Anything having to do with cheerleading, you have to do it with confidence. You can not just go out on the mat and do a tumbling pass or stunt and think you are going to fail. You have to know you can stick it, and you have to do it with confidence.

My first cheerleading competition ever was the 2013 State High School competition in Des Moines. I was just a little freshman, and cheerleading was new to me. I was very fortunate to be one of the three freshmen to make the varsity and competition cheer team. This was the year where I fell in love with the sport and made so many great memories with new friends. By the time competition season came along, I had two second moms and thirteen older sisters. With two coaches and fourteen girls on one team, we had all become a family.

Getting ready for our first competition of the season was hectic as always, and emotions of excitement and nervousness stirred through our bodies. We all rushed to get ready in the somewhat small hotel rooms that we had stayed in the night before. Piling makeup onto our faces, using a bottle of hairspray per person so our hair would not fall out in the middle of our routine, clipping our nails to the very nub; everybody was rushing so we would not be late for our meet time in the lobby of the hotel scheduled by our coaches. As everybody got to the lobby on time, our coaches inspected our nails, hair, and uniforms to make sure it met not only their criteria but the judges as well.

As soon as our coaches were done examining us for perfection, we all piled into several minivans, and we were off to our first competition. Within fifteen minutes, we finally arrived at the Wells Fargo Arena. As soon as we all checked in and entered the arena, I was terrified. It was huge. The mat was right in the middle of everything. I thought, "that is where I am performing in less than five hours." My heart had skipped a beat or two as we walked around the stadium. There were too many teams to count and so many people that most of the arena was filled to the very last seat. I was very intimidated by the whole picture.

As we all got settled into a spot to put down all of our bags to sit and relax, we had plenty of hours to spare before we had to step onto the mat to perform our two minute and 30 second routine that we had prepared five months for. In that time, we could watch the smaller divisions perform and eat as much as our stomachs could handle, which was not that much. Soon enough, it was time for our team to go to the back and start warm-ups. My heart jumped as we made our way to the practice mats. We all lined up for inspection the second time that day, but this time it was not by our coaches but by the judges. As soon as they were done with checking our bodies for any hidden piercings, we started practicing our routine one last time before we got on. My coaches, Megan and Colleen, sounded like drill sergeants, saying the counts to our routine as we moved quickly through our spots like military men.

One of the workers came over to our coaches telling us our practice time was up. This was it. Time to show the judges and everybody in the crowd what kind of skills we had. As we were waiting for the team before us to finish performing their routine, Coach Colleen Day gave us one of her famous motivational speeches one last time before we went one.

“Go show everybody out there what you are made of. I am so proud of each and every one of you. You all worked so hard to get here. Confidence is key.” On and on, she went as she choked on her tears until the announcer announced the North Scott Lancers.

It was time to show them everything we worked for. We yelled our chant before we stepped on the mat:

“No I’m not lucky, I’m blessed, Yes! Clap for the heavyweight champ, Me! But I couldn’t do it all alone, We! Lancers on three. One, two, three, LANCERS!”

Holding each other’s hands, we ran onto the mat, spiriting as the crowd clapped and screamed for us. We quickly got to our beginning spots as others were setting up poms, signs, and megaphones. Standing there patiently as my heart was nearly beating out of my chest, hands sweating, hearing Colleen’s voice in my head saying “confidence is key”, I was going through all of my motions and spots quickly before they started the music. Finally, the music started, and it was time to show the crowd and the judges everything I had in only two minutes and 30 seconds.

Once it was time to show off the elite stunts that our teammates and coaches drilled into our heads, I was shaking with nervousness and anxiety. I heard the back base of my stunt group quickly say to me, “Janae, if you hit this 360 I swear to God, I will be so happy” and two seconds later we all coordinated beautifully together like we were born to do something so thrilling. We hit our elite stunt performance exquisitely, and we all screamed with joy like we have never had a happier moment.

After hitting every stunt and motion perfectly, we all jumped up and down and spirited off the mat as the crowd screamed, whistled, and clapped for our success. Excited as we could be, we ran to hug our teary-eyed coaches.

Soon enough it was time to announce the winners of each division. As all the teams ran up to the mat, we were all leaping with excitement. They only announced the teams that placed in the top five. After one team was announced for fifth place, we were announced for fourth out of thirty-six teams. We were ecstatic that we placed in the top five but also disappointed that we did not make it higher than fourth place.

After they announced all the awards, they gave us our score sheets to show us what we could do better next time and what we did well. As we all read what deductions the judges gave us, tears and frustration immediately hit everyone. We should have gotten second place if it were not for one simple mistake of tumbling with poms in our hands. Knowing that we really should have gotten second place out of 32 teams, we were also extremely happy.

This overall experience for me was definitely one to remember. Because of this event and the experience I had, I love to compete on the 42 feet by 42 feet set of mats, showing the judges everything I can do within two minutes and 30 seconds. My coach has taught me that you cannot do anything successfully without confidence. Confidence is the key to success.