Most times, when people ask me what my favorite part about cheer was, I’ll answer with something like stunting, tumbling, or another “cool” thing that we did. However, with the end of high school competitive season just around the corner, I started thinking about what it is that I truly miss about the sport. Backflips, twist cradles, jumps, heel stretches, pompoms, new uniforms, hair braids, and bows--I admit that I miss all of those things a lot sometimes, but what really makes me nostalgic and wishing that I could cheer again is remembering the feelings that only this sport and no other can give. I found myself trying to explain them to a friend recently and I just couldn’t. So, here is my best attempt at describing the indescribable, at putting these feelings into words.
1. When Every Stunt Hits
Even when you’re only staring at your flier or base partner--or, as a flyer, at the crowd and the flyers who are in front of you--with the other stunt groups basically out of sight, there’s a certain feeling after hitting a stunt, when the crowd goes wild, and you know that every other stunt group hit it too. You can feel it in your teammates, you can see it by the way your coaches are jumping behind the judges table, and you know that every stunt not only went up, but it hit and stuck. It’s a feeling of accomplishment mixed with empowerment, like all of the work and endless drills were worth it.
2. Walking Off Of The Mat After A Round
“Leave it all on the mat,” is what I was always told. There was no better feeling than walking off of that mat, knowing you gave it your absolute best. It’s the moment right after you hit your final motion, final stunt. You fire up while sprinting off and hug your teammates while panting for air. Maybe it’s the fact that you’ve finally accomplished what you’ve been working all season to do. The moment that you walk off of the mat, you don’t care how good or bad the team before was, all that you think about is that you gave it 100 percent and truly left it all on the matt--and breathing. It’s a breathless, alive feeling where you can pause for just a moment before going to get ready for the next round and hopefully feeling that again.
3. The Pre-Award Team Circle
There’s music playing, people talking, and, for a few moments, you forget that you’re competing agains the other teams and actually invite them to play games with you. This is when everyone comes together to celebrate that we are all there with the same love and same goal in mind. This might be one of the less intense feelings, but it's perhaps one of the moments that made me feel most grateful for being cheerleader. This is one that, when it’s a bad competition day, you might not enjoy so much at first, but, even still, you can’t help but appreciate all of these people around who share one of your passions. Although the anticipation of wanting to know the scores is still there, you get to reflect on your day and your teammates. It’s a feeling of gratitude more than anything else.
4. When Your Place Is Announced
You’re on your knees, wrapped in a tight little ball, squeezing your teammates’ hands harder than they probably like, but even they can’t feel it because they are doing the same. It’s hope, it’s confidence, it’s knowing that you gave it your all so that no matter what place you’re called in, you still walk out with a positive attitude. Then your team gets called. On days when it’s not what you hoped for, it might not feel so good and you have to use it as motivation for next time. On days when it’s not only what you hoped, but what you’ve worked and toiled for, even when it’s not first or second place and it's simply the one that you know that you reached high for, the feeling is ecstatic. You jump to your feet and wrap your arms around as many teammates as you can. The feeling is proud, but grateful. It's accomplished, yet still motivating. It’s not for the title, trophy, or medal. It’s for your teammates, your coaches, and your supporters. It’s what you’ve spent countless hours every day working for.
There are more feelings that I could talk about and a lot more that I could say about these in an attempt to explain them, but I think that every current or retired cheerleader has their own version of this list that they could talk about forever. So, yes, the scorpions, toe touches, tucks, and everything else that people see are exciting, but what people don’t see--the feelings--is what makes me truly grateful to have been a cheerleader.
