I used to think that cheerleaders were just that....girls who would appear at high school and middle school sporting events to be cute and cheer on their favorite teams. Over the past year or two, I've gotten a real lesson on cheerleading. There are cheerleading squads who come to games to encourage their schools and there are squads that compete against other squads in big-time events. I used to think that cheerleaders were not athletes. I used to think cheerleaders would just show up at games in their uniforms, cheer on their teams and do a dance routine every now and then.
Boy was I ever wrong.
Cheerleaders work as hard as any athletes do, no matter which sport you're talking about. They practice year round. They spend a lot of weekends traveling around the country competing in cheer events like the one in Florida this past weekend.... the one that crowned the Boyd-Buchanan cheerleaders as National Champions. That's a really nice way to end your competitive season. Families who have kids playing travel or select baseball know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the same premise as cheerleading.
If you think cheerleaders are not really athletes, think again. Several of the Boyd-Buchanan girls can do handsprings all the way down the gym floor during time outs. Could you do that? I didn't think so. Or could you do a "herkie" jump ? How about a "standing tuck" or a "broken T" These are terms I never knew existed until now. Much like football, basketball and baseball, cheerleading has its own language and terms. All these moves and jumps are expected to be perfect, all the while they're expected to smile constantly and be energetic, whether it's 100 degrees or freezing rain.
At 72 years old I'm surprised that it's taken me this long to really appreciate cheerleaders. In addition to their tough practices, conditioning is as important to them as in any other sport. You can't be out of shape and be a competitive cheerleader, that's a fact.
In recent years many colleges have offered scholarships for cheerleaders....anywhere from $500 to $2000 per year. And as the sport has evolved through the years, more and more schools are offering financial aid. This is not just for cheering at team sporting events but for the sport of competitive cheering.
I now have a granddaughter who cheers and my oldest grandson's girlfriend is a member of the national championship squad at Boyd-Buchanan. I imagine I had better brush up on those cheerleading terms!