So You Think You Can Cheer!

Story by Taila Bennett. Photo by Shaniah Gillison

DECEMBER 8, 2014: Has your cheer team been undefeated for the past 4 years? Have you ever seen a team bring the spirit, best tumble passes, jumps, and choreography at a competition all at once? Well if you haven’t, you’ve never met the Woodridge Cheerleaders—the all-round best school cheerleading team that has ever performed! 

Being a Woodridge Cheerleader takes hard work and dedication. If you don’t have school spirit and great self-motivation then this is not the place for you.  Cheerleading is a breathtaking sport and requires a lot of leadership and energy. This is a competitive sport that draws in tons of girls each year dying to try out for the team. With the #1 Eagles reining over our heads for four years, we only accept a select few. Experience, talent, confidence, and spirit are key to being an enthusiastic cheerleader.

So why let 3rd graders join the cheerleading team? That’s a huge question many students wanted answers to. As for parents, they were more than excited to hear this news. They had been asking for 

years to get a cheerleading team opened up on the elementary side of the school to allow their younger students to be in an after school program other than tutoring.

Opening up the team to 3rd graders brings in great tumbling to our team.  We don’t want to put their amazing use of skills down the drain and make them wait a whole year to be able to tryout. They may be little kids with small voices, but they can put on a show any day that will have the crowd standing on their feet cheering for more in awe at their tumbling skills for kids their age. 

This year our team has students in grades 3 and 4 with more than five years of cheerleading experience. Some even cheer for elite cheerleading teams in their spare time. Since last year, our team has increased about three times the number of tumblers than from previous years. I think it’s important for these younger girls to have their talents shown to their peers, families, and entire school community. This is what they live for. So if you think you can bring something to the team, bring it on! Here at Woodridge, we are always looking for Eagles to soar!

Taila Bennett and Shaniah Gillison are an 8th grade scholars at Friendship Woodridge Academy.