Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2014, Page 91

Description:	IcheerChanting loudly in unison, the BloomingtonSouth cheer squad smiled brightly at thefans. To the average spectator, it seemednatural and effortless for the girls to lift, throwand catch their teammates. The students werefeeding off of the cheerleaders energy,pumped up and ready for their Panthers towin. In both the boys football and basketbaseasons the cheer squad was with them all,supporting the teams with their graceful backtucks and their forceful cheers. What wasless visible and contagious, however, wasthe personal struggle to better the squad.In any sport, athletes work individuallyto better the collective team. The cheer teamwas no exception. Single goals were madeto improve cohesion - namely in tucking andstunting. I was able to get my standing tuckand new stunting skills this season, seniorSarah Baxter said.As one season gave way to the next,the cheerleaders noticed the unified growtharising from the individual improvement.Everyone was able to get along, especiallyThroughout both the football and basketball season thecheerleading squad made sure they always supported their teams.during basketball season, junior CherylBruce explained. Coming together gave thegirls the confidence to try new and moredifficult stunts as they worked as a unit. Thetumbling also improved and everyoneworked hard to get their standing back tucks.The growing sense of unity was not loston the girls - veteran nor newbie. Thehighlight of last season was doing the Juglinefor the varsity football games for the firsttime, sophomore Ryan Jessmer said. Afterher first varsity football squad season,Jessmer already had goals set for the future.I want to be more involved with decoratingthe school and getting everyones schoolspirit up, she said.And Jessmer wasnt the only one settinggoals. The varsity team vowed to masterstanding back handspring tucks. Challengesand growing pains were no set backs for thisyears Panther squad. The girls carried theups and downs from 2014 to their try outsand subsequent squads for next year.NICOLE CUMMINGSWe condition and practice likeother sports and we lift people,which is equivalent to liftingweights.- SENIOR CAROLINE OTTER
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/9197
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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