1. How much longer until practice is over?
Sometimes the school day is just so long that you can NOT stand to go to practice and it feels like it will never end. Even worse, morning practices before school ALWAYS feel like they last FOREVER.
2. Does anybody have any hairspray or bobby pins?
Every girl needs the hairspray or the bobby pins (better yet, both!) to make that high ponytail stay looking perfect and to hold all those baby hairs in place. Let's face it: it is a constant struggle, but so worth it once your hair looks perfect!!
3. I forgot to pack ________. Does anybody have an extra?
Captains can send a million reminders to the team about what to bring for a game or competition, but it never fails that one girl is going to pack at least one thing wrong. Thank goodness for that one 'cheer mom' on the team that always has everyone's back up ready!!
4. Which uniform are we wearing again?
Really though... it is hard to keep up when the team has 5 different uniforms... yet somehow 20+ girls managed to show up all in the same uniform (most of the time anyway)
5. Are we there yet?
Everybody has those certain away games that they dread because the bus ride feels like it will never end.
6. This game is taking foreverrrrr.
Let's face it: we love to cheer, but sometimes some games are just SO SLOW that we are ready to call it quits for the night and go home already.
7. I am SO sore!!
Whether it be from stunts, jumps, tumbling, workouts, or who knows what else... part of being a cheerleader is CONSTANTLY being sore. We will complain about it all season long, but we will continue to do those stunts, jumps, tumbling passes, and workouts because deep down we love it.
8. I would rather do anything else in the world than do another full out routine.
Full outs can be HARD. And the LAST thing you want to do at the end of practice when you are all sweaty and tired is to do another full out routine...including smiling the whole time...
9. I don't want to...
I don't want to go to practice today. I don't want to put my hair up for the game. I don't want to take my jewelry off. I don't want to go to the game three hours away. I don't want to do jumps in this routine. I don't want to smile the whole time. But of course (most of the time)... we end up doing it anyway.
10. I'm not cheering next year.
Sometimes you just get so mad that you swear on everything you are not putting yourself through the horror of being on a high school cheer team again... and of course, you always do end up cheering the next year.
At the end of the day: we complain but we love what we do. So, here's to all the current and alumni high school cheerleaders who totally get it...