Friday nights are a special occasion for Catholic Central and the cheer team is pulling all the stunts (literally) and brightening up the sidelines with fun cheers and difficult tricks. Even though they make it look effortless, they’ve been working hard since summer to make every move flawless.

Every sports team has their own feel and way of doing things. Coach McKenzie Southerington, Catholic Central alumni ‘11, stated that “we (the cheer team) are really emphasizing accountability, teamwork, leadership, and representing our school and community in a positive way.” To add onto that, Madeline Tietema ‘27 said, “my favorite thing about our cheer team is definitely the community. I never pass a cheerleader in the hallway without getting a hello and that carries over into how we practice. Every single base and back spot I’ve had is very protective of me as a flyer in practice and outside of practice, saying things like, ‘don’t hurt my flyer.’ But it also goes to show that how we treat each other is the same in and outside of practice.”

Cheer can oftentimes get overlooked or forgotten within the football game. Emily Monahan ‘27 explains this by saying, “one of the most challenging things about being on the cheer team is honestly the lack of respect we sometimes receive. Just because we wear bows and glitter does not mean the athletic performance is any less difficult than other sports. I think because it’s a female dominated sport, it can be dismissed.”

Being a student-athlete is a challenge lots of highschoolers face. However, being a cheerleader can be particularly demanding. Madeline said, “I’ve struggled with balancing cheer with other sports seasons, activities, and school. It is possible to do and it’s a very rewarding experience. I encourage people thinking about doing cheer to do it, but it takes time management skills for sure.” One thing that can make this easier is having a coach that understands that life happens. Coach Southerington said, “one of the biggest challenges has been balancing everything that comes with a busy season. Our athletes have academics, family commitments, school activities, games, practices, and community events, and our schedule can be demanding.”

Currently the team is working towards their competitive cheer season, it is starting up the first week of November for try outs, and mid-December for competitions. Madeline provided a sneak peak into what a normal practice looks like.

“A normal Sideline cheer practice looks like this:

Get to the CAT before practice starts to unroll mats.

We run around the track for a half mile.

Line drills to warm up our gymnastics.

We stretch.

We get into our stunt groups and warm up stunts.

Learn new pyramids, chants, and work stunts depending on the day.

On Thursdays we rotate stations and work with a gymnastics coach.

We run whatever new things we’ve learned.

Team talk where we decide hair, bows, uniform ,and talk about the banner for the football games!”