Cheer to Compete for the First Time in 10 Years

     1, 3, 5, 7. These numbers probably seem completely ordinary to most. For cheerleaders though, these numbers are significant in a way that has nothing to do with math. Every member of the O’Connell cheerleading program has these numbers drilled into their brain, although the Knights haven’t hit the competition mat in over 10 years.

     For the first time in more than a decade, O’Connell Varsity Cheer (or “OCVC”) will be competing against other schools in the area. Not only will the Knights compete in traditional competitions, but they will also enter an entirely new playing field: game day. Game day routines focus more on the sideline aspects of cheerleading, consisting of a band chant, an offense or defense cheer, a crowd-leading cheer, and a fight song, while traditional routines are usually more stunt heavy. While they may seem simple, these routines are meticulously crafted; hours are spent learning, practicing, and perfecting them. Points can be docked from a score sheet for the tiniest mistakes - from not smiling enough to having flexed feet. 

     Due to this intense level of scrutiny, O’Connell was visited by Premier Choreography on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for eight hours of traditional choreography. Saturday’s practice took lots of trial and error, figuring out what stunt groups worked well together, determining which stunts they’d need to hit, picking who would be tumbling and what passes they would do, choosing point jumpers, and setting up numerous formations to maximize the team’s potential. The traditional routine is very challenging and will continue to change throughout the season as cheerleaders develop new tumbling skills, hit harder stunts, and more. The team is excited to work on it.

     Gameday choreography lasted five hours after school the following Wednesday (Sept. 16), ending at 8:30 p.m. Since this arena of competition is new for most of the coaching staff and to the cheer world in general, the girls spent the beginning of their Tuesday practice in the team room analyzing film of top ranked gameday routines to get a better sense of the style. The biggest difference between gameday and traditional comp is the difficulty factor. 

     In traditional cheer, the score-sheet includes a “difficulty” category, meaning a team can earn or lose points depending on how hard their routines are and how advanced the stunts and tumbling are; in gameday there is no category, meaning these routines usually consist of more basic and perfected stunts. These simple stunts, such as preps or presses to extensions, are the kind that you may see on the sideline frequently. They are tried and tested, and the O’Connell squad has these skills down to a science. This is crucial for gameday; due to the simplicity of the routines, everything has to be perfectly sharp and clean. 

     The amount of grit, strength, and hard work that it requires to be a cheerleader would shock many. Cheer is an extremely dangerous sport, and one wrong move in a stunt or tumbling pass can be life altering, often resulting in severe injury. It takes a lot to do a full up to extension, whether you’re a base, back spot, or flyer, and it’s not easy to whip out a back handspring tuck on the track at a football game. Several athletes get mental blocks from tumbling because of how physically and emotionally draining it is. And on top of facing all this danger, cheer is one of the few sports where you must keep a smile on your face and a pep in your step at all times. In other sports like soccer or field hockey, you’re allowed to be upset if you miss a goal or mess up a play, and that can show on your face. In cheer, however, if you’re a flyer and you fall out of a stunt, you have to get right back up again, put on a grin, wave at the crowd, and yell, “Go Knights!” 

    “Often times people dismiss cheerleading as some goofy activity on the sidelines, but if you just went to one all-star [travel/club] or high school practice you would really see the mental and physical strength it takes,” said Lorelei Goetz (Class of 2027), a fourth-year flyer on varsity. “This sport is one of the most demanding of all time.”

Note: Amaya Katherine Kohli is a varsity cheerleader