Summer Practice

Trying to transition from middle school cheerleading to high school cheerleading was one of the toughest things I've ever had to endure. From always getting an actual summer vacation, to having to be at the football field at seven o'clock every morning. Being a freshman surrounded by so many underclassmen, I was intimidated by how little I knew compared to them. They already knew the 100 or more cheers and 15 hundred dances (this is of course an exaggeration). I never in my life thought it was possible for me to remember every cheer and dance on the cheer list. I remember having to go home everyday after practice and try to refresh my memory of what was taught to us in the two hours we were all together. Madison and I would meet at the Leeman Field Park just to try and stay ahead of the game and prove that we actually practiced what we were supposed to.

One of the bad things about having practice so early in the morning is when you first arrive at the field it feels like it’s ten degrees, but by the end of practice you’re wishing you had a pool to jump in just to cool off. The worst part about the heat was definitely the running part. For the first several practices, I was so out of shape I felt like I was gonna pass out from exhaustion and dehydration. Eventually I was able to run the full two laps without stopping, but believe me I definitely didn’t want to. The only time I’ve had to run that much and actually enjoyed doing it, is when I played basketball (but that’s a different story).

I guess you could say that in the end, every drop of sweat that was shed over the long months of summer finally paid off. I was able to execute every move in a cheer or dance that was required of me. Actually able to do stunts that I never thought was possible for a fourteen year old to master. I guess in a way I grew up just a little bit over the summer, and actually performed what was expected of me. Being able to cheer on Friday nights was my reward. (376)