My Cheer Journey and The Life Lessons That Came With It

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what I have learned from my life experiences and how I have grown as a person. Cheerleading has been my entire life. I have always planned everything around it since I was 5 years old. Classes, work, family, and friends have always come second. And now... it's all coming to an end.

Honestly, I was kind of excited to be done, and I have to say it is nice. There is just something about having a team and something to look forward to during the week, even if I was dreading practices, that fueled me. Even when I started when I was little, it was a battle to get me there at times. I am so glad I stuck with it though or I wouldn't have learned all the lessons or had the experiences I had.

My mom put me in an all-star program in 1st grade called Champion Cheer Athletics. That place became my second home. I cheered there through my senior year of high school and I don't regret one minute. The coaches, teammates, and atmosphere were always so welcoming and everyone was equal.

Cheerleading is great because you move up team levels by learning new skills, so for the most part, it's a battle against yourself to get better. But cheerleading is also one of the most teamwork-centered sports there is. There would be no stunts or formations without a team. A flyer needs her bases just as much as the bases need their flyer. And the trust that comes with this sport... is like nothing else.

There's always this thought that flyers have the best position on the team, and some families will throw fits if their child is taken out of the air. Like, it's insane, but I understand. I flew for my first 8 years of cheerleading, then I got to be the tallest on the team and my flexibility was nowhere near where it should've been. I got moved to be a back spot. At first, it was hard, of course it was, "I'm not the one everyone's looking at anymore and taking pictures of?". But as competitions started coming around, I started to really love my position. I was always so stressed flying in front of crowds and now I had total control of the stunt. I was the leader in the group and I truly loved it. I honestly think it made me a better flyer later in life because I then knew what it felt like to be under the stunt. So, if you or your child has gotten moved from the air to the floor, encourage it, learn from it, and use it to your advantage. Further down the road, things could change again as they did for me.

In high school, I always said I would never cheer for a team. I felt it was embarrassing and lame, but then I heard my school wasn't going to have a team my sophomore year, so I started my own. I found a coach, talked to the athletic director, and before I knew it I had a little high school cheer team of my own. We didn't compete, we just had a blast and did whatever we felt like. Because the team was mostly all-star girls, we actually could do some pretty impressive things for high school. I ended up falling in love with that program as well. When both my high school and all-star teams were coming to an end in my senior year, I started to think more about college.

College cheer was also a joke in my mind at first because I thought it was like high school. I ended up attending a couple of Beaver Cheer clinics and realizing I could fly again and it was nothing like high school. At OSU they only had a coed team meaning girls flew and boys threw. This was definitely intimidating since I had never partner stunted and it had been a couple of years since being in the air. But like everyone else, once I started, I was hooked. Leading up to tryouts, I honestly didn't prepare much. It was more for the experience to see if I could even make the team. There was also a new coach just hired so no one knew his coaching style.

I guess he saw something in me because he took a chance and put me on the team. I was the tallest and probably had some of the least experience in college cheer on the team. Later down the road, I would find out that people were surprised I made the team. It's funny because I was not the "beaver cheer look" at all, but we all start somewhere, right? But looking back, I get it, lol.

- This picture will forever haunt me, but it's too good not to include -

Starting Beav Cheer was hard, I didn't quite understand the dynamics at first and I butted heads with quite a few people. This program is very seniority-based and I had never really been in a dynamic like that before. I found a few that I stuck close to as well as really becoming close with a couple of dancers. My dancer girls were some of the first people that reached out to me and are still my friends to this day. I had another friend that also stuck by my side no matter what that first year and I will forever be greatful for him. By the end of the season, I figured out my place and how the team worked, for the most part.

I have always loved dance, I was never trained, but I was determined to dance with the dance team. All my best friends were there and I worked my ass off to learn their skills. It was hard, I had a couple of amazing people work with me, but it just wasn't enough.

That first day of tryouts was rough. I went completely out of my comfort zone and tried out for dance and was cut from Beaver Cheer. That night the coach said I could join the new all-girl team or I was done. I almost quit, gave up right then, I was so upset. I ended up deciding that being on the team meant the most to me no matter what position I was. I took his offer and joined all-girl as a back spot. Going into my second year, that coach was let go and a new one was brought in. On our first day of practices (sophomore year), he asked anyone that knew how to fly to raise their hands, so of course, I did. I flew all-girl my entire life, so here was my chance. Now, I've been flying all-girl ever since. I was also pulled to fly coed throughout the season as well as being asked to dance with the dance team when one girl was injured. Sophomore year I was also asked to dance as Benny the Beaver with the dance team at the Moda Center, which was probably one of the highlights of my life. My sophomore year was a big year in general for me. I broke off old relationships as well as mended a ton. I thrived this year. I bounced around from team to team and had a good relationship with almost everyone in the program. An awful tryout, turned perfect year.

While sophomore year contained some of my most memorable experiences, I learned the most through my junior and senior. These years I was asked to be captain and that transition can be tough. Going from teammate to leader can be tricky with some teammates. Luckily, I felt I was already seen as some sort of leader, so it wasn't too bad. At first, I felt I had to be outspoken and bossy, I'll be honest, I should've just stayed quiet a lot of the time. Sometimes silence is louder. Even though at times, I may have taken "captain" a little too seriously and put way more stress on myself than needed, it all came from a good place. All I wanted was to make Beaver Cheer the best it could be and be a captain that people felt comfortable coming to. As the year went on, I felt I made it there. I had many girls come up to me with issues and felt I was a safe place to confide in, which meant the world to me. I had to address some things and step out of my comfort zone with confrontation, but I feel it made me a better and stronger person. I ended up walking away from the team with two cheerleader of the game awards, highest grades one season, and a 3 time MVP award winner. Overall, I don't regret a thing and I can walk away from all my cheer experience feeling content while holding new life skills and being grateful for every moment.

I learned how to trust others.

I learned that I don't need to be the center of attention.

I learned that you don't have to be the loudest in the room.

I learned to not give up.

I learned how to be a leader.

I learned how to be a follower.

I learned how to work as a team.

I learned how to work with people I don't see eye-to-eye with.

I learned that I don't always have to be right or have all the answers.

I learned how to balance a schedule.

I learned how to prioritize myself.

I learned dedication.

I learned that you don't always get what you want.

I learned that hard work is worth it.

I learned to step out of my comfort zones.

I learned that it can be nice to just enjoy the moment.

And finally, I learned to not take anything for granted.

If you are struggling with your sport now, think about how it will feel once it's no longer there and all the life lessons that you can learn from it.