Photo Credit: Photo via @coloniahscheer on Instagram

Performing a routine is Colonia High School’s competition cheer team. Doing stunts like that requires much athletic ability, so it’s important to stay in shape.

There are a few types of cheerleading. There is game day or spirit, competition, and all-stars, all of which differ from each other.

Keep on practicing

Practice for the Colonia High School team is three times a week for almost two hours. They have tryouts in the summer and they start competitions at the end of December. They then finish the season around the end of February. Cheer is a very competitive sport and you have to have a strong bond with the team to have a good season.

The Colonia High School cheerleading Coach Trish explained, ¨I love coaching high school cheer because it’s a great age group to work with. You give a direction and they get it, they get it. They also understand me and my sarcasm.¨

Although times can get difficult the Patriots always seem to push through. States is their last big competition and if they win they get beautiful rings. After this ends that season and starts the new one.  She also explains how a new season brings new ideas and goals. Everyone is enthused and ready to learn and work hard each year.

Trish also adds, ¨I love when we are learning new choreography and when team members work on new skills. Being the coach of this team is also rewarding. I love it when the team works hard and it pays off with a winning season.”

The absolute most rewarding part of it for her is seeing the girls she used to coach somewhere and they go up to her and give her a hug and big smile. Being a part of the cheer team is very rewarding, you get to travel and have fun with friends, but you have to earn it. You have to keep good grades and be respectful.

Maintaining it all

Some people have done both All-stars and high school. All-stars is a bit more challenging and more to maintain than high school cheer. You cheer all year round and only have about a month break, but if you want to get your skills up then you take that month to do so then you have no break. All-stars also travels a lot more and to farther places such as Texas or Tennessee. All-stars gyms are all over and some people will drive pretty far for their kid to be on a certain team.

Practices are usually three times a week for about two or three hours. When a new season starts we get choreography for two days that can last around eight or more hours. Then there is a camp where you lear new skills. Even though both high school and All-stars are very hard, All-stars may be a little more competitive and a bit more complex.

A sophomore at Colonia High, Laisha Blot says, ¨Having done both of these, they both have their ups and downs I think the hardest thing with All-stars is missing a lot of school and the hardest thing with school cheer is just not traveling as much.¨

Here to perform

Being a coach for All-stars can also be hard work. The coaches go through almost everything that the girls go through or maybe more. Being a coach is a side job for most people, so after one main job, they go right to the gym. This makes seeing family hard plus the traveling requires them to be away from home a lot.

An All-star cheer coach Ashley Joseph says, ¨Watching competitions are so nerve-racking because all you can do is pray and watch. You just hope that for the two minutes and thirty seconds that there on the floor they push through and do everything they can do. Even if they do that you dont always win and it gets upsetting but you just have to get ready for the next one.¨

All-star cheer also isn’t cheap. There are fees for everything including a uniform, traveling, practice wear, sneakers, and more. Paying for this sport can get difficult but that’s why there is fundraising to help the parents out.