Reflection Paper On Cheerleading

The media has created a stereotype for cheerleaders. The way that cheerleaders have been portrayed in the media has made cheerleading one of the most disrespected and underrated sports in the industry. The media has made cheerleaders out to be the unintelligent, mean girls, that no one likes. It has portrayed cheerleading itself to not even look the slightest bit like a sport. Most movies make it look like cheerleading is just jumping around and yelling at other sporting events. A good description of this stereotype is explained in an article from TVTropes as “From evil to slutty to dumb, any cheerleader in North American media can be expected to be portrayed as shallow and superficial, because popularity is her first and only concern.”. As a cheerleader, this is extremely frustrating. The growing cheerleading industry has been working hard to show the world what cheerleading really is about. Bring It On: In It to Win It is an interesting movie that actually portrays some of the real aspects of 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!

Throughout the article various tone changes occur. During the introduction, there is a negative attitude that is apparent. The author is reflecting on Erykah Ward’s, a former gymnast, initial reactions to becoming a cheerleader. Ward’s responses were derogatory and stereotypical; she even stated at the end of the introduction, “I’ll want to kill them all” at the idea of becoming a cheerleader. She uses common stereotypes against cheerleaders such as “jumping around” and “uneducated.” All of the sudden, the article’s tone changes to a positive voice. The author is now praising cheerleading and cheerleaders for what they must endure. A couple sentences of ago the author was attacking cheerleading, but now he is saying, “competitive cheerleading is no joke.” This new admiring tone remains throughout the rest of the article and seems to get more passionate the further in detail he goes. Overall, the article has an informal voice. Campo- Flores is using

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.

A cheerleader is a person who is a member of a group who shout out special songs or chants to encourage sports teams. (“Cheerleading”. World of SportsScience. Ed.K Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol 1. Detroit: Gale,2007.139-141 Gale Virtual Reference Library. 9 Nov. 2016). Cheerleading began in the late 1800s at the University of Princeton, in New Jersey. (“History of Cheerleading.” iSport Online.Cheerleading.iSport 9 Nov. 2016 cheerleading.isport.com/cheerleading-guides/history-of-cheerleading). Cheerleading was in fact created by men at this time. The men who started cheering were called “yell leaders.” Women did not start cheering until 1923, and since then women have dominated cheerleading. Cheerleading started to evolve

Championships are a huge part of All-Star, sideline, and college cheerleading. Each of these types have their own championships which are held down in Walt Disney Orlando Florida every year. Sideline cheer as well as college cheer attend national championships. “Cheerleading Championships is the most prestigious cheerleading in the country” (Varsity, 2018). On the other hand, All- Star teams do have a championship but it’s called the Summit. In order to attend the Summit, you need a bid in order to compete. In order to receive a bid, you must attend one of the competitions that offer bids. One step above championships and the Summit is Worlds. “Worlds is the best competition and the goal for all level five cheerleaders” (Englebert, 2011).

The NYC Radical Cheerleaders describe their activity as, “[A]ctivism with pomp poms and middle fingers extended. It’s screaming F*CK CAPITALISM while doing the splits” (qtd. in Adams and Bettis 36). Since their inception in the mid-1990s, the feminist Radical Cheerleaders have given women a stronger voice in the activist sphere while they scream, shout, and protest against a myriad of social issues. These range from the patriarchy, LBGTQ discrimination, and beauty standards, to police brutality, sexual assault, and capitalism, but they are all linked to the fight for human rights. In their protest, they subvert the stereotypical image of the white, blonde, thin cheerleader, looking to incite public interest and engagement. Ultimately, radical cheerleaders channel the theatricality and obscenity of the women’s liberation movement to reclaim their rights in the public sphere with curses, vulgarity, and action.

Cheerleading isn't just a hobby, but a full time career for some, devoting their entire life wanting to make it big and cheer in front of millions. Taking their personal time and devoting it to constant practice, day and night, wanting to be the best. It's sounds like a similar career that many young athletes wish they had. The NFL, NBA, NHL, all big name sport associations where gifted, hard working, talented athletes can show everyone why they were given a chance to be in the big leagues. They work day in and day out, practicing to get better, just like any cheerleader on those teams. The only difference between those sport athletes and the cheerleaders is the wages they are earning. Why should cheerleaders who devoted their life, physically

I have been a cheerleader at Topsail High School for the past three years of my high school career. My team trains for our competitions and games for ten months out of the year. It has been time consuming, but very rewarding to be apart of the Topsail Cheerleading Program.

Imagine winning a world competition for cheerleading. You deserve this. You and your team have been training and practicing for countless hours into days and nights. A few days later you are back in school, with nothing but pride on your face. Then you hear it.

Cheerleader tryouts officially ended April 12. The new squad is composed of four seniors, five juniors and three sophomores that was announced Monday, April 14.

The Cheerleaders at Marble Falls Middle School have had a phenomenol season this year. The 30 athletes are divided into a 7th and 8th grade squads plus Marble the Mustang Mascot. Traditionally, the cheerleaders only cheer at home football games but this season they travelled to two away games. They perform amazing stunts, cheers, and dances. You may have seen them in the Marble Falls Walkway of Lights Parade or in the Alamodome performing at halftime for UTSA.

When asked what your favorite sport is, there are a variety of different responses given. One of the most common responses would likely be football. Every year people gather on Super Bowl Sunday to watch one of the worlds most loved sports. The only acknowledgment they give to the cheerleaders, who cheer on the sideline of every football game, is that they have pretty faces with tiny cute outfits. Cheerleading would most likely be the last “activity” someone would name as one of their favorite sports, let alone even being considered a sport (Collier, 2009, pg.1). This is because when people think of cheerleading they automatically think of the sideline cheerleaders at the football games such as, the Super Bowl. They have no idea that there is a whole other side to cheer which is, competitive cheerleading. The annual Cheerleading Worlds, where the best of the best competitive cheer teams compete, has even been called

The adrenaline, the overwhelming smell of hair spray, the white shoes and identical uniforms. This use to be everything I loved. Cheer use to be my world. I would wake up at 5:30 on school mornings and go to practice, then cheer games till 10 after school. I loved it all and I couldn’t imagine my world without it. The closeness of the team, the loud music, the tumbling, the stunts, it made me so happy. When my coach came along though, he crushed my dreams. He would call us fat, make us run extensively, call us rich kids and that we just use our ‘dad’s money’ to get through life, even though some of our parents got an extra job so we could cheer. It got to the point where I would dread practices, cry because of cheer, something I could never

Cheer has been a part of my life since I was young because my mom is a cheer coach and she’s instilled in me that the best team that a cheerleader can be on is an All-Star team so you could win a Worlds ring. With that in mind, my goal is to make an All-Star team by the start of the 2018-2019 season by going to tumbling classes, going to sport training, and by working on my upper body strength. Going to tumbling classes will help me achieve my goal. The way it would help is because i would learn all of my required skills. I’ll also be able to choose which skills I would want to improve the most on like doing layouts or standing tucks.