Caption: The cheerleaders practice time includes basic exercises and stretches that strengthen the muscles needed for performing cheers and routines during the basketball games. [by Dr. Cristina Meier]
by Anita Silva
With the first basketball games starting in September, the varsity basketball players are not the only athletes getting ready for the upcoming games. The PACA cheerleaders are also getting ready to cheer on our PACA Warriors to do their best on the court.
Although cheerleading is not one of the two main sports facing regular competition throughout the first semester season of games, it is a sport that requires the same amount of effort and teamwork found on the soccer field or a basketball court. The actual sport of cheerleading requires a specific set of skills for a student to be able to join the team.
According to Mrs. Vanessa Flurry, one of the cheerleading coaches, it is necessary to be athletic, have good coordination, some experiences with gymnastics, be able to dance and have a good voice, for the crowd to hear clearly what they are saying.
All of the cheers that are practiced and performed by the PACA squad have specific dance or movement routines that go with it.
The question is: where did they come from? In contrast to other schools where many coaches plan their routines based on well-known choreography, the PACA cheerleaders team create their own movements and put together all the choreography by themselves.
Even though the movement and choreography are important for a cheerleading team to cheer the PACA Warriors, the most important thing and also their altmost goal is, as Mrs. Flurry said, to “be a cheerleader on the court and off the court, be leaders at home, as a person, in their uniform and off their uniform.”
Unfortunately, our cheerleaders don’t get as much of an appearance as some of the other sports teams at PACA, because we see them only at varsity basketball games, and they only compete against other cheerleading teams at the NR tournament in November.
“They try to bring the spirit on everywhere they go,” said Mrs. Flurry, whether they are wearing their cheerleading uniform or not.
Larissa Anderson is a senior who was a cheerleader earlier in high school. She took a break from cheerleading last year, but is back as a cheerleader in her last year of high school.
According to Anderson, the best thing about cheerleading is “the support the team has for each other. We push one another to become better, and grow together as one every day we practice.”
Being a cheerleader is not only about cheering for our school while shouting and dancing, it is also about being a part of a community and having the energy and happiness to encourage the players on the basketball court and motivate them during their performance.
If you want to see the PACA warriors’ cheerleaders in action, one option is to come by Pan American Christian Academy during the home games that are scheduled for this school year.
Be prepared for the possibilities: New uniforms? New movements? New cheerleaders?
The cheerleaders will make their first appearance at the away game between PACA and EAC on Thursday, September 5.
