What do you think of when you think of cheerleaders? Do you think of snobby, airheaded, brats who just cause trouble in school and think of nothing but themselves? This is a common belief among many people nowadays, with the media constantly portraying cheerleaders in a negative light. Don’t believe me? Think of some of these popular examples: Glee, Bring it On, High School Musical, and many more. In these movies and shows the cheerleaders are portrayed as either mean or dumb when in reality, cheerleading is a physically demanding sport and requires you to be smart, athletic, and a good team player.
So how hard is cheerleading, really? Well, most competitive cheer teams require both dance and gymnastics experience to join the team as well as extreme flexibility. General upper body strength is especially important for backspots and bases - people who hold up the flyer - and flyers must have core strength with lots of flexibility to be able to handle difficult stunts. In most competitive co-ed teams, the guys are also expected to be able to hold up girls all on their own, or throw them very high in stunts with other squad members. A combination of all these factors make cheerleading a very demanding sport that requires a tremendous amount of strength and body control.
With all the physical activity required, this also makes cheerleading one of the most dangerous sports to participate in. It is reported that cheerleading injuries make up approximately 66.7% of catastrophic injuries in high school females. This includes sprains, soft tissue injuries, fractures/dislocations, lacerations/avulsions, and concussions. To avoid getting injured, it requires fast thinking on both the flyer’s, and base’s part. For example, one of the first things that you learn when you are a flyer is how to fall. It doesn’t mean that everyone assumes you are going to fail, but that cheerleading is a difficult sport, and chances are, you’re not going to excel at everything you do.
So why is being, “a dumb cheerleader,” something that seems to not exist at all when it is so present in media? Because being a cheerleader requires you to be smart, a good team player, and active… everything a dumb cheerleader isn’t. So next time you make a snap judgement about someone because they say they’re a cheerleader, don’t. Because really, that says more about you than about them.