Cheerleading

Cheerleading: A supreme commitment and a competitive sport.

By Jackie Devine If asked, you probably would have guessed that the roots of cheerleading are closely tied to those of football. According to Epic Sports, the first intercollegiate game was played between Princeton University and Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1869. By the 1880s, Princeton had formed an all-male pep club. Princeton graduate Thomas Peebles took the cheers to the University of Minnesota, where football and fight songs became very popular. In 1898, U of M was on a losing streak. A student named Johnny Campbell assembled a group to energize the team and the crowd. Picking up a megaphone, he rallied the team to victory with the first organized cheer: "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-so-tah!” It wasn't until 1923 that women were allowed to cheer at the University of Minnesota. Cheerleaders eventually added tumbling and acrobatics to their routines. Then, when college-aged men went off to fight in World War II in the 1940s, young women joined collegiate cheerleading squads in large numbers. Fast forward to 1964, the year I graduated from high school. Back then, all it took to become a cheerleader was to be the girlfriend of the team's captain - whether it was football, basketball, or baseball—a cute smile, and one well-rehearsed routine performed in the auditorium in front of the entire school. It was little more than a popularity contest. There weren't a lot of cheerleading responsibilities, and the squads usually didn't have more than six or seven members. They simply showed up with their short skirts and cheered at the games. That's not the case today. The game has changed, the stakes are high, and the investment can be pretty daunting. Mentally and physically demanding, cheerleading is now considered an endurance sport that requires performing gymnastics without the bars or beams and putting in the same hours and work as other 'high-risk' sports, such as football, soccer, and basketball. For example, one cheerleading routine can be compared to running the 1000m hurdles, as the body is simultaneously dealing with stress, muscle fatigue, and shortness of breath. An article from Livehealth.chron.com contends football and cheerleading pose unique dangers to the participants, but which sport is more dangerous has often been debated within athletics. Regarding catastrophic injuries, cheerleading is hands down the most dangerous sport for women, while football is the most dangerous sport for men. Depending on the study you are reviewing, or the physicians surveyed, either sport can top the list. Intrigued by the latest photos of our Bridgeland Cheerleaders sent to me by local photographer Thomas Coffman, I realized there had to be a story behind those beautiful faces and healthy, fit bodies—one that many of our readers might not know. So, I went on the hunt for a willing cheerleader and her mother who were open to sharing with the community what it is like to be a 2022 Bridgeland High School Cheerleader and a cheerleading mom.

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Amber Thompson and her daughter Cassidy stepped up to the plate. After brief introductions, my curiosity got the best of me, and I jumped right in, asking Cassidy when she first discovered she wanted to become a cheerleader. "I began tumbling when I was about seven years old," Cassidy explained. "There were some cheer teams in the same gym, and I saw what they were doing, and I knew right away I really wanted to do that." Amber added, "As she was taking tumbling classes, she would stare at the cheerleaders and say, 'Mom, that's what I want to be.' She begged me to put her in a cheerleading class." That tiny seed of a desire blossomed into eleven years of comprehensive instruction and training with a myriad of nationally recognized coaches. When Cassidy was 7 years old her talent was recognized, and she was asked to join a competitive cheer team after two months of tumbling classes at a local gym. She had already completed 2 years of CyFair Sports Association as a sideline cheerleader, but this began her 11-year journey of competitive cheerleading. In addition to competitive cheer, she has now been a member of the Bridgeland High School Varsity Cheer team for three years. It was apparent that supporting Cassidy's dream of becoming a high school cheerleader came with a hefty price tag, so I asked Amber: “If you had to calculate the cost, how much do you think you have invested so far?" Amber responded, "It is tough to calculate. The hard facts are that it takes about $15,000 per year to cover the cheerleading tuition, competition fees, uniforms, practice wear, shoes, and traveling, including gas, plane fares, hotels, and food. In an altogether different category are private lessons, averaging about $100 per hour. For us, that included sticking with training at Woodlands Elite Cheer Company long enough for Cassidy to work herself up to a Level 6 - the level of athletes - which has amounted to about $10,000 over the last ten years. So, folks, that brings us to an investment of around $165,000. "If one is cost-conscious," Amber continued, "that expenditure may not be worth it, especially considering the average cost of a public, four-year college might fall below that number. But if you are saying, 'I want to hand over to the next generation a competent citizen able to meet the needs of a new era,' we believe we have made a wise investment." I asked Cassidy how she felt about her experience serving as a cheerleader. Her comments were priceless, something most parents and grandparents—especially those of us who are children of the Greatest Generation—would love to hear. Cassidy was emphatic as she detailed the benefit of her experience cheering: "I learned the importance of responsibility, teamwork, time management, and to show up early, showing up on time is late! I know the significance of tolerance, respect, patience, and dedication to the

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cause. Plus, I've learned to be resilient, willing to compromise, and to show up confidently in a small group or a crowd of 1000s.” That led me to the question, “What next?” Cassidy responded, “I think I want the time and hard work I have spent getting this far to pay off with me cheering on a college field. I want to be able to compete in college and get amazing opportunities and unmatched experience, as well. I know of two cheerleaders from Bridgeland, Rylie Trent (2019), now at Texas Tech, and McKenzie McPherson (2022), currently attending the University of Oklahoma who have gone from competitive cheer to high school cheer to college cheer. I want to follow in their footsteps. “Ultimately, I want to enter the medical field. I'm thinking about becoming a sports medicine physician working specifically with gymnasts and cheerleaders.” To round out the interview, I asked Amber what she had learned as a cheerleading mom. "Wow," was her initial comment, "I had no idea what my husband Garry and I were getting into when Cassidy started cheering. Clearly, my most significant contribution has been money. So first and foremost, I learned to be a banker. However, the other roles I had to master rather quickly were those of chauffeur, photographer, administrative assistant, teacher, beautician, cosmetologist, wardrobe assistant, nutritionist, personal trainer, travel agent, psychologist, and even cheerleader when needed." "Thankfully, I'm a nurse so I’ve been able to arrange my schedule around cheer. It is a given that being a cheer parent limits your social life. We are often overheard saying, 'I can't, I have cheer’, or ‘I can't, my kid has cheer!' You even see that message floating around on T-shirts; and it is so true." Currently there are three cheer coaches at Bridgeland High School: Jocelyn Fall, Lexie Longmire and Lindsey Bienvenu Lee. Pictured on the cover are the Class of 2022 Senior Varsity. There are 17 cheerleaders on the Bridgeland Varsity Cheer team this year. Amber and Garry Thompson reside in Fairfield. Cassidy has four sisters, and her little sister Carsyn is also a cheerleader.

Pictures on page 4: Team Picture: Back row, left to right: Abigail Ginther, Katie Clark, Kayla Lackey, Lauren Havens, Avery West, Cassidy Thompson. Middle row, left to right Halle Cheek, Telina Faulkner, Avery Laughlin, Alyssa Hardman, Kennedy Smith. Front row, left to right Jillian Sims, Brayden Shirley, Lauren Womack, Emersen Pollard, Mollie Ford, Faith DeSpain Senior Picture: Top right, left to right Kayla Lackey, Cassidy Thompson, Faith DeSpain, Halle Cheek, Jillian Sims, Kennedy Smith Coach Picture: Bottom right Jocelyn Fall, Lexie Longmire, Lindsey Bienvenu Lee (not pictured).