Nine years of my life revolved around one sport. I did other sports as well, but only one became my life. Cheerleading in second grade, I made a friend who did competitive cheerleading. She use to come to school and during recess teach me the dances and cheers she had learned. This was a lot of fun to me. A couple years before that I had a neighborhood friend who also did cheerleading. Her mom let me go to practice with her once and watch. This was my first real experience that I remember.At the time it seemed really easy and fun. Well in fourth grade my parents split up and I moved from Washington State to Illinois. My mom let me join a cheerleading squad that year. The SOV JFL Colts. It was 4th grade to 8th grade. I caught on to the cheers really fast and learned all the beginning skills with no problem. I fell in love with the sport instantly.
I continued to cheer for the colts which was football cheerleading till sixth grade. Sixth grade was my final year, since they got rid of the cheerleaders. My middle school did offer cheerleading for the boys basketball, but only two of us originally started out. We got two more friends to join us. We ended up being a team of four girls. Megan, Robbie, Sarah, and me. This was a little intimidating at first, plus Sarah and I had to teach the two others about spankies that go under the uniforms and such. Sarah cheered in JFL with me so she knew the outline of cheerleading. Stunting consisted of thigh stands and such. Well at one of the basketball games there was a "cheer competition" so we competed and walked away with medals. Being the smallest team was really scary, but we did our best.
Seventh grade year my aunt and another lady became our coach. This is what really opened my eyes to stunting. We learned about extensions and other stunts. I learned how to cradle here and how to really fly. At first I was scared to death to get in the air, but after the first time I was addicted. This team had a lot more girls on it. Probably at least 13.Cheering became harder and we had to practice more. If it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t good enough.
Eighth grade year came so fast I couldn’t believe it. My cheer coach was now Sarah. She was a big inspiration to me. She took us to the high school cheerleading practices and let us watch. She taught me how to do my scorpion for the first time too.Stunting wasn’t the main focus anymore, it was everything. Cheers, jumps, stunts, smiling, and being a role model. At first we thought she was kind of harsh, but when I look back now I realize she was only hard on us because she knew we could do amazing things. Sarah really helped me prepare for high school cheerleading.
Freshman year cheerleading tryouts were intimidating. A bunch of older girls who were obviously stronger and bigger than me.I felt as if I wasn’t on the same level as them. When I made that cheerleading team I cried. I was so proud to be part of the squad. Some of the upper classmen kind of were rough and mean to me and another freshman, but we assumed it was some sort of initiation. I learned so many more stunts, jumps, and more cheers. Of course everything got harder, but every second was worth it to me. We competed once this year and it was so exciting. I messed up my stunts, but I still got out there and did it. Making so many memories and friends was probably my favorite part though. I also tried out for the football cheerleading squad. The team was conjoined with another town so I had more competition here. When I made it I knew I had talent.The older girls really took me under their wings and helped me learn the ropes. My coach Christian was an amazing coach. She always encouraged me and helped me achieve my goal. I still remember on pink night she asked me if I wanted to fly a liberty and I said no, since I had never done it before. She didn’t take no for an answer. Less than an hour before the game we practiced it and I only stuck it twice. Finally on the sideline she gave me the look and the other girls yelled, “Haley lib!” I knew I had to stick it for her. I stuck that stunt and felt so breathless. She believed in me the entire time. I was truly lucky to have her as a coach.
Sophomore year tryouts were better, because I was actually confident. I knew what I was getting myself into. I didn’t make varsity like the one other sophomore did which broke my heart, but after awhile I realized I was just lucky to be part of the team. Stunts improved and so did my jumps. Each practice I got a little bit better. I joined a competitive cheerleading squad this year also. The coach was one of the former seniors from my freshman year. She really pushed me to do my best. Ashton never excepted the words “no” or “I can’t”. This team really taught me how to work off of adrenaline.
Junior year the scariest year for me when it came to cheerleading. My coach was Angie and let me tell you, she was tough. It seemed like you were never good enough for her. It was so hard and I did cry a lot. We had many injuries and many tears. I wanted to give up and quit. At the time it didn’t seem worth it to me, but I realized now She taught me so much. The dance routines we learned may have seemed stupid at the time were a lot of fun and help you when it comes to memorization. I have so much respect for her more now than I did at the time. We may have not always gotten along, but I do feel lucky to have a coach to pushed me over the edge to be the best. I also cheered for football cheer again and loved every minute of it.The coach was no longer Christina, but the coach still pushed us and tried to make us all feel like a team.
Senior year was definitely interesting. Football cheerleading was so much fun. I made so many friends and made so many memories.Having team bonding often and always making sure we were a team all the time. We had some ups and downs, but in the end, we loved each other like a family. Basketball cheerleading had originally 23 cheerleaders. That at first seems like too many.Having so many girls has its pros and cons. We can do so many more stunts and stunt groups, plus you can do so many more cheers. We had two amazing coaches, Robyn and Kathy. We may not always agree, but they always tried to make sure everything was going well. The practice before senior night Kathy asked me what stunt I wanted to do. I was determined to stick my heel stretch at extension. After a couple times falling, I finally got up there and my cheerleaders started chanting, “Control is the key.” Which was one of our cheers. They believed in me and it meant so much to me. Senior night came and we threw my basket toss which looked good, then we tried that heel stretch. The first attempt it came down, I only had seconds to try again and with the help of my stunt group I did it. I cried, I was so proud of myself. The one stunt goal I had came true.
I did tryout for college cheerleading, but didn’t make it. At first it was heart breaking and I did cry. I didn’t know what to do anymore with my life. For nine years, I was a cheerleader, now I was just a student. After months of finally accepting the fact, I just tell people I’m a retired cheerleader. Sometimes I have moments where I really miss it and break down and cry, but other times I just smile and look back at all the fun memories I made. If you must give up something you love under any circumstances, don’t look at the time you did doing it as a waste, rather just amazing memories. If you truly love doing it, never give up trying to still do it. I am a retired cheerleader, but I hope to come out of retirement one day. Even if I am just a coach.
