Cheerleading

The cheer team has been around EMS for a long time. During cheer, the athletes tumble, stunt, and dance. They perform halftime routines and cheer the basketball players on from the sidelines. I interviewed a few athletes on the cheer team—here’s what they said!

Questions:

1. What’s your favorite thing about cheerleading?

2. Is there anything you wish you could change about cheer and why?

3. What’s your opinion on the new uniforms?

4. What’s your biggest goal you want to complete this year?

5. Do you think cheer is a sport? Why or why not?

6. What’s your favorite stunt?

7. What’s the highest tumbling you have?

8. Why did you decide to try out for cheerleading?

9. What is the most challenging thing you’ve had to overcome?

10. What’s your biggest strength?

Athletes:

Ayla Payne

1. My favorite thing would be throwing girls up into the air.

2. I would want to be able to choose how much conditioning we do. I feel like we need more.

3. I like the uniforms, but they fit horribly.

4. I would love to be able to attempt a back handspring on a trampoline.

5. Yes, but only competition—sideline isn’t a sport.

6. I like doing switch-ups.

7. I have a back walkover.

8. I wanted to be like all the other cheerleaders.

9. Getting moved around from stunt group to stunt group.

10. Dancing is my biggest strength because I can remember things quickly and easily.

Leela Hinzman

1. My favorite thing about cheerleading is probably the stunts we get to do, because in the end it looks really pretty.

2. If I could change anything, I’d make practices 30 minutes shorter so I have more time at home.

3. I really like the new uniforms because in the light, the gems look purple.

4. My biggest goal is to get stronger so I can stunt more efficiently.

5. I do, because we have to strengthen our arms, legs, and abs to do a lot of this stuff. Not to mention how much we have to run and the skill it takes for tumbling.

6. My favorite stunt is probably inversions.

7. I just got my back walkover, but I’m working on my front handspring.

8. I tried out because I knew it would make me stronger.

9. The most challenging thing is keeping people in the air during pyramids for a long time, but it’s better now.

10. My biggest strength is probably my flexibility.

Analeigh Perera

1. The comps and all the games!

2. I wish we could do basket tosses—they look super cool.

3. I love them! They are super sparkly and adorable.

4. My goal is to advance in tumbling and jumps.

5. Yes and no. Sideline cheer, like for basketball, is not a sport, but competition is definitely a sport!

6. I love Bajas and Libs.

7. I can currently go into a backbend standing up, which is great because in 6th grade I couldn’t even do a cartwheel.

8. My mom cheered in school, and it looked like a lot of fun!

9. Probably my many, many, many injuries—from jammed fingers, sprained ankles, and even ripping my gums open!

10. I am very strong in stunting.

Lucy Wettstien

1. Making new friends.

2. Fewer cheers, because they’re hard to remember.

3. I love the new uniforms—they’re very pretty.

4. Flip over from my backbend.

5. Yes, because it’s hard work and you use a lot of muscle.

6. Inversions are my favorite because they’re fun.

7. A backbend.

8. I tried out because my sister really wanted me to.

9. For cheer: a backwards roll. Outside of cheer: fixing the electric fence because it can never be trusted.

10. For cheer: being strong. Outside of cheer: knowing how to ride a horse correctly.

Audrey Palomo

1. I love stunting and the bond with your teammates! I also like cheering at boys’ basketball games.

2. I don’t know right now.

3. I absolutely love the new uniforms!

4. I want to beat our score from state last year.

5. I think cheer is a sport because it does have physical activities, and you also have to memorize things—just like in softball or basketball.

6. My favorite stunt is inversions.

7. A cartwheel…

8. Originally I wasn’t going to try out, but all my friends were doing it, and I decided a few minutes before the informational meeting.

9. The hardest thing I’ve overcome is doing our comp pyramid from last year.

10. I think my biggest cheer strength is my herkey jump and my stunting abilities.