The Gretna Dragons cheerleading team had been working towards their Regionals Competition for over six months, and it showed. The team was named a division winner earlier this month at its competition in Denver. Even though a lot of people do not classify cheerleading as a sport, the effort and discipline that goes into it says otherwise.
A misconception about cheerleading is that they do not compete against another opponent. Even though this may be true during football or basketball games, when going to regionals or nationals the team does compete to win a title. The team practices three days a week for three hours at a time, but along with that they also sometimes add morning lifts. The amount of time and energy they put into is the equivalent of many other teams.
“Since we don’t stunt, we didn’t know how the judges were going to see us and, like, place us,” said senior Ellie Melton. Stunting in cheer is an acrobatic skill that involves lifting one or more cheerleaders into the air and performing skills while suspended. Unlike other schools, Gretna does not allow their cheerleaders to stunt, which can make it more difficult to get a bid at Regionals. This restriction means they have to find alternative ways to impress the judges.
Even though Zoe Chagnon, the assistant varsity cheer coach, said she was sure they were going to get the bid, the team was still on the tips of their toes. Cheerleading is mainly up to the judges, especially with bids to Nationals, which takes place in February at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
“If they think you’re good enough to go (to National), then they’ll give you one,” Melton said. Both Melton and Chagnon said that getting through their entire routine is the most difficult.
“We learned our routine pretty late in the cheer world, so getting it ready and getting it where it needs to be was probably the biggest struggle,” Chagnon said. Their routine may only be three minutes long, but in those three minutes a lot is taking place. The squad has to critique the nitty gritty motions and keep an exciting smile on their faces, even if they are dying inside.
Cheerleading isn’t just about looking good, it’s about pushing their bodies to their limits and pushing through the pain when every muscle is screaming to stop. There is a noticeable difference between last year’s cheer team and this year’s. Last year, the team had 11 seniors. With them graduating, it meant that a lot of new people joined the team. The girls that have been on the team for some time know the toll it can take, but the new cheerleaders on the team had to learn how to deal with the pressure of performing in front of judges.
