Despite what you may have heard, cheerleading is a challenging sport that requires a lot more than most people would think. Spectators and audiences only see or pay attention to what they do on the field for two minutes during half time, but a lot of time and effort goes into that small amount of performance time. Preparing for a halftime show is not simple or quick. The audience judges the overall abilities of the team in that short period of time, so the half time show can really make or break it.
Because of this pressure, cheerleaders invest a lot of time practicing, sometimes for more than three hours a day. The practices include conditioning, running, and exercises that nearly all the other sports teams incorporate into their practices. On some of these days, the cheerleaders can hear comments from other teams such as, “Look, they’re actually running.” If necessary, they might have to stay even longer than expected in order to complete a routine.
The amount of practice cheerleaders put in depends on the upcoming games. For example, there is a game each week for football season and two games each week for basketball season. The cheerleaders choreograph their own dances for each of these games, which leaves them only five days to choreograph, practice, and perform. This means that the team is spending hours each week for just those few minutes on the field.
Cheerleading isn’t any less dangerous than any other sport and injuries are quite common. Tumbling and stunts can be appealing and fun, but they are also extremely dangerous. Not only do cheerleaders try out new stunts, but they also have to take them very seriously to avoid such injuries. During summer, they attend a stunt camp where they learn to perform different stunts correctly and safely.
Performing stunts effectively takes team unity because the whole performance could fall apart based on one individual’s mistake. Speaking from experience as a cheerleader, there have been plenty of times where I have fallen, hit, or kicked someone because the stunt went wrong. Girls who perform stunts and fall are at risk for paralysis, concussions, or even death. According to theNationalCenterfor Catastrophic Sport Injury, in 1982-2002, seventeen baseball players, twenty-two football players, and twenty-one cheerleaders faced fatalities directly or indirectly caused by the high school sport they were participating in. Cheerleaders are right up there with football players in terms of the physical demands of their respective sports.
As for Pitman’s cheerleading squad, it is amazing to look back and see the progression throughout the school year. Not only did the team improve astronomically, but also the individuals. The confidence cheerleaders gain on the field is a feeling few can get anywhere else, despite criticism from people who do not understand the sport. Cheerleading is not just pom-poms and hair bows. It’s dedication, work, trust, and friendship.
