By Abby Bachar, Freshman Cheerleader
During the upcoming fall season, Strath Haven’s cheerleading team begins the start of Friday night lights, practices, and competitions.
This month, coaches and cheerleaders begin our pre-season with drills, team-building exercises, and more. The team makes every cheerleader the main focus. They must each train their mind and body to work as one.
From the outside world’s perspective, cheerleading seems effortless and not very challenging. That could not be further from the truth. Strath Haven Cheerleaders and cheerleaders in general, train as hard and sometimes harder than other athletes.
To start, being on a team of 20 athletes who’s safety relies on how well you communicate and understand each other. It means total focus and dedication at every practice. Strath Haven also does many team bonding exercises as well as volunteering in our community which helps bring our team closer together. These activities help us to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and are able to work together to form a stronger team. In cheerleading, trust is crucial. So that’s why having a connection with your teammates is necessary.
The next part of preparing our team for the season is training our bodies accordingly.
In cheerleading, there are 4 different positions: a back spot, a side base, a flyer, or the main base. Each position has its own skill set that requires strength and endurance.
For flyers, having a strong core is key to making yourself as light as possible in the air and being able to stay unmoving and effortlessly balanced in the air. Side and main bases must use their legs effectively to power up stunts and make the flyer look weightless. Back spots must pull the flyer’s weight and make the job as unchallenging for the bases. That’s why we have set workouts every week that help maintain our strength and endurance throughout the upcoming season.
In these workouts, we have exercises that keep us mobilized even when we aren’t at practice. We are required to run a mile each week as well as a well-rounded cardio and strength routines. These workouts help us maintain our flexibility throughout the summer and keep us on our toes and ready for the fall season and beyond.
In addition to our summer workouts, every cheerleader is required to attend the Pine forest Cheerleading Camp in the Poconos. Every day our team trains in stunting, dances, and cheers. This camp allows every cheerleader on the team to work on obtaining a positive mindset for the season. Living in a cabin for 4 days with your teammates allows the girls to bond on a different level.
During pre-season, we master tumbling skills such as back handsprings and back tucks. We learn how to improve proper positioning and hand placements to not only execute amazing cheerleading routines, but to keep our teammates safe while in the air. Having these advanced skills will enable us to score higher at competitions.
Overall, the steps we take during pre-season allow our competition season to run as smoothly as possible. Cheerleading demands each athlete’s full attention and a positive mindset to reach our team’s full potential we set on the mat.
Let’s Go Panthers!
