Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 77

Description:	Teamwork on the SidelineA junior varsity stunt group explains the importance of teamwork while cheering for their school.Cheerleading traditionally meantcheering for the basketball or footballteam, however it could not be forgotten that cheerleaders are also part ofa team when they were performingstunts on the field or court. Stuntinggroups involved four girls, two bases,one backspot, and a flyer. The groupworked together to lift the flyer intothe air for cheers. One of BloomingtonSouths junior varsity stunt groups wassophomore Kelsey McFarland andfreshmen Amanda Strunk, Sarah Lewis, and Madeline Trigg.These girls knew what it was like towork together as their own team.The girls explained that a stuntgroup normally was a mix-match ofphysically weaker and stronger cheerleaders so the groups were even. Theyspent most of their practice time working on stunts because it was the hardestpart of cheering at games. However, itseemed to be the most exciting part forthem. Lewis said stunting brings variety into cheering, it is interesting andmakes it more fun.During a game the pressure was on tohit every stunt. McFarland explained astressful part of the game was startinglineup because everyones watchingyou, and you want to hit everything.When basketball players names wereannounced, the girls were up right behind them.It became even more stressful wheneach stunt group was separated to different areas of the court. To accomplish this the girls had to communicate a lot, Lewis explained. The girlsexplained that the backspot, Trigg inthis case, did most of the communicating. Trigg had the responsibility ofholding the flyer, Strunk, by the ankleand catching her if she falls. As a backspot I make sure the stunts controlledand when to go up, Trigg said. Shedid this by watching the other groupsaround the court for signals.While communication was a key partof stunting all of the girls agreed thatthe main component to having a successful group was trust. As the flyer,Strunk had to trust that her bases andback spot would hold her feet for support, and catch her when she camedown (whether or not it was intentional). At the same time she had to do herjob. As a flyer you have to hold yourweight, you have to squeeze, and beflexible too, Strunk explained. Theyall had to trust each other to work hardand do their job.This trust came from spending timetogether and getting to know eachother. The girls explained that most oftheir bonding came from cheer campover the summer, where they wereput into stunt groups, and started toexperiment. They had to learn eachgirls comfort levels, and how experienced they are. If it is a new person Isqueeze hard, Strunk explained aboutflying with new bases before she became comfortable.Cheer stunting was a true exampleof team work. Each girl in the grouphad to look out for the other. Theywere all responsible for the success oftheir group, and creating a close bondbetween them. Lewis explained thatthey all watch out for each other, If[Strunk] comes down, our main goal isto go back up. -MEGAN MCDEVITT-How is ,Teamwork ran aspect orCHEER?Everyones fulleffort is neededfor things towork and besuccessful.—freshmanJennie SutorYou have tobe creative,add all of yourheadstogether, —senior JillParrottTo get thingsdone, yelltogether, synctogether,—senior ElliSparksYou have t<be a teambecause youcant cheerloud enough byyourself.—junior AdinaJohnson9If we dontwork togetherwe dont lookunified,—freshman ErinMcNeilcheerleading \| SPORTS \| 77
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8099
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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