Personal Essay: Is Cheerleading A Sport?

458 Words2 Pages

What comes to mind when you think of a cheerleader or cheerleading in general? Most people immediately think of the movie, “Bring it on”. This forces millions of young girls into a clique stereotype. You are constantly undermined and labeled unintelligent, bubbly, and naive. People assume all there is to the sport is a tiny, tight skirt and a high ponytail. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. If they even consider cheerleading a sport, to begin with.
The purpose of cheerleading is to promote school spirit and a positive school climate by participating in athletic events and extracurricular activities. Cheerleaders are commonly role models and strong leaders within the school. Cheerleaders spend many hours practicing, planning pep rallies, painting signs, cheering at games, competing, and other small things around the school that may go unnoticed. Cheerleading is a sport that requires …show more content…

The worst thing that can happen to a student-athlete happened - a life-altering injury; my ACL was torn to shreds and in my eyes, my life was over. From now on, If I wanted to be a normal kid and return back to my sport, I would have to have metal screws and an artificial ligament to stabilize my knee. It happened on the very last day of my Sophomore year of high school, and it would take up the entirety of my junior year season to recover. Cheer is a mixture of the total concentration of both the body and mind. Every moment needs to be precise and synced with your teammates. You all must be one; one sound, one movement, and one goal. If any motion slightly variates in angle or level precision, it will stick out like a sore thumb. If one voice is too fast or high-pitched, it can ruin the team's entire tempo. My coach always said, “Attitude is contagious”. This goes for both positive and negative energy. Positive attitudes can bring good energy to a team, but negative attitudes can drain the energy from a team and stop