Throughout winter many sports are in season, such as basketball, bowling, boys swimming, wrestling and more, but something not everyone knows is winter marks the start of cheerleadings most underrated season.
Many people see cheer more as a mere spirit squad, but they really do it all. They start in June, where they practice all throughout summer. When school starts they move into football season, their first of three.
During this time they prepare for their football halftimes and sideline stunts. December marks the start of their competition season, where every weekend they compete against numerous cheer teams showing a three minute routine. Their competitions last until the end of January, but throughout their competitions they are also cheering at basketball games.
Cheerleading’s busy three season sport lasts nine months with no more than a couple days off every once in a while.
To understand what cheer season is really like, varsity cheerleader Lana Urgel breaks the format down. Urgel is a senior and has been on cheer all four years, and has both JV and varsity experience. Urgel cheers at football and basketball games as well as competitions which are all extremely different at DePaul College Prep.
Urgel said, “All seasons have very different atmospheres, with football and basketball season being full of school spirit, and competition season being challenging and all about performance and teamwork.”
Many students are probably familiar with cheerleading’s football and basketball seasons, as they see the cheerleaders cheering on the sidelines of every game as well as performing a special routine at halftime.
Competition season is what many people are unfamiliar with. According to Urgel, “during competition season, it’s more busy and focused. We work on a choreographed routine filled with stunts, a pyramid, tumbling, jumps, cheers, and a dance that we practice for months. During those competitions, we go to different schools and compete on the mat with one chance to give it our all. Each section is judged differently from execution to showmanship.” Through Urgels’s description, it is clear that cheerleading is not just about cheering on the side lines, but dedication, team work and preparation for competition season.
When on the cheer team, things are viewed as light, simple, and clean. That is the job of a cheerleader. They need to make the audience think it’s effortlessly perfect, but that is not how it looks behind the scenes. The team puts in all of their strength, effort, and energy into their routine not only on the mat, but also during all of there practice and build up.
Sophomore Idina Errands, a DePaul College Prep cheerleader, also shares her perspective on the JV cheer team during competition seasons, as well as a hidden aspect nobody talks about.
Errands said, “The practice we put into for a three minute routine seems insane for those who aren’t in it, but as a cheerleader it’s truly one of the highlights of my year. It’s such a rewarding feeling to go out and perform a perfect routine which you’ve been working on for months. It seems pointless at the time, but it all adds up into something which you are so proud of.”
Errand’s personal experience shows how exciting competition is for the cheerleaders, because it is an unmatched feeling. Following this, it is also very difficult to balance the filled weekly schedule, especially around competition season.
According to Errands, “Something no one knows about cheer is how much effort we put into it. Practicing six days a week for up to three hours each day makes pretty much our whole world revolve around cheerleading.”
