I am on the Varsity Cheer team this year for the second time.   Cheer is a very difficult sport. Each person on the team has a different responsibility.  If you are a base or back you are responsible for making sure that your flyer does not hit the ground or get injured.  If you are a front your job is to make sure they don’t fall forwards.  If you are the flyer you are supposed to hold yourself extremely tight and stay still.

In cheer you have to be strong physically, emotionally and mentally.  Physically because you are lifting people in the air.  Emotionally because even if you have a bad day or something happens with your relationships outside of school you put it all behind you and focus on the sport.  Mentally because people are going to say, “Cheer isn’t a sport!” or “Your uniforms are too short”  You have to take all of that one, after a while you get used to it but someday it will all come back and you can’t let it get the best of you.

We are a team, but I question what a team actually is.  I asked a few people what they consider a team and my first response was, “A team is a group of people working together with the same goal.” My second response was, “A team is a group of people coming together for a common goal.” My third response was, “A team is a group that works together towards a common goal.”  In my opinion a team is a group of people who work together through mistakes and hardships to achieve the common goal, everyone is included in all team discussions no one says anything bad about the other teammates or team players.

Through my experience cheering there have been some nights where I have questioned why I play this sport.  Now I know, I play it because it pushes you.  The team atmosphere is pushing you to be your best, try new things and never give up.  When you are on a team you feel like you can walk up to anyone on that team and tell them anything and they will help you through it no matter what.  That they won’t listen and then tell their friend who tells their friends then it gets around the whole school.  Teams are made on the foundations of trust.  If I fell or was dropped I got right back up made sure everyone was okay and did it again.  Sports bring you together in a way you never thought you would connect with another person.  That is why I cheer.  I cheer for the family it creates.

If you play a sport, why do you play?