Personal Narrative: Injuries Involved In Cheerleading

Throughout our lives, we definitely have gone through a lot of experiences and made memories. Some of the memories are easily forgotten, while some others are remembered distinctively, vividly and can be recollected confidently. This is called the flashbulb memory. Flashbulb memory is like a very clear picture of a particularly impactful event which had caused one to be affected emotionally. For example, I remember this performance that my school choir was performing. It was during Christmas season and we decided to spray bubble foam to portray fake snow. However, the plan backfired when the wind blew at our direction and all the foam flew back to us. This was remembered very clearly because I was embarrassed and had experienced something so

When I was 9 years old, I started this thing called competitive or all-star cheerleading. My goal at the time was to make it on a level 5 team and compete at the World Championship. Within my first 5 seasons I had a lot of trouble with my tumbling, which prevented me from moving past level 4. Before my sixth season I switched cheer gyms. My parents believed in my goals so much that they drove me an hour and half to and from practice two to three times a week. Within my first year at Tribe which was my new gym, my tumbling issues never got resolved. That left me on a level 3 team where I never believed I was good enough. The next year I was again put on a level 3 team. Now in my eighth season I was put on a level 3 team yet again. I wanted to quit, but my coach showed me that tumbling did not define me and allowed me to fall in love with the sport all over again.

Hi, I am Arabella, a junior in high school and a varsity cheerleader at Siesta Key High School. I am four feet and eight inches tall and a flyer on the cheer team. I often dress like a nerd, and do not care what other people think. I am dating the star football player at SKHS his name is Tom. Tom was not only a star football player, but he is also very good at soccer, basketball, baseball and volleyball. He is a liar and a cheater too. Anyways, people just call me Bella. I love sports and love spending my days off at the beach. I especially love Major League Baseball; Tampa Bay Devil Rays is my favorite team. I am a happy person most of the time. Who’s dedicated to my cheerleading career; and I want to get a scholarship for Northwestern

If everything was easy, then everyone could it and it wouldn’t be an accomplishment. Last year I joined an all-star cheerleading team, and that’s when I found out that this wasn’t going to easy that I have put myself out of my comfort zone. I was 17 years old and I was very shy, but I knew that you couldn’t do anything if you’re shy. Cheer was the best choice I had ever done by the second week of practice I was talking to everyone on the team they became my second family my coaches became so important to me they believed in every single one of us they pushed us to do our best and to never give up.

Unlike any another high school sport cheerleading is a year round sport not including how much we practice during the summer. Every time we throw up a stunt, pyramid, or tumbling sequence we are risking everything. We are risking Strains and sprains account for more than half of all cheerleading injuries. Of these, ankle sprains are the most common, and that is followed by strains or sprains of the neck, lower back, knee and wrist. Also Back injuries: when we are throwing up Stunts and basket tosses like lifting other cheerleaders above our head, tumbling and dismounting while twisting and rotating can all place significant stress on the lower back, which can lead to back pain. A more serious injury that can occur over time is a stress fracture to the vertebra, one of the bones that make up the spinal column of our body. If the stress fracture occurs on both sides of the vertebrae, the bone can become weakened and

I waited weary in anticipation of what name would break out of the happy-go-lucky collegiate cheerleader’s boisterous mouth as he was announcing the two lucky 2017 National Cheerleading Association All Americans out of all 4 Belton cheer squads. I replay this moment in my most vivid dreams, feeling the excitement of the halcyon moment grow greater and greater as the nerves and emotions grew stronger and stronger. A moment as imperative as this showed me in the most transparent way that hard, continuous work and growth pays off in many more ways than one.

“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).

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.

You are acting like a five year old that has never cheered a day in their life.” I replied with “ Why don't you get on this floor and do this impossible routine without messing up. I have a life. I do other things besides cheerleading and I really don't feel like risking my life today to make y'all happy.” My teammates gasped and groaned and prepared themselves for the conditioning they would receive. The coaches were silent for a few minutes and everyone was preparing themselves for the worst.

The Time magazine is a credible source for this article that aims right at people who are outside of the cheerleading community. This article is all about the athleticism in the sport and the technique of cheerleading. The article gives a lot of statistics about the growth of injuries in cheerleading. One of the famous cheerleading teams was mentioned in this article and they were the World Cup Shooting Stars, which is an organization in New Jersey. The article talks about high school cheerleading today and how many colleges accept cheer as a sport and how you can get a scholarship. In the article the author talks about hoe schools canceled their

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.

Unlike football players we go out onto to the mat without any padding or protection. Football players use shoulders pads, knee pads, helmets, and much more safety equipment. Every time a cheerleader goes out to perform their mind is not only focused on hitting the routine but, also wondering what might happen to them. They know that within the next 2 minutes and 30 seconds they can walk off the mat with a smile on their face or with an injury. Football players do also get hurt but, when they do, they have protection, unlike cheerleaders. The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina reports that 65.2% of all catastrophic injuries in youth sports occur in competitive cheerleading. Football players lift a 15 ounce ball, whereas we cheerleaders lift human beings. We throw, catch, and lift mortals. Not only do we work just as hard or even more than football players but, we also aim for the same objective. In all sports, you clearly want to win. Winning makes everyone feel confident and makes them work harder to accomplish this. Not only does cheerleading require physical skill and talent but, it also requires dedication and

Second football game of my senior year season, I was super hyped to go out there and show people that I can give more effort than I did in our first game against Zimmerman even though we won. Later on in the game, 2nd quarter I made a big tackle on the defensive side against Saint Louis Park then all of a sudden a 350 pound offensive line on the Saint Louis Park team knees me in the back while both teams were in a dog pile. When I got up to get back into the huddle my back felt very stiff and I could barely walk back to the sidelines to my teammates, honestly it was so bad that the refs had to call a timeout but a little back injury didn’t stop

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.