By Elva Taher
Photo by Max Braunig
It’s that time again! Schools are in full fall swing again, which means cheer season has, too! At the Willow School, school spirit shines brightest when the cheer team steps out. Although our team isn’t technically a competitive cheer team like Cabrini’s, it doesn’t matter whether they’re on the sidelines of a football game or performing an intricate dance at a pep rally–they bring the energy to rally up the whole school.
Our cheer team has been working harder than ever this year, even practicing during the summer. Practices are filled with long hours, chants, stunts, and especially hard work.
“So we have a lot of work to do to get ready before the first game. We have practice everyday until then,” cheer coach Tai Teamer said. “And so now, it’s more formulating the stunt groups, identifying the bases, the flyers, etc. But other than that, it’s really the material.”
Behind all the stunts, cheers, chants, and tumbles, one of the biggest strengths this team has is their bond. In cheer, particularly with its paired or group stunts, a solid foundation is essential to pull off skills from the overall atmosphere of the team down to the coordination of catching a flyer.
“I like the environment,” freshman Kennedy Davis said. “I built a sisterhood with my teammates.”
“I love the hypeness of getting to cheer at football games every Friday.” freshman Jayci Davidson said. “I love the crowd, and I love the energy and the school spirit we show.”
Although it’s just the start of the year, the cheer team still manages to hype up the crowd like no other, bringing forth so much school spirit. But cheer isn’t just about spirit, it’s about performance and determination, too. This is shown in their performances that combine athleticism, skill, and creativity.
Now, let’s bring it back around in a full circle. Like a back handspring? How did these cheerleaders begin? Everyone starts somewhere. Take freshman Gabby Guient as an example.
“I really love school spirit, and I saw all my friends doing it, and I thought ‘Oh my gosh, that looks so fun’, so I decided to join it, too. I love it,” Guient said.
Many of these girls have been cheering for a while and, of course, over time they have grown so much. Whether it’s with their skills, bond, or spirit in general, they have all progressed greatly.
“I also feel like the dedication improves from year to year,” Coach Teamer said. “I feel like we have a team filled with very dedicated student athletes. So, I’m excited to see what they do. I think dedication and skill go hand in hand.”
Not only does the coach see it, but the cheerleaders themselves do, too. “If two years ago I saw me doing all these stunts and lifts and all sorts of stuff, like my toe touches being this high, I would definitely be shocked,” freshman Jayci Davidson said.
Cheer is a dynamic physical activity that uses organized routines. These routines can include tumbling, dance, stunts, and much more. And of course, you can’t love every skill. Some favorites from the cheerleaders were walkovers, handsprings, back tucks, and definitely stunting. Stunting is an acrobatic skill that involves lifting at least one cheerleader into the air, a huge component of cheer besides tumbling, which is the gymnastics portion of cheerleading (cheer-hq.com).
But all this skill doesn’t just come from in-school training–these hard working cheerleaders also practice in the outside world. “I do tumbling with my teammate, Kennedy, at Crescent City Gymnastics, and we also have weekend workshops to improve ourselves,” freshman Kelsey Rhodes said. “So, we have a lot of guest choreographers come in and help us. Training at home is a big thing for us, too.”
So, where would our cheerleaders like to grow? “I want to lead football games,” Davidson said. “I would love to call cheers. Especially last year, it was a lot of me calling cheers and helping out the team. I definitely would love more of a leadership position, but I understand that I’m only a freshman, and there are other people in grades above me who deserve the opportunity.”
“I think outside of school teambonding would be really fun and just hanging out together,” Rhodes said. “I also think it’d be helpful having mats, which is a big thing that we are trying to get.”
