Marolla 10
Shelby Marolla
S. Rider
English 119
27 October 2009
Cheerleading: It’s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore
When people think of cheerleaders, they will most likely think, “she's either the straight A's prom queen, or the short skirt, slutty, queen-bee kind of girl.” (Yabroff) Or they might even think cheerleaders are cheerleading because they want to be the center of attention and for everyone to look at them, but “to be a cheerleader you have to want to be the center of attention.” (Yabroff) Some people also think cheerleading is not a sport, it’s just a hobby because all they do is dance, wear short skirts, and act dumb, but it really does take a lot of passion and attitude to be a great cheerleader. Being a cheerleader isn’t only based on looks and popularity, you have to have the heart and skill for it too. Yes, most cheerleaders are blonde, thin, tan, outgoing, and pretty, but they also really want to be a cheerleader and work extremely hard for a position on any team. But they are not all like that, some are men, some are brunettes, some are different races, some are overweight, or some might even be shy. Cheerleading helps you with being more confident in yourself while having the time of your life doing something you absolutely love. An “ideal” cheerleader is someone who is confident and enthusiastic and has infatuation with themselves and cheerleading.
Just Cheerleading
When cheerleaders wear their uniform they feel self-worthy, confident, and something they would never feel in regular school clothes. A uniform consists of the following: under armor, which is like a long sleeve shirt that goes under everything; a shell, which is the goes on top of the whole uniform and says the school mascot on it; a skirt, which usually has to be pulled up to your belly button and can’t be higher than four inches below your booty crease; bloomers/spankies, which is like underwear; a bow, which goes in your hair; pom poms, which are strings that come together at a center handle to form a fluffy-like ball; and socks, and shoes. It can cost anywhere from $200 to $1,500, it just depends on what kind of uniform you get. Most teams will do fundraising events, like a car wash, bake sale, sell cookie dough and magazines, or whatever they come up with. They try to contribute to the school as much as possible, but they also want the best looking uniform because they want to look good when performing at competitions or games.
Cheerleaders practice a lot and it takes up many hours, but it’s all worth it in the end if they really love it.
Me: How long do you practice in a week?
Haley: Tuesday through Thursday, 2 hours a day.
Me: What does a typical practice day look like?
Haley: Umm, we get there and run a lap around the track and then walk one. Then we stretch as a group. After that, we separate into our squads and do some conditioning. Maybe do some Tea Time [which is like Simon Says, which helps to strengthen their arms for tighter moves and its fun] and kicks and jumps. Then we go over our dances and cheers either for halftime or competition.
Me: What kind of conditioning?
Haley: Like lunges, sprints, squats, push-ups, sit-ups. Stuff like that.
Haley is a 13 year old pop-warner cheerleader for the Chico Jaguars for six years now and I have been her coach for four. She has always loved cheerleading from the start and will continue onto high school cheerleading for the next four years.
Me: Tell me about a typical game day.
Haley: We get there an hour before the game starts, and we stretch, go over the routine, then go to check off to make sure our hair is back in a pony tail, our nails are clipped, and our spankies are on. Then we get in line and cheer for the football players and at halftime we watch the other cheerleaders, then we go. Then we cheer more and after the game we tell our football players “we are proud of them” and then we go home.
Me: What does is feel like to be out there with everyone watching you?
Haley: Exciting and a great feeling.
Me: Do you ever get nervous?
Haley: Sometime, but not usually.
Cheerleaders get nervous occasionally, but because they have done it so much and have gained self-confidence they typically are more excited than nervous. And it’s mostly performing to parents than to friends because the football players are in their huddle, talking, and most of their friends are on the cheer squad, but in high school its way different.
Differences between Pop-Warner and High School Cheerleading
Pop-Warner cheerleading is an organization where five to thirteen year olds can cheer for their age group football players. It’s a great sport for parents to get involved in and also for young girls to get involved in. It helps young girls decide whether they love the sport or hate it. They have game days every Saturday and have a competition at the end of October. The girls have a certain amount of hours they can practice before competition so everyone gets a fair shot at winning. Pop-Warner can do stunts, which is lifting a girl in the air, but there are many steps you have to do to get there because it needs to be safely done. It’s a process which includes going from low level stunts to higher level stunts. The girls cannot wear make-up or nail polish during practice, games, or competition.
Me: Do you ever go to competitions?
Ashley: Yes.
Me: What’s it like to be at competition?
Ashley: It’s a great feeling. I love the feeling of excitement it gives me. It makes me want to win and beat all the other teams because we have worked so hard and want to show them that.
Me: Have you ever placed?
Ashley: Yes, a lot.
Ashley is an 11 year old pop-warner cheerleader who has been cheering for 3 years. She did football for one year then decided she was too girly and wanted to do cheerleading. She has loved it ever since.
High School cheerleading is very different from Pop-Warner. It consists of high school freshman to seniors. They cheer and dance in front of their whole school. It helps the girls gain more confidence in themselves. They have games every Friday and practices on Monday through Thursday for 2 hours or maybe even more sometimes. High school cheerleading in Chico cannot do stunts because of the safety policy. And the girls can pretty much wear and do whatever they want except they can’t be all over their boyfriends or wear really short skirts. In Chico, the high schools never really go to competitions. And you can cheer for football or basketball.
Me: What do you like more about high school cheerleading than pop-warner?
Mariah: High School cheerleading has more excitement because you cheer with and for your peers and you help with school spirit also. But pop-warner helped me become a good cheerleader and I loved going to the competitions and doing stunts too.
Mariah is a 14 year old high school cheerleader now, who went from pop-warner cheerleading to high school. She misses some of the stuff from pop-warner, but learns to love high school cheerleading as it goes on.
Those are just some differences between high school cheerleading and pop-warner. For me, I went from pop-warner cheer to high school because starting at a young age helps you succeed at a higher rate and helps you be more confident so for when you’re older, you don’t have to worry about that. In high school, you can be freer with what you do, but in pop-warner you have to be careful about the things you say and the things you do. High School cheerleading has fours teams: Football Junior Varsity, which is made up of freshman and sophomores; Football Varsity, which is juniors and seniors; Basketball Junior Varsity; and Basketball Varsity. Pop-warner cheerleading has five teams: Mighty-Mights, which is 5 year olds; Jr. Pee Wees, which consists of six and seven year olds; Pee Wees is eight and nine year olds; Jr. Midgets is ten and eleven year olds; and Midgets is made up of twelve and thirteen year olds.
Coaches Perspective
Coaches are a big part of cheerleading teams. They control the whole aspect of being a cheerleader including their reputation. High School cheerleading coaches need to make sure the girls don’t make things too provocative or hang all over their boyfriends in their uniforms. Pop-warner coaches need to make sure the girls have as much fun as possible while still disciplining them. I have been a coach for the pop-warner team the Chico Jaguars for four years now. It has been an amazing experience. It’s volunteer work, but at the high school, the coach actually gets paid. I think the coaches have a huge task on their hands for dealing with sometimes over 20 girls. It’s hard work, but definitely worth it.
Me: What’s the best part about being a coach?
Donna: To me, it’s the smiles on all the girls’ faces when they are having so much fun doing the routine or just practicing. I love seeing the sparkle in their eyes when they know they did a good job. It’s a great feeling.
Me: What’s the hardest part?
Donna: Being organized, definitely. Because there are so many checks and parents I have to deal with, but I have learned over the years, that it just takes time.
Donna has been the coach at Pleasant Valley High School for four years now. She has put so much time and effort into helping the school and the cheerleading team be successful. She has without doubt changed the cheerleading team, but in a good way.
Coaches need a great deal of respect for them to be encouraging to the cheerleading team. It’s really hard to coach so many girls and even harder to deal with their raging parents if they do something wrong. Respect and thoughtfulness is what they really want. Coaches try their best to make everything perfect and it turns out amazing in the end. But it’s even harder when people don’t necessarily think cheerleading is a sport, that it’s just a hobby.
Cheerleading is a Sport
Cheerleading involves all the elements and criteria of all other sports. In the dictionary it says a sport is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature.” Well cheerleading does require skill like the moves they have to hit, kicks, jumps, strength, flexibility, etc. To be a cheerleader, you also have to have physical ability which includes the flexibility and strength. Also, most cheerleading teams do compete against other teams, so therefore, it is a sport. Some people think cheerleading is just organized cheering to lead at sports events, but it’s more than that. They put more into what they do than most people, and it has been determined one of the most dangerous female sports out there. They have to be physically trained and skilled to do what they do. Cheerleaders don’t just lead the crowd, they interact and work hard to get where they are.
Me: Do you consider cheerleading a sport?
Haley: Yes!
Me: Why?
Haley: Because you do hard things just like all other sports. We lift girls in the air. Football players just run around with a ball in their hand remembering plays. What we do is way more difficult.
I definitely agree with that. Cheerleaders train and improve on levels that most sports don’t. They do more difficult activities than most sports do. Some people think cheerleaders don’t compete, but most do. If they don’t compete against other teams they compete against themselves and try and get better. Cheerleading is a hobby and a sport.
Conclusion
In the end, we all know that cheerleading is a sport. According to the dictionary, if it says hunting and fishing is a sport, then cheerleading has to be a sport. Cheerleading requires so much skill, attitude, passion, flexibility, strength, and enthusiasm. Cheerleaders pump up the crowd even when their team is doing badly. They work so hard to get their routine perfect and to show everyone how hard they have worked.
Also “to be a cheerleader, you have to want to be the center of attention.” (Yabroff) Because they are out in front of the whole crowd of people, they have to be confident. If they are shy, it won’t work out and they will most likely mess up or freeze when they are out on the field. Cheerleading is absolutely harder than most people think. And it doesn’t just consist of blonde, thin, ditzy girls, who cause drama; it has more people there too, people who have the heart and passion for cheerleading. It’s not their fault if they attract those kinds of people, but usually they are the best one’s out there. The people that usually consider cheerleading a sport are the athletes that the cheerleaders cheer for: football or basketball players. They have no idea what it takes to be a cheerleader, just because they make it look so easy when they are out there. They don’t understand the dedication and time it takes to master each one of those skills. It doesn’t just come to them; they have to work at it. Cheerleading also teaches cooperation and trust. They have to have those two things with each other or else they won’t be a good team. Cheerleaders practice, compete, have rules, go through training, sweat, fall, get hurt, and dedicate our lives to cheerleading. There is no reason why cheerleading is not a sport. If you don’t think cheerleading is a sport, I suggest going to a week of cheerleading practice, then tell me if you think it’s a sport or not.
Works Cited
Begany, Mariah. Personal Interview. 16 October 2009.
Henderson, Donna. Personal Interview. 16 October 2009.
McMahan, Ashely. Personal Interview. 8 October 2009.
McMahan, Haley. Personal Interview. 8 October 2009.
Yabroff, Jennie "In Defense of Cheering." Newsweek 151.12 (2008): 62. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 Oct. 2009.