The EMS Hornets cheer team!!! Our team will be attending all home and away boys basketball games. We will be attending 4 competitions in total throughout the state of IL. The Competition routine is 2min and 30 seconds long but it has to involve jumps, cheers, dance, tumbling and advanced stunts. We attended a 4 day long camp at ISU over the summer and that helped build up our skill level quickly. We have 16 team members which includes 10 8th graders and 6 7th graders. Throughout the season we will be working on getting stronger and improving our skills everyday to be able to complete more advanced cheers and stunts. 

I interviewed 5 team members and 3 of them said that their favorite Cheer motion is the high V. They said they like this motion because it’s fun and it makes your arms hurt because you do it so tightly. Millie Kaufman said that her favorite part is spiriting and Ava Clarkson said her favorite motion is the clasp because it adds lots of pep to the cheer and it’s super easy to do tightly.

Ava also said that because she is a flyer she prefers flying.. On the other hand when I asked Millie, she said basing and I asked her why and she said, “I ain’t goin up in the air.”

Every member I interviewed said that they are very excited for competition season because they are ready to show people what EMS cheerleaders can do and they love performing. They all also agreed that being on the cheer team is awesome. They said that they have made so many friends on the cheer team and it’s almost like a family because they do a lot together. Krissa said that it is a fun way to bond with the 7th and 8th graders at the same time.

Krissa Agnew and Alivia Schrock both said that they wanted to be a cheerleader partly because they enjoyed watching their sisters cheer. Everyone I talked to said that they saw it as trying something new and making new friends.

Everybody enjoys stunting. Ava said, “Sidelines are fun and all, but nothing beats stunting. It is scary at times when trying something new, but it’s definitely a fun experience.” Other members said it is very exciting when a stunt gets in the air, especially when it’s something new. Stunting has so much variety like flipping, one legs (also called a lib), heel stretches, halves, fulls, and twists.

I asked the girls if they think cheer is a more mental or skill sport, and three girls said it was more mental. It does require skill because if you don’t have a good mindset on anything it will fall apart, but cheer also requires flexibility, the ability to tumble, and strength. Lots of strength.

The girls are having a lot of fun this year and are keeping up the good work!!!