I never thought it could be so painful to train to be a cheerleader. I threw myself into four days of practice, putting in as much effort as I could from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day.
I’d find myself practicing by myself at home or in class with fellow Rip reporter and cheerleader Crystal Roberts. Sure, people laughed at me when they saw me practicing the moves, but it was addicting, and I was determined to get through it.
Day one: OK, I was pretty nervous going into tryouts. I never thought I’d be doing this, getting through high school only joking about trying out to be a cheerleader. I was the only male trying out, and, on top of that, I had no previous experience outside of a few stretches one of my friends had taught me Sunday evening before tryouts.
I thought I might have a chance understanding a simple rule: “Cinnamon rolls out.” Unfortunately, people have cheerleading all wrong; you have to keep up with the pace, go fast, punch, cut, and keep your arms straight and clean no matter what.
According to the coach, Layne Costerisan, it’s all about confidence, but, to me, it’s more about technique and athletic ability. I had some personal help from the ladies trying out and Costerisan, who explained to me that because I’m a guy, I didn’t have to move my legs. That was a relief, but those girls were sweating, and it was unbelievably hardcore.
After trying to keep up with only three game cheers and half of the fight song, I went home and practiced. My arms hurt, but I was determined to prove myself.
Day two: I spent the day trying to remember the cheers, honestly not sure of the progression, but it really didn’t matter because as soon as we stretched and proceeded to warm up and finish the rest of the fight-song cheer, I was very lost.
In the middle of learning the rest of the cheer, we stopped and stretched to do a toe touch for the fight song. I wasn’t sure if I should be jumping, but the coach assured me that I didn’t have to do it if I didn’t want to. I felt like a girl; I was getting special treatment because they didn’t think a guy could jump and kick. So, I tried it, and, to my amazement, it hurt, but I did it.
Then Costerisan stopped me and yelled, “Hey, you, do that again.” So, I did, and she coached me on how to do it correctly by keeping my back and arms straight while kicking my legs up as high as they could go.
The second half of day two was cumulative, and we were put into rows of six and stood in front of the mirror making sure the cheers were down. I still sucked.
To end the day, Costerisan had us stretch again for left kicks, right kicks, and toe touches. We sort of did the splits sitting on the ground, and, as I was stretching my body between my legs, Costerisan came up behind me and pushed me farther into the stretch. “Tell me when it hurts too much,” she said.
Going only an inch farther down than I already was, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was bloody hell. The inside of my thighs hurt more than they ever had before. I wanted to die. I now realize how much pain and work, time and dedication goes into being a cheerleader.
Day three: As usual, I started a little before 4 p.m. I had the cheers and the fight song down pretty well, but today there was a guest, a former NCAA cheer coach named Marvin. For one day I wasn’t the only guy.
But he was there to teach us the hip-hop dance for tryouts, not to be my friend or helper. He jumped right in. Keep in mind I rarely had to move my legs the last two days. He didn’t go slowly, and I didn’t get any special men’s moves. Today you either had it, or you didn’t, and being the most inexperienced person, I became a huge loser.
Touch the ground, left punch, right punch, legs apart. After spinning, sliding, and thrusting, he finally came to the part that killed me. We did a right split onto the ground, rolled onto our stomachs, right leg to right elbow, pose, pelvic thrust into the air, back down, legs into the air and then back to our feet. I have a bruise on my knee to prove how clumsily I was doing it. Now it’s probably the only part I have down
for sure. It was like doing Tae Bo on the floor. I thought it was painful the last two days, but who was I kidding? I can’t even remember the progressions. Fortunately though, I understand the concept and timing of the roll offs. Oh, and on top of all of this, we had to smile! I wanted to die, but I was smiling.
Day four: I still didn’t know the dance all the way through. We talked a lot, and the day was all review even though I didn’t find the time to stop and actually walk my way slowly through all the steps. The adviser, Becki Whitson, told us what to wear and gave us a talk about what she expects out of the cheer team and let us know what the judges would be looking for.
Day five: Tryouts, and I finally had some help to get the steps for the dance down. From 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., we went in groups of three to perform for the judges. For some reason, I was nervous and some of those girls reeked of it, too. The first time I went into the room to perform for the judges, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. I just wasn’t experienced enough, and I messed up my arm movements and looked over at the other girls.
In between every break, I practiced knowing that the week of pain was almost over. I didn’t realize until today how close I’d come to these girls. They all knew my name. We practiced together and helped each other.
I guess that’s what happens when you’re the only guy among a bunch of girls. The only thing I regret now is not being more experienced to keep up with them. Cheerleading is intense. That week I saw things that only athletes could do. Sure, I obviously didn’t make the team, but it was worth the lesson I learned.