“You’re worthless, a disgrace! You’re the reason we lost.” Similar words are all too familiar to students who have been involved in a sport or competition. Whether the put-downs are meant to make a person work harder or to feel guilty that they did not do their best, these hateful words follow some kids through their whole lives. The first time I was told, “You suck,” I took the criticism, changed it to anger, and pushed myself to prove I was better than they thought. Those two words helped me work to be dedicated and to always give 110 percent. However, some people are not as lucky to view the negative critique in a positive way.

Cute face, nice body, and a short skirt are physical traits of the ideal image of a cheerleader. Yet, any girl who has these characteristics cannot just walk up and be a cheerleader. The qualities that set cheerleaders apart from others are their confidence and poise. Like in any sport, the weak are eliminated during tryouts. I’ve been through four kinds of tryouts, some just completely bizarre. In their sneaky way, each audition was testing my strength.

One tryout was held at a fire station. While I was performing, the alarm sounded and I had to be rushed out of the way. After the firefighters left, I had to refocus and mentally keep a hold of myself to continue. Another tryout aimed to test my reaction. After every skill was thrown, the coach would make a disgusted face and begin to write in complete silence. My thoughts at the time were that I had done something wrong but I kept a straight face and faked my confidence and made the team.

Creek tryouts are stressful for those who need time and practice to learn routines. A short three-day clinic is scheduled to teach the candidates jumps, a cheer, and a dance. This forces the girls to learn the material quickly and to practice a lot if they want to make the squad.

Recently, my college cheer tryouts tested my strength in response. I was asked, “why are manholes circular,” and to describe the color red to a blind man. I was also asked who the President of the University was, as well as the Dean of Admissions. Not knowing some of these answers, the coach asked me why I was unfamiliar with the University. Can you say pressure? Thankfully I made an impression and was selected to be on the squad.

Surprisingly I was asked, “Is cheerleading a sport?” I declared my answer by stating track is a sport, acrobatics is a sport, dance is a sport, and gymnastics is a sport. Put all of those sports together and you get cheerleading. We run to and from our formations and when we tumble, we lift girls and throw them up only to wait for gravity to force them to come down, not only to we do cheer motions but we also dance, and we have the knowledge to flip our entire bodies in the air. Ironically, I found out after the interview that when the coach was asked if cheerleading was a sport, he replied that it was an entertainment not a sport.
I was finally asked to describe my best physical feature and then my worst. The thought of them knowing what I believed to be my worst physical feature frightened me. I knew that whatever the words that came out of my mouth were, the coach’s eyes would directly follow and he would judge upon my appearance.

Thankfully my path in life gave me confidence, a competitive nature, and the skills to make a good excuse. Yet, looking from the outside in, I am amazed how some girls survive cheerleading at all.

I have witnessed numerous incidents where girls are evaluated and almost verbally abused. One girl was forced to do pushups for an hour along with coaches talking under their breath about her. When the tears came, the girl was simply told to learn to be better. Another girl who was only in her pre-teens was sick during a competition. She did not throw her best tumbling pass because she was afraid of not executing it perfectly. She was awarded a fourth place trophy for her efforts and it was actually broken. After telling her mom that her trophy was broken, her mother replied that she gets what she deserves, a bad trophy for a bad routine.

Cheerleaders are built to be tough. No other athlete is responsible to not only be good at his or her sport, but to look the part too. Cheerleaders not only need the skills to perform amazing talent, but they are also expected to keep a certain physical appearance to represent the squad. All of cheerleading is judged and critiqued. Whether it is on looks, skills, or personality, it truly is a harsh life to live. I have chosen this life since I was little and will continue to be apart of it next year. I decided to be a cheerleader because I was taught to strive for perfection, even though it does not exist.