What is a Cheerleader?

When you think of a cheerleader, you may picture a girl with her long, blonde hair hanging down, a sweater with a megaphone, saddle shoes, and pom pom socks.  The pom poms she's holding in her hands are probably larger than her head, and she may be talking to the captain of the football team. 

Is this the image you get in your head?  If, yes--you are clearly mistaken.  That woman is the cheerleader of the past.

Ask any cheerleader today, and they will tell you that the amount of work she (or he!) puts in is just as much, if not MORE, than any other athlete.  Currently on Kingston, we have several girls who also participate on lacrosse, track, softball, field hockey, and soccer who will tell you that our warm-ups and conditioning exercises are just as, if not more, difficult than other sports.  We sweat, bruise, and bleed just as much as any football player.  We are athletes. 

When we are at football and basketball games, and other sporting events, we are there to support our team, school and community.  The skills that we exhibit at these games are what we work on at practices, and in a sense, serve as "practices" for our competitions.  The amount of hard work and dedication that goes in to creating a great, clean, and safe routine is endless.  Our athletes don't life weights, they lift people.  When they execute a jump, it has to be with such precision and synchonization.  And no matter how sore, tired, or broken they may feel, they need to keep a smile on their face and show how PROUD they are of their team, their coach, and themselves. 

There is some exciting talk in New York State right now about cheerleading actually becoming recognized as a sport.  At the college level, there is already a new sport titled "Stunt I" and "Stunt II" which combines cheerleading and gymnastics skills and schools compete against one another with a defined set of regulations.  We at KHS are lucky that Athletic Director Glen Maisch treats us like a sport, where we follow the same rules and must meet the same expectations of any other team. 

The next time you think of a cheerleader, think about what we REALLY are and what we REALLY represent.  Do your research.  Talk to a cheerleader.  Talk to a coach.  Listen to what cheerleading is in the year 2011.  The stereotypical popular, blonde, provocative cheerleader is OUT and the cheereading athlete is IN!

Cheerfully yours,

KHS CHEER *\0/*