It Isn’t Just Cheerleading
“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” – J.K. Rowling
When one thinks of a cheerleader what comes to mind? Many think of pretty girls in short skirts waving around pom poms doing a whole lot of nothing, then you’ll be surprised after reading this that there is a lot more to it then just that.
BG cheerleading is ranked 31st in the top 40 places to cheer in the U.S. The squad has had many great accomplishments, such as placing top three every year at UCA College Nationals in Orlando, Florida. The program has grown stronger every year because of the tremendous amount of team work the BG cheerleaders have learned.
Members of the team come from all over Ohio and even other states as well. Several of the girls are from the Chicago area, there are a couple from Michigan and one from California. This year the squad is very young and does not have as much college cheer experience like they have in the past years. More then half the team are freshman or first time cheerleaders, but that does not mean they can’t live up to the high expectations of BG cheerleading.
“We are extremely proud of everyone this year. We know this team has great potential and the new members to the team are picking up all the material very quick.” Says the coaching staff.
With the first home football game that was held on September 19, the new members to the team are getting nervous and feel the pressure rising. For most freshman in college, it is challenging getting used to the new setting, in a new town, with a whole lot of new people and new harder classes; now just imagine adding the stress of striving for perfection. That’s what the freshman on the cheer squad are going through right now.
“I’m never in my room. From workouts in the morning, classes during the day, practice at night and games on the weekend, I’m only in my dorm to sleep, but its worth it.” Says freshman Ali Kuzma.
Being a BG cheerleader takes a lot of time and dedication. They practice Monday, Wednesday, Thursday evenings and have team workouts Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Practices consist of many different activities such as stunting, building pyramids, perfecting cheers or dances and tumbling.
Stunting and pyramids take a lot of concentration and team work to reach perfection. Throwing people up, catching them, holding them up in the air and then bringing them back down safely takes up most of the practice time for the squad.
“If the stunt or pyramid doesn’t hit, we do it again and again until its perfect. We don’t want to go out at a football game and throw skills that are falling all over the place. That’s embarrassing for a coach, athlete and the whole program.” Says senior Megan Swaney.
Just as the stunting must be perfect for this team, the tumbling and cheers must be perfect as well. It is a requirement that all females on the team have a standing tuck and they must have running tumbling as well. There is no guarantee coming into tryouts that they will be on the team for the females. The amount of talent that come to tryouts is insane, and there is no recruitment process for cheerleading or scholarships. The males need no former cheer experience to be on the team, they look for guys with potential and who will work hard to become a cheerleader. Most of the guys however have some cheer background, or have played other sports; usually football. They look for males who have a strong build, and will strive to always do their best.
Another requirement to be on the team is a good GPA. The squad must strive for perfection on and off the clock. The new members to the cheer program are required to complete four hours of study tables in the library each week or they can’t cheer at the upcoming game. So they have to balance the hours of practice and workouts with their four hours required they are in the library.
Nationals, the time of year where practices become longer, stress gets larger and the amount of free time gets smaller. The team travels to Orlando, Florida in January to compete against other colleges all around the U.S. BG is known for getting top three every year in their division and they plan on continuing that this year and for many years to come.
“Nationals season can be the best time and the worst, there’s no in between.” Says Megan Swaney.
The squad works extremely hard in the months before Nationals, their practices turn into two-a-days and they even don’t get the opportunity to go home for winter break. They can leave for Christmas Eve and Christmas; that’s it. For many it is challenging to deal with not being able to have quality family time over the holidays. The coach’s expectations for the squad are always high, which adds a lot of stress in the preparation for nationals.
High school cheerleading and college cheerleading are very different. In many high schools in Ohio, they are not allowed to stunt. This makes it challenging for incoming freshman making the transition from only tumbling to now needing to learn how to stunt. Those who come in knowing how to stunt usually have that experience from doing all star cheerleading. All star cheerleading is a combination of tumbling, stunting and is a profitable business. The female members of the team who did not come from a cheer background usually come from a gymnastic background and are looking for a change, therefore they switch to cheerleading.
No matter what background these athletes come from they all have one thing in common and that is that being apart of this program has made them the people they are today. They have grown with the sport and have created memories that will last a lifetime.