More Than Meets The Eye

I know the things people think about cheerleaders and all of the stereotypes that people believe. People think that cheerleaders are stupid and only think about which boy they are going to sleep with next on the football or basketball team. They think we're fake, stuck-up, and snobby. My question to everyone is, why do people choose to believe these lies? Yes, I will admit that some cheerleaders live up to the stereotype, but most of the things that people believe about cheerleaders come from movies. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to believe everything you hear on the TV and on movies? People not only think bad things about female cheerleaders, but they tend to think that if you're male and you cheer you MUST be gay. This is not true people! Not all male cheerleaders are gay, and just for the record, you have to be very strong to be a male cheerleader. I'm not sure why people have such a large misunderstanding about cheerleaders. We work hard, and we are very dedicated to our team and to each other as well.

Let me give you an example of some cheerleaders who do not fit this stereotype. A few weeks ago my cheerleading squad volunteered our time to work at a 3k run in Troy, IL. The run was a memorial for a young soldier from the town who was killed in the army. He was 24 years old with a wife and a baby and his life was taken from this early to soon. My cheerleading squad, along with my coach, her daughter, and a family friend volunteered ourselves to pass out water to the runners during the race. We had to wake up at 5:30 am and be at the race by 6. We could have stayed home in bed and not gone, but this was something we wanted to do. The community was emotionally affected by the death of this soldier and it felt really good to know we could help out and honor this man at the same time.

So I'd just like everyone to know that some cheerleaders are not the way you think they are. We are not just a bunch of stuck up bitches who like to ruin people's lives.


This is a picture of my squad after the race had ended!

SWIC Cheerleading Try-outs.

This past Thursday, the 16th, SWIC held a cheerleading clinic for all males and females interested in cheering for Blue Storm. My coach made the clinic open to all current SWIC students. Those of us who are already on the squad ran the clinic while my coach watched the new girls. We were taking a minimum of five girls and three boys; we had 18 girls show up, which was a surprise to us. The girls were split up in to groups of who could tumble and who could not. The prospecctive cheerleaders were taught a cheer and three types of jumps called a toe touch, a hurkey, and a pike jump. It was obvious from the beginning of teaching the girls who was capable and who was not. I know this sounds harsh, but to be a cheerleader, especially one who competes, you have to be able to keep up and catch on quickly. I will be nice and not call out any of the particular girls who were not cheerleader material, let's just say we knew right away who we wanted on the squad.

The world of competative cheerleading is intense to say the least. Squads prepare all summer and all basketball season just go to competitions, not to mention all of the time spent working on cheers and stunts and such for basketball games. Competing in cheerleading is just as difficult if not more difficult than any other sport.There are so many rules and guidelines to follow it's unreal. The National Cheerleader Association takes competitive cheerleading very seriously. Since all of the dances, stunt, and tumbling sequences in a cheerleading competition are very intense and possibly dangerous, the NCA has laid down many rules and to how you may do certain things, and what you may not do at all. Cheerleading is dangerous no matter what level you are at. There are children and young as five years old. If those little girls do not learn cheerleading safety at the young of an age, they will never care about how dangerous cheerleading and competing can be until they or someone they compete with or against is seriously injured. I wish that everyone would take cheerleading as seriously as I do. As cheerleaders, our support would go way up, and the amount of people mocking us would go down. Everytime someone says something rude about cheerleading I want to ask them to come to practice with me and do what I do, and then see what they think about cheerleading.

Cheerleading: #1 Most Dangerous Sport for Girls?

Many people think that cheerleading is an easy sport, which involves only jumping around, yelling, waving pom pons, and being peppy and bubbly. Yes, those are major aspects of cheerleading, but what many do not know, is the physical strain it can put on those involved in the sport. According to a recent report by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina, cheerleading is now the number one "serious injury" sport for girls. According to the previously stated report, 65% of all catastrophic injuries that happen to girls, happen on their high school cheerleading squad. http://www.momlogic.com/2010/05/cheerleading_most_dangerous_sport.php

Cheerleading is becoming a serious sport, one that is both dangerous and requires the athlete to be in good physical condition. Yes, I know you're thinking you've seen quite a few heavy cheerleaders dring high school basketball or football games, but let me tell you, I'm sure they aren't able to do nearly as much as those who are in good physical condition. I will admit, I'm a few pounds heavier than I was when I was a freshman, and those added pounds make it difficult for me to do some of the things required on my squad. Needless to say, I need to get in shape. I know I am not fat though, so think about how difficult it would be for a heavy person to do a backhandspring, or a double toe touch. My coach even has a weight limit for our flyers. Go above her limit, sorry, no more flying for you. This may sound harsh, but speaking from a base's point of view, it's hard on my wrists and my shoulders and arms to hold someone up in the air for a given amount of time, without adding on extra weight.

So anyway, back to cheerleading being dangerous. If you do not have the proper coaching in your background, or do not listen to what your coach tells you, you could become seriously injured by many of things cheerleaders do. Let's focus on tumbling for a second. Yes, all of those gymnastics moves, flips, etc, look really cool, but they are also very dangerous. One wrong move such as not staying tight during your routine, putting a hand or foot in the wrong place at the wrong moment, could all cause life altering injuries. One could suffer from back or neck injuries as a result of not being careful. Not to mention the people who come out of cheerleading with bad wrists, kness, and ankles. Stunting is also a very dangerous feat. Three people holding one person up in the air is not something that should be taken lightly. One wrong move from any one person in the group could result in everyone getting hurt!

I know many of you are thinking I'm probably just exaggerating about how dangerous cheerleading can be. I'm not overreacting, cheerleading can be fun, but if you don't take it seriously, it can really screw up your future. Check out this video and see that I am not just being over dramatic.