Sports and extra-curricular activities have always been a major part of my life. Throughout my childhood I have played many sports that consists of ballet, swimming, baseball, cheerleading, soccer, and dance. I always enjoyed participating in all these sports, but my favorite is cheerleading. Cheerleading is a sport that I have participated in most of my life. I have engaged in three levels of cheerleading: recreational, all-star, and highschool, and initially started cheering when I was in the second grade.
The first level of cheer I started off with was recreational cheerleading. Recreational cheerleading is where you traditionally are cheering for a football team and compete against other cheer teams towards the end of the season. Being a part of this cheer team really brightened my horizon for the better. I participated in this level for about 3 years until I started playing other sports. During the middle of eighth grade, I decided to start All-Star with the persuasion and support of my sister. All-Star Cheer is the more advanced level of cheerleading and the most exciting.I feel as though All- Star Cheerleading is the best level of cheer. This takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but in the end, the experience is worth it. You have the opportunity to travel across the county and compete against all types of other teams. Although I created memories and friendships that will last a lifetime, I made the decision to start cheering at my high school.
Towards the end of my sophomore year, I decided that I wanted to be more involved with my school. Joining the cheer team there was the perfect decision so that I would not be completely quitting cheer after leaving my previous All Star cheer team. One of the biggest benefits was that my best friend was on the cheer and she was eager for me to join as well. Although having much previous experience, I was afraid that I would not make the team, but the coach insisted that my presence was perfect especially for the future of the cheer team. By joining this team I made many more friendships and was able to experience the highschool football and basketball game rush that others receive when attending. I am currently a cheer captain on this team for my final year of high school.
When many people think of cheer, they don’t necessarily think of it as an actual sport, but it actually is. In order to succeed in cheerleading, you must condition and train yourself like any other athlete for a sport. Some cheerleaders actually exceedingly push themselves and potentially become stronger than an average athlete. To be able to use your strength to pick up another person is really incredible. Cheerleading has become a big part of my life that I hope I never lose.
