What Cheerleading Has Taught Me

 I've noticed that some of my posts have shed cheerleading in a negative light.  Obviously there are some things about this sport that I don't agree with.  However, I wanted to take this time to go over all of the positive contributions cheerleading has made to my life.  I wouldn't be where I am today without this sport and the relationships I have made.  So here are three of the lessons I've learned from being a cheerleader.

1) Be confident.
Going out on stage with bright lights flashing on you in front of thousands of people is scary.  It's really scary.  I've never been a shy person, but this is daunting even to me.  However, knowing how prepared you are and how hard you've worked to get to that moment raises your confidence levels.  It's all in your mindset.  If you go out there afraid you're going to fall or forget where to go, that's what's going to happen.  However, if you walk on the stage with the expectation that you are going to succeed, you will succeed.  This is applicable in almost every life situation.  Attitude is everything.

2) Your team is behind you.
It's a great feeling to know that someone is there to catch you when you fall- literally and figuratively.  I have been part of a great team throughout my years as a cheerleader.  I can trust them all.  They've seen me frustrated and ready to quit.  I don't have to hide anything.  I am not generally a very trusting person, so to know that 15 girls have my back no matter what is something I wouldn't trade for the world.

3) Just because something scares you doesn't mean you should quit.
Tumbling is scary.  You see girls flip around in the air and you think it's cool and that it's fun.  It's terrifying.  Not being in full control of your body is definitely something that takes some getting used to.  Learning a new skill that goes against the laws of gravity is awful, to be honest. Sometimes I just want to stop.  However, the feeling that I get when I land a new skill for the first time is the most rewarding thing.  It teaches me that no matter how afraid I am I have to keep working hard because the gratification is most definitely worth it.

Home Schooling in Cheerleading

     As young children become more serious about sports more quickly the number of students that are being home-schooled in order to spend more time focused on their sport is rapidly increasing.  I don't think that home-schooling for a sport like cheerleading is something that parents should be exposing their children to.
     I understand that athletes with high levels of potential often give up school to focus on training.  However, cheerleading seems to me to be a dead end.  I hate saying it, but how far can you go? Sure, you can eventually cheer in college and maybe even get a scholarship.  Is that worth giving up crucial social interaction at a young age? And that's assuming that even happens.  More often than not, injuries occur.  In a sport that's so dangerous, one injury can change everything.  Cheerleading and tumbling is not something that is meant to be done over and over again, all day every day.  It's detrimental to your body.
     An education is something that will benefit you for the rest of your life.  Although there are many amazing lessons one can take away from cheerleading, it's simply not comparable to what you learn in school, both academically and socially.  After college, there is no such thing as professional 'cheerleading'.  Cheerleading teams such as the well known Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are more like dance teams, so the skills aren't even applicable.
     To be blunt, I think that parents who pull their young daughters from school in order to improve their standings in the cheer world need to get their priorities straight.  Although it may be fun to see your daughter rise in the ranks in the world of cheerleading, it won't feel the same when they are in college and thrown into a world that socially, they are not ready for.

The Emphasis on Looks

     As mentioned in a previous post, cheerleading is highly focused on material looks.  To go to a competition, one is required to spend hours preparing.  To be considered to look “professional” at the major competitions, cheerleaders should be tan.  While some do choose the spray tan option, nearly everyone chooses to go tanning, sometimes more than once a day.  The uniforms of level 5 teams are half tops, meaning the stomach is exposed.  Because of this, cheerleaders are expected to have visible abs.  Without them, you are considered lazy in the judge’s eyes and unworthy of wearing a half top.  I’m not making this up. 

     Come competition day, hair and makeup takes two hours minimum.  Hair must be curled precisely so the entire team is uniform.  Bows are bobby pinned in.  Next comes the makeup.  Regardless of age, cheerleaders are required to wear makeup.  Heavy makeup. Glitter, heavy eyeliner, and bright lipstick are applied. 

     For what? You might ask.  Cheerleaders focus so much on being called a ‘real sport’.  Yet do other ‘real sports’ spend this much time on material looks?

     The answer to this is simple, they are putting on a performance.  Although many people would be justified in saying that the way cheerleaders look is over the top, it’s part of the performance.  You need to be seen from far away on stage, and nothing calls attention quite like this. To those with complaints that cheerleaders don’t look like ‘real people’, they’re not meant to look like everyday people.  Although the rules are ridiculous at times, it’s part of the sport.  It’s unfair to criticize cheerleaders for the pressure they are under to be in shape.  Wrestlers have weigh ins that are even more intense.  

Emily's Story

     17 year old senior Emily L has been cheering since she could remember.  After spending her elementary and middle school years on the town competition team, she had a tough choice to make.  She could cheer at a team that had all of her friends but didn’t have a level 5 team, the level she belonged on.   She knew that in order to give herself the best opportunities, she would have to cheer at Star Athletics, where she knew no one.

     Three years on a level 5 team did wonders for Emily.  Her confidence soared as she did, learning new skills almost every day.  She was the coach’s favorite, always the example, a role model.  However, Emily soon faced a problem that hundreds of flyers face every year: she was too old. 

     On her fourth and final year at Star, Emily’s experience drastically changed.  Because she was a senior and it was her last year, she began to be overlooked.  Instead of being placed with the experienced bases, she was flying over inexperienced girls in order to teach them.  10 year olds were replacing her in stunts simply because they had seven more years in the program.  It wasn’t about talent, it was about grooming. 

Age wasn’t the only problem.  At 5’2 and 105 pounds, Emily was “too big”.  They wanted 80 pound flyers, and Emily couldn’t make the cut. 

     After a meeting with her parents, Emily was told not to come to practice the next day.  She spent over 13 hours a week at the gym, it was her life.  Suddenly, it was all gone. 

      I think that this is simply ridiculous.  Athletes should be commended for their success.  The pressure Emily was under along with unfair circumstances cost her.  She lost the rest of her season, friends, and most importantly, confidence.  This isn’t just a problem at Star.  It’s happening all over.  The cheer world needs to open their eyes and put into place stricter age requirements to prevent things like this from happening to girls like Emily.