Friday Night Lights—the highlight of the fall season. While many love the excitement Bellarmine football games hold, some students worry for their safety. Though the risks football players face are evident, many students overlook additional threats the athletes on the sidelines battle. Those athletes are our very own Bellarmine Prep Cheer squad.
Intricate and dangerous—words used to describe the high-level cheer routines executed by the Lady Lions. Many fail to recognize the skill required to learn cheer routines and the potentially dangerous implications. The girls learn the detail-oriented routines by 8-count, break it down, and then overlay with music. Cheerleaders are also required to practice on their own to ensure routines are clean.
The girls must take proper precautions to avoid injury. Even so, bases and flyers take the risk of injury every time they go full out. Senior Amelia Hogoboom said, “Last year, I broke my nose.” Even with all the time and effort cheer puts in, often they are overlooked.
Despite efforts to enthusiastically lead the student section in cheers, Hogoboom recalls that at games “we have had stuff thrown at us.” While cheerleaders work to bring positive energy to sports, that same spirit is not always reciprocated.
Failure to classify Cheer as a sport at Bellarmine creates obstacles for the team. Due to the lack of resources, Cheer is pushed to the sidelines. Junior Anna-Kate Mangan said, “We don’t have a designated practice space.” Mangan highlights that the team often has pivot their practice time and location. Another major concern is the access to Bellarmine’s athletic training amenities. Because of their classification as an activity, cheerleaders are denied medical attention—even in emergency.
As winter rolls around, the cheerleaders turn their attention to basketball and competition season. Winter is a busy season with many competitions and finals in the same cluster of weeks.
Although cheerleaders at Bellarmine face adversity, the coaches, Esha K and Tijera L Foster, an empowering environment. Sophomore Logan Caudill emphasizes their positive impact on the team: “They push us to be the best.” With this new coaching strategy the team has shown numerous improvements, frequently highlighted by students in the stands his past season.
