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Stunting into Junior Varsity Cheer
Written by: Jessalyn Reinhart
Keeping the crowd uplifted and excited for the game is a job that the Junior Varsity cheer girls at Harrison High School never fail to do. With pom-poms lifted up towards the sky, and green and blue bows in high ponytails, the girls successfully keep up with their cheers and chants, while dancing through many obstacles. Stunting out of Freshman Sideline Cheer and taking leadership on the sidelines is something new that the Junior Varsity girls experience transferring into sophomore year. As Freshmen, you look up to your teammates who are older than you but when you are the leader, everything you do matters, and these girls never fail to serve as role models.
We see cheerleaders on the sidelines cheering on the players and the student body, but the real definition of cheer is one someone hardly tries to notice. Cheer is an endurance sport that builds up encouragement for others. Looking at this new point of view, Harrison sophomore Kylie Williams shows us what that looks like. Williams has been on the Harrison sideline cheer team for two years now. Williams is also on the competition cheer team for Harrison. Williams says, “Cheer has given me a lot of friends and has taught me a lot of different life lessons with effort and respect for other people.” People tend to put a label on cheer, but in reality, it’s just a team who treats each other like family, and the experiences they walk through are filled with lessons of life. She continues to say that the most important thing she has learned from her coaches is, “having respect for people.”
Flipping over to the other side of the pyramid stands sophomore Naomi Luten. Luten has been on the Harrison sideline cheer team for two years now. She also is on the competition cheer team at Harrison. Luten says something her coaches have taught her is to “know how to say how I feel and what I’m feeling.” Through all the smiles and cheers to all the mess ups out of stunts, the coaches at Harrison teach these girls to always say how they are feeling no matter what they are feeling. Because cheer is such a rough sport, it is necessary for the girls to do this, and all the coaches know that, and at Harrison, they always support and encourage their students.
At Harrison High School the Junior Varsity Sideline Cheer team has done a phenomenal job so far this year. Even when the Hoyas don’t take home a win, the student body is always filled with school spirit and energy, because the cheer girls carried on the cheer legacy.
