I did it. I made the high school cheerleading team. Staying up too late on school nights to practice, clearing out all of the basement furniture to work on jumps, and stretching to the point where my legs felt numb, my stressful week of tryouts had payed off. I was ecstatic! My mom and I jumped up and down and hugged and laughed together, celebrating this achievement of mine. As for others, they weren’t so lucky. Then, I got into the car, and my excitement quickly turned into fear.
How was I supposed to have fun in cheer when just my simple week of tryouts was so stressful and demanding? What if I’m not as strong as the other girls? What if I can’t do what the coaches need? These thoughts raced through my head as quickly as the tears streamed down my face. I was absolutely terrified! I quickly thought that I had made a huge mistake and wondered if I should not join the team before I got in too deep. The thought that I had taken another girls spot on that team when I tried-out, and now I may not even be going through with it, made me feel terrible.
I talked with my parents and discussed the fears that I had throughout the next week. They told me to stick it out and if I really didn’t like my first year of cheerleading then I wouldn’t have to try out my sophomore year. I agreed to the proposition and went to practice the next morning. 6:00 A.M came earlier than I had intended. I threw on my workout clothes, slapped on some deodorant, brushed my teeth, pulled back my hair, and headed on my way.
The gym echoed with the voices of other cheerleaders as I opened the large, metal doors. I was so nervous. The coach walked in close behind me, and demanded we sit on the mats and stretch. After about 5 minutes, we got up and ran laps until we were told to sit down. We gathered in a circle around the base of the coaches feet and listened for instructions. We were placed into groups and instructed to get on the mats and prepare for stunting and skills training. Here was my moment of truth to see if I was able to lift and do what the coaches expect.
The first stunt came, and it seemed relatively easy. Then the second, then the third! This was so much different than I had anticipated! I was doing really well, even getting compliments from the upper classman who I thought never knew I existed. Weeks, then months went by, and I eventually got to the point where I was stunting with Varsity cheer team members, and I had even made the competition team because of my abilities. I could do prep’s, extenstions, lib’s, teddy bears, half-up’s, cradles, and flip stunts. I never thought I would get to the point where I felt so comfortable being on this team considering I had dreaded it so much. As a freshman, I was proud of my accomplishments and skills I had obtained for cheerleading, and I was looking forward to my next 3 years as a Cheerleader.