading should not be considered a sport. Cheer-leading, the leading of cheers at sporting events is not a sport. Entertainment, versus athleticism, is more of what cheerleading is. Team supporters are present at games/events to raise school spirit and encourage cheering. Cheerleading generally requires a competition to be in progress, so the cheerleading itself can occur. This is not an activity which can take place alone.

You have been training all summer. You have been in the weight room almost every day and wake up so sore you can barely walk. You give encouraging words to your teammates and pump them up right before a game. You are tough and fearless when you take the field. You strive to do your best and want to win. How would you feel if every time you took that field your peers didn’t believe in you and did not respect your sport? Cheerleaders go to the gym and work just as hard as other athletes do, and are not receiving any credit. This makes us frustrated and let down. There are many aspects of cheer that people are unaware of. Being a cheerleader, you have to be able to tumble, stunt, be competitive, have teamwork, and most of all dedication. Cheerleading is a sport because it is physically demanding, requires teamwork, and is very competitive.

Tumbling skills, endurance, and flexibility are important in order to become a competitive cheerleader. The world of cheerleading is often underestimated by the school jocks, nerds, and fellow classmates. However, what they don’t know is that cheer takes lots of time and training to refine. These skills will help improve your physical health and give you strength. Cheerleading can be a very competitive sport that everyone can appreciate, even if it means you have to put a bow in your

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.

My other reason is in cheerleading we go to competition and compete with teams.A website that helps me in this situation that had many quotes was off of www.teenink.com/nonfliction/sports/article/15172/cheerleading-isasport. A quote from the web states "competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity and movement.This means cheerleaders compete against teams and people like any other sport.Physical

First of all let’s take a look at cheerleading as a whole and the basics of it. Well to start off there are two types of cheerleaders, competitive and noncompetitive.

The one thing that all sports harvest is teams. Upon first glance when looking at a cheerleading squad one may not see a team. When picturing a sports team most people may believe there must be a type of offensive or defensive physical contact; this is not at all true. A team is a group of people working towards a common goal. A football team may work together to defend its goal post. A swim team may work together to achieve the overall best time. A cheerleader is but one member of a group of people; altogether these people work together to encourage a team of players or a crowd of people. This is the purpose of the high school, college or professional cheerleader. Cheerleaders work together to create new and exciting cheers, and dances. There is a head cheerleader in every squad which helps to direct the team; this person can easily be compared to the coach of any other sports team. A cheerleading squad is a group of people working towards a common goal; a cheerleading squad is a team.

Cheerleading is more than cheering on the sidelines at a football game or bringing the crowd to their feet. Cheerleaders do not have to run around three bases or skate their way to a puck, but they do, however, lift their teammates, jump, dance, tumble, and perform. There was a point in my life where I would eat, sleep, and breathe cheerleading. It is debated whether cheerleading would be considered a sport. Nevertheless, cheerleading has been a passion of mine for most of my childhood, and these experiences made me the person I am today. Before cheerleading, I was incredibly shy, be bullied in school, and did not have many friends.

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

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.

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.