When thinking about cheerleading, do you think it’s a sport? Do you think it’s an easy one? Every winter, Grosse Pointe athletes get ready for competition. The practices are every day for about three hours, motivated for a win. This is their first competition of the season held at Dakota High School.
Varsity cheerleader Cosette Muldoon ’24 expresses what it means to be on the team and how this year’s competition has been going.
“I think for the first competition it went pretty smoothly, we did not stress out too much and really just focused on having fun,” Muldoon said. “There’s always room for improvement but I do believe as a team we work super hard and super well together and I’m super excited for the rest of the season.”
Where there is always room for improvement, a good supporting coach is needed. Coach Paige is the head coach for the varsity team and does a great job encouraging her team and making sure they can all achieve their best. Coach Paige schedules practices everyday for about two hours so they can memorize the routines for the three rounds and to get their endurance up.
“I think that our new coach is really good and I’m excited about her different perspective .She grew up as an allstar cheerleader like I did so I feel like she relates more to me. I love how she has these different insights that will help my skills and help me achieve my goals.” Mille Robarge ’24 said.
Competitive cheerleading can be a difficult sport that requires a good, compatible team that supports one another and always has a good attitude no matter what happens. The coach does the best they can but at the end of the day it matters about how you think you did. Cheer comes with strength, a good mindset and having fun. With this in mind you are required to do fairly hard stunts which include putting people in the air, chanthing loud and clear, and be on the same timing. Making sure to smile is always a good way to get points. As Aristotle once said “Fake it till you make it.”
“When coming into practice I always try my hardest to achieve my goals and to do the best I can with stunting and throwing my back handspring. When competition comes around I’m nervous but I see my coaches and family and I know that this is just for fun and to be with the friends I love to be around. Cheering has made me so happy because of my improvement and how it’s made me a better person.” Mia Fillmore ’25 said.
