Okay…first of all, for the detractors…high school and college cheerleading is a sport. It used to be about cheering testosterone laden boys as they got to have the fun. Those days are
long gone. People will often attend games to watch the cheerleading squads just as much as the sports team (and not because of the skimpy skirts either). Today’s cheerleading squad is athletic, talented and engaged in a gruelling competitive sport. I am not talking about the National dancing girl teams. Those are on a planet unto themselves. I am talking about high school and university teams that are skilled in precision movements and gymnastics.
Gone are the days of holding a megaphone and hoping the quarterback will ask for your phone number. If he does, he will have to take a back seat to long hours of tumbling, gymnastics and practice. And as for “skimpy skirts”...ever try to do a mid-air split in a long skirt? Or a pair of polyester trousers? Or jeans? Not practical. Though some male cheerleaders do this. Most of the jumpers and fliers in squads are women, though.
I am all for women engaging in all sports. Some women do not want to play football, or hockey or basketball. They happen to like cheerleading as a sport. They like the choreography, the gymnastics, the camaraderie. Here, in the UK, cheerleading is becoming popular as a total sport…with no team at all to cheer! Seriously. They just form squads to do cheers and gymnastics with no team to support.
In my high school, you were not elected by the students to be a cheerleader. You had to try out and were judged by people from other cities who had no clue who you were. If you did not pass muster in keeping the crowd engaged, in executing cheers with skill and in gymnastics, you did not make the squad. And you tried out every year. The most popular girl and the least popular girl (no men ever tried out for some reason) had the same chance if they could score the points needed. I understand that this is how most of the top USA squads are picked. I
think this is the most fair.
Tell your dad…that cheerleading is a sport unto itself. Tell him cheerleaders grow up to be Presidents (FDR, Eisenhower, GW Bush—okay well, he was), Supreme Court Justices (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), Senators (Trent Lott, Thad Cochran-okay, never mind these, _you_will run for the Senate and win, tell Mum and Dad), Singers (Madonna), Actors (Steve Martin, Jimmy Stewart). And if you ever want to win a Best Actress Oscar…you can up your odds since no less than six recent winners were all cheerleaders ( Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Sally Field, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lawrence.)
Mom and Dad…why choose cheerleading?
1. It fosters teamwork.
2. It teaches discipline.
3. It is physical exercise.
4. No time to ride in cars with boys, unless they are taking her to and from practice.
5. No time to cruise Facebook and have only a “cyber life” instead of a viable one.
6. Great friends she will have for life.
7. Pride of accomplishment.
8. Ability to handle disappointment and discouragement and keep going.
9. Need to keep grades up, since most squads have GPA restrictions.
10. One learns to lead, to prioritise and to think of the others they work with.
Signed,
Former Award Winning Head Cheerleader (and still one!)
