A story that is out there and doesn’t get that much attention, those are the stories I’m interested in telling. The following is a story I wrote and photographed about a local competitive cheer squad.
Have you ever stood on one foot attempting to put on your shoe without sitting down?
It’s hard to keep your balance right? You hop and hop trying to not fall over. You sometimes give up and put your other foot down to catch yourself.
Now, try imagining standing on one foot approximately 7 1/2 feet off the ground on top of someone’s hands. And imagine you have to not only balance on one foot, but you have to lift your other leg into the air above your head while you yell and strike a pose with your arms.
Then, imagine those hands being taken out from under you and you have to kick your legs out as you are in mid air so that you fall correctly into arms positioned like a safety net beneath you, arms of your friends and teammates who you trust not to drop you.
Oh, and imagine doing all of this in front of hundreds of people with a big bright smile on your face.
Welcome to the world of competitive cheerleading.
“That’s the hardest part,” Alyssa Conway said about smiling. Conway is a senior flyer (a girl who gets lifted up into the air) on the Oil City High School Competitive Cheer Squad. The senior has been on the varsity squad for four years now.
Oil City’s co-head coach Erin Lenze said Oil City has had competitive cheer squads for many years, but the PIAA has only recognized it as a scholastic sport since 2012. Lenze co-coaches the squad with Dani King.
“Because comp cheer is a relatively new sport, many people do not always realize that it is considered a sport now,” said Lenze “However, that is changing.”
Lenze said competitive cheer is part of the athletic program recognized the same as any other sport. Football and basketball cheerleading are considered activities.
Competitive cheer differs in more ways than just the fact they compete against other schools and there is scoring.
“Its something that is very unique, you use not only dance, you use cheer and tumbling as well as building … so it’s little bit of everything … it’s interesting. Not everyone can do what we do,” said senior Hannah Hargenrader, a base (a girl who holds up the flyers) on the squad.
Each cheer must know their routine and where the others are on the mat. They are judged on the complexity of the routine and how they perform. Mistakes are deductions akin to mistakes in gymnastics and figure skating. If mistakes are made, they just have to adapt and continue on.
“I like that its not just one thing. With football cheer you do a dance and then you cheer on the sidelines. This is like putting it all together into one, it’s like everything you work at for the entire year in 2 minutes and 30 seconds,” said Jenna Breth, one of four seniors on the squad and former flyer turned base.
The Oil City squad has competed at the state level four out of the last five years. The district is small, this year they competed against only one other team to win the District 10 Championships and move on to states. At the state finals, they competed against 19 other schools, finishing 13th in their large school division.
The routine they perform combines choreographed dance, tumbling, stunts and cheers. They practice and tweak their routine all season long.
The girls will tell you they are athletes with plenty of bumps and bruises to to prove it.
“A lot of noses get broken,” said Conway.
Most injuries come from the flyer coming down and one of the base or other support cheers catching a foot or arm on the way down.
“It’s hard to say, ‘hey, football is harder than cheerleading,’ I mean, yeah, they definitely get beat up in football, but we get beat up, too, so … I’m not saying its harder, it’s different. They are both different in their own way and hard in their own way,” said Hargenrader.
“Its pretty hard. It takes dedication, everybody has to be there. It’s definitely a team sport.” Conway added.
The girls are in agreement that if young girls or boys (yes, boys can compete and many schools have co-ed squads) want to get involved in competitive cheer they should take up gymnastics. They say it helps with tumbling and flexibility.
They also say that being comfortable being in front of people, being loud in front of people and dance helps.
“You have to want to have the attention on you,” Hargenrater said with a smile.
“This sport allows the athletes to test their skills and talents against other athletes. A football and basketball squad’s primary purpose is to support their school’s teams. A competitive squad gives the girls and boys another sport in which to compete. A competitive squad’s primary purpose, in my opinion, is to do just what any other sport does – compete. “ Lenze said.
Some of the girls cheer for the football team in the fall and others play volleyball or basketball as well.
The season wrapped up for the squad as they traveled to Kane for their final competition. Though they may be sad the season is over, one thing you can count on, during their last performance out on the mat, they will be smiling.
