People often tell me that cheerleading isn't a sport. I am not gonna sit here and try to convince you how it is one because that is not what I want to bring to your attention. While being apart of the cheerleading community, I learned that it is more than just a sport, it is a home. The athletes on your team or at your gym will support you at your best times and worst times. Cheer gyms will send love and support to other gyms if they know they are struggling. This is something I have never witnessed before when it came to sports. Along with providing a home away from home for their athletes, this sport teaches so many life lessons that I am thankful I learned.

Don't be selfish

We practice for 6-10 hours a week for year-round all to perform on a stage a few times in a season for a few minutes. If one person decides to be selfish and not work their hardest on that competition floor, it will cost us our first place championship. Even at practice, if you are unable to walk into practice and not work your hardest, practice is gonna be a lot harder for you and your teammates than you anticipated.

Always arrive on time

Being punctual is something that will be forever engrained in my mind forever after my time cheering. Being late to anything whether it is school, work, volunteering, and etc. are unacceptable. And my coaches made sure to teach us that at practice. I remember the day at practice when I learned this lesson the hard way. One day one of my teammates was running late and didn't call or text the coaches to give them a heads up. So to teach the entire team that this is unacceptable, my coach had us run laps until our teammate arrived. I think we ran about four miles by the time she got there then we had to run a mile with her to warm up so she wouldn't run alone. Yes, that may seem harsh but honestly, it is a lesson that every teenager needs to learn this lesson at some point in their life.

Time management

Most cheerleaders are in high school while playing this sport. I remember while I was cheering I was involved in choir and dance at my local high school as well. With that, I had learned how to balance practice, schoolwork, and all my extracurriculars along with my competitions that consumed my entire weekend. I had to learn to become organized in order to succeed in all of these things simultaneously. And to this day, it has helped me understand the importance of time management in order to never fall behind.

Tough-love

While at practice, my coaches would push me and my teammates to our limits each day. Some days we would get screamed at or called out for not working hard enough, which seems harsh but its the wake-up call we need to hear. Our coaches had us put our blood, sweat, and tears into our team. No matter how hard they pushed us or how mean they could come off, we all always knew it was because they loved us and wanted to see us achieve something great.

Leave your baggage at the door

Whether it is a practice, at school, or at work, you can't give 100% if you are focused on other things. My coach would always tell us to leave our personal problems at the door and be present at practice. This was something I loved about cheerleading. No matter how upset I was that day, I was able to walk into that gym and work off anything I was dealing with and clear my head for those two hours. This is something I still do to this day and I do believe others should try it as well.

Confidence

When performing any skill, you have to mentally tell yourself you are capable of doing it or else, you won't. You need to bring confidence to the competition floor and show the judges that you deserve that first place title. Now I have learned how to believe in myself and be confident on and off that competition floor.

It has been two years since my cheerleading career ended and I still value these lessons I learned throughout being apart of the program. I am so thankful to be apart of such a loving community that will do anything to support each other.