Keeping It Real

Cowboys… WEST, Cowboys… WEST! Cheerleading is not just about wearing short skirts and smiling. It is a sport that a lot of girls enjoy because they can jump around and show their school spirit by pumping up the crowd. It’s a sport in which girls play in order to get involved and stay “in the game”. There are many people who say that cheerleading is not a sport, but cheerleaders work just as hard as any other athlete that goes to competitions and wins awards for their skills. Being a cheerleader is exciting and without them what would a game be? What other way to get the people in the stands more hype than a group of leaders cheering and driving the crowd wild.

When it comes to cheerleading many people like to judge and stereotype. To many, the average cheerleader is a small, petite, preppy female or a homosexual male when in fact West High’s cheerleaders are from many different cultures and have many distinctive personalities. Some have not cheered a day in their life before joining at West, yet there are some who have cheered since they were children. There are many things in a girl’s life that motivate her to cheer like encouragement from friends and family. “I’ve never been really interested in becoming a cheerleader until I mentioned it to my mom and she told me to go for it,” said junior Rebecca Beatty, after realizing that cheering was better than what she’d thought it would be.

Like any other sport, cheerleading takes a bit of hard work, determination and persistence. Not only do cheerleaders have to work hard at practice, but also academically they must stay focused. “I worked hard to get a 4.0 GPA in high school so that no one could accuse me of being the stereotyped “dumb cheerleader” and I graduated with a 3.9 cumulated GPA,” stated Coach Stephanie Gregory, “I love to coach and I always try to tell my girls that it takes teamwork and as a cheerleader you must learn to compromise with decision making.” Our cheerleaders realize that being dedicated to classwork is important because when one person isn’t able to cheer, due to grades, it affects the entire team.

Teamwork is key in being a cheer squad. They all persuade each other to do better, “In the middle of practice, we always take a break to talk, laugh and have fun,” said Rebecca, “We are one big family and we always try and keep each other in tune with what is going on.” Lots of times things can get rough but they know how to deal with it and move on because their cheer family is what’s important. Staying persistent is what a lot of them live by, “It’s better to try and fail than to fail at trying,” said freshman Aleesha Cremeans who has been cheering most of her life. “I always tell my girls to work together, remain positive toward one another and if those two rules are followed then the outcome will be a success,” stated Coach Candace Miller.

Lots of people do not have teams that are as tight and close as West’s cheerleaders. Their bond is important to them and they try their best in order succeed, even after a long day at school they stay excited and ready for the game later on that night. Though people think that cheerleading is all about smiling and wearing mini skirts, they are here to show you that they are a hardworking team that stays motivated and as junior Karlisha Harris says “keeping it real”.

Rebecca Beatty, Lexus Williams, Karlisha Harris and Aleesha Cremeans cheering for the girls basketball team at home.

Cheerleaders performing a routine during halftime.

Performing the halftime stunt, Tre'Asia Hopkins, Aleesha Cremeans, Lexus Williams, Ebony Lopez and Taylor toss Chissy into an extension.