Misconception: Cheerleading is just a bunch of girls standing on the sidelines of a football game making noise. This is far from true. We are a sport and we are a team. We spend hours upon hours working to perfect a routine for homecoming, pep rally and competitions. In this process, we have ups and downs and make so many memories that last us a lifetime. Behind all of those memories are some struggles that we face on a daily basis.
1. The Obnoxious Questions We Get Asked
A lot of the time we get asked silly questions such as "Can you do that bendy thing?" or "Can you really do a back flip?" The most annoying one has to be "Can you show me now?" So to answer you're questions: Yes, I can do that bendy thing. Yes, I can do a backflip. Yes, I can show you now...but I will not show you now because your questions annoyed me. Please don't think you're special because you are not the first person to ask me these questions and sadly I know you won't be the last.
2. Songs Are Easily Ruined
At the beginning of a season when we get music for the routine, the entire team is all smiles and dancing around to the hit music our coach and captains put in our music. Then this mash-up of songs gets played over and over and over and over and over again. By the 8th week of the season we are ready to pull our hair out when we hear the songs in our cheer music on the radio. It's like playing a song until you're sick of it, but having no choice to listen to it. Personally, I still cringe when I here Larger Than Life by The Backstreet Boys.
3. Body Pains
The first week of practice is usually the worst. It's all conditioning. Conditioning consists of running, doing stairs, endless planks, core workouts and countless other workouts that leave our bodies aching in places we didn't even know could ache. Icy hot, ice and other home remedies sometimes just don't cut it. The memories of these popping and cracking body pains are engrained into us (literally) for weeks and years after a season is over because our knees, shoulders, hips and ankles pop and crack what seems to be on command. It is still somewhat painful.
4. Hair, Makeup and Glitter
The best and the part of every game and competition (other than winning). Sadly, this is also the worst part and usually the biggest struggle. In your head you have the perfect idea of how your hair and makeup will look that night. Once it comes time to do it, your eye shadow is uneven, your hair won't slick back in the places you need it to and your poof keeps falling flat no matter how many different ways you try to secure it. The bathroom is filled with about 20 girls yelling "Who has a hair tie?" "What happened to my hairspray?" "Does anyone have any more glitter?" By the time we all leave the bathroom, everyone is covered in glitter and smells like hairspray and various body lotions. But even now and then you get that one time where your hair and make-up all falls into place, no glitter got in your eye that day and you look and feel like a million dollars.
5. Falling...A Lot
Every cheerleader falls. A lot. You can fall out of a stunt, have a girl fall on you, mess up your tumbling pass and fall and sometimes we just trip or lose our balance and fall. It becomes a daily occurrence at some point in the season. The bumps, cuts and bruises we get from falling seem to last a lot longer than just normal bumps, cuts and bruises. When someone falls too often their falling will probably become the joke of the team; but don't fret, someone else will fall eventually and then you're off the hook. They are the new target of falling jokes.
6. Everything Is "5-6-7-8"
From the time we are little and are on our first recreational cheerleading team, we are taught that everything goes to a count. When you walk, when you clap, when you put your hands up and even when you breathe, it all goes to a count and if you don't do the specific move on its specifically, scientific, well thought out count, the entire routine is wrong. After years and years of our lives being dictated by four silly numbers, it has become such a basic part of our lives and we don't even know it. Everything we do from breathing, to brushing our teeth, to walking, eating and everything in between is run by "5-6-7-8." As much as I don't want to keep saying this when I brush my teeth or run upstairs, I can't help myself.
7. The Phrase "Full Out"
Any cheerleader has nightmares about this phrase. Full out. The whole routine needs to be done fullout. That means literally perfectly. It sends cringes down everyone's spine. Most coaches like to spring this on us as practice is just about to end. So after 3 hours of sweating and doing everything to the best of your ability when all you want to do is go home and lay in your bed, you have to find what seems like all of the energy in the world to pull off the perfect routine. Somehow we always manage to do it.
8. The Phrase "One More Time"
This phase seems harmless. Right? WRONG! One more time usually equates to twelve more times. If you've ever been on any cheerleading team you know the pain of this, so I'm just going to leave it at that.
9. No Social Life
All of your friends are going bowling? You have practice. Your friends sweet sixteen? You have practice. Your cousins baby shower? You have practice. Your mom wants to take you to dinner? You have practice. I think you get the picture. There's no such thing as a social life when you are on a cheerleading team.
10. Missing Your Team When The Season Is Over
By the end of the season, you can't wait to get away from your team. You've been on each others nerves for weeks now because you've spent way too much time together. Attitudes are flying higher than the flyers are thrown and its just time for a break. After about two days of not having practice you miss everyone. You miss the organized chaos and the utter chaos. You miss ranting about bad days and laughing and giggling on good days. You miss it all when it ends and would do anything to relive the memories you spent so many hours creating. Before you know it, it'll be time to start another season all over again.
Despite the struggles we all face, we wouldn't trade our sport for the world. We've spent too much time perfecting everything from our motions to our tumbling passes to let a few struggles stop us from being the best cheerleaders we can be.
