My First Time Ever At A Cheerleading Practice

Cheerleading started as a male endeavor in 1898, when a University of Minnesota football fan led the crowd in verse in support of their team. It was not until World War II, when men shipped out to war, that women took over. Then cheerleaders came to represent the American ideal of femininity: wholesome apple pie with washboard stomachs, perfect teeth, and flawless complexions. Stereotypes cast them as blond, petite, and impossibly perky. “From its humble beginning cheerleading has blossomed into a competitive athletic activity with a serious image problem” (Forman 52). But today’s post-feminist youth have put a new, diverse face on cheerleading. Cheerleading in America is no longer a matter of waving pom-poms, a cute smile and being overly

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,

Everyone goes through a “black hole” at least once in their life. Speaking from experience, you will find your way out. I experienced a “mental block” in cheerleading, during this time my mind managed to restrain me from what loved to do, tumble. I have witnessed plenty of people have this issue, but I never thought I would be one of them. A mental block is exactly the way it sounds, it’s something in your head, stopping you from performing your skills. Most of the time gymnast or cheerleaders develop these after a dramatic fall, which is what happened to me. I had my mental block for approximately three months, those were the longest three months of my life. For a long time I felt that my tumbling would never be the same. One day I went into

I have faced many different challenges in my life. The most significant and most difficult challenge is living with attention deficit disorder. I was diagnosed with ADD around the time I entered the fourth grade. I always knew I had the potential to do well like all the other kids, but for some reason I just couldn’t. After years of constantly getting distracted at every little thing, getting yelled at for being a distraction to the other children, and struggling to get through class everyday, I was given a little blue pill called Adderall to help me. It was like a light came on in my head. I still got distracted and lost all my energy sometimes, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as before. Being medicated helped me feel normal, but at the same time made me feel like I was different. As a kid I figured none of the other students had to take a pill to fix their brain like I did. I constantly put myself down

The sport of cheerleading has been around for a long time; since 1884 in fact! In the beginning, cheer was a sport dominated by college men. Since, women have taken over, and in 1967 the first ranked college cheer competition was held. Both school and competitive cheerleading offer many rewarding opportunities. Though they are a part of the same sport, the two types of squads are actually quite diverse. School cheer is undeniably a worthwhile and respectable sport, but competitive teams often provide a more challenging approach, and are more suited to experienced cheerleaders.

The challenges I go through on a daily basis is bulling from other students, being called names by my brother, myself not thinking positively, me not staying calm in situations, etc. The way I find strength to help me through my challenges is my mostly my parents, and my parents are, my mom Sue, and my dad

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.

From an outsiders perspective one may see brainless and beautiful robots, which scream and perform neat tricks. This is not the case from the inside; cheerleading is so much more than that. Many people are under the impression that cheerleading is not a sport. I am the voice of reasoning that will let you in, and I will show you that cheerleading, in fact, is a sport. Cheerleading requires much physical demand from the body just as any other sport would. Cheerleading, in general, is a team effort. There are many sides to cheerleading, which make it a versatile sport. When it comes to cheerleading there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

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

When I was a child, I believed that my most important goal for my young life was to one day become a varsity cheerleader for my local high school. Nine years later, the day I became a varsity cheerleader, I made a promise to myself that I would never do anything to jeopardize my personal image or the image of my team because I knew that young cheerleaders were always looking to be just like the varsity cheerleaders, and also like myself. This aspiration of mine encouraged my volunteer involvement with the the local recreation department in my county that coordinates youth cheerleaders during each fall football season.

As a varsity cheerleader, I have attended four years of Henrietta High School Mini-Spirit Camp. At Mini-Spirit Camp, high school cheerleaders promote spirit and confidence in children three to eleven years old. Every year, I realize more and more that being around children and being able to help in their lives is something that I truly love and enjoy. Being a part of Mini-Spirit Camp for the past four years has taught me patience and the importance of being a good role model and example to young children. As for my hopeful career, I know that these qualities are very important in becoming successful in acquiring the acceptance of

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.

Girls perch on the tables like exotic birds gossiping and giggling, a football fly’s above their heads between two jocks in varsity jackets parading their toned muscles. Groups of high schoolers sit around the room laughing. Weekend has arrived and the hallways of the school were filled with tons of kids ready to go home. Every ear filled with the sound of multiple conversations going off at once, lockers opening and closing, music blasting without. I had managed to push past the constant stream of children and to the school field. The grass was damp and covered in a thin layer of frost. As I walked my footprints were embedded, leaving a piece of me in the cold ground. I saw my friends faraway chattering and fooling around. I was stuck in the wrong crowd; they are nothing like me but somehow I am still friends with them. I slowly made my way up to my “so called friends”.

Last year around March, I experienced a mental block in cheerleading. My team and I was going through our routine and I was going for my tumbling pass. I was doing a round off back handspring layout and I was going for my back handspring and freaked out then landed on my back. It was very scary and I couldn’t believe what happened. I remember laying on the ground and my coach looking down on me and asking if I was okay. I got up and tried to do it again; then, when I tried to do it I got scared and ended up not going. That was the day that changed my life.

Normally I would be bouncing off the walls waiting for my mom to unlock the car doors. But not that day. That day was different. That day I was climbing through the back seats begging not to get out of the car.