All-Star Confessions Of A Cheerleader

Every time during a particularly strenuous full out or rough conditioning when I couldn't breathe and was sweating like a pig in my mind I would be like "OMG THIS IS SO AWFUL I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY I PUT MYSELF THROUGH THIS UGH LIKE WHY WHY WHYYYYY"

But for some reason I was always back.

explosion<3 said:

My confession: I have brought AP Lang homework to a cheerleading competition? ... cheerleader problems

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I had this class in college that I had to take 3 times (3 different versions, I didn't fail!) and it was a half semester class. I always had our final assignment due right around college nationals. So every year (well 3/4) I would be in the hotel writing a paper the day we got down instead of relaxing or doing whatever everyone else was.

Also one year I had to take my physics final in a hotel room in Tennesee because the football team made it to the national championship. My professor kept saying " well the people in marching band aren't missing it" and he would not understand that I was not in the marching band and we traveled with the football team and I was not going to be there for the final and could an athletic academic advisor please proctor the exam for me.

Bailey W. said:

...

I remember everything from choreography camp, even months later, every original count, and it drives me insane when other people don't remember. Especially if they won't listen to me even though its been established that my brain holds every cheer count I've ever learned. It also really bothers me when things become way different from the choreographer's original choreography. I feel like... Why hire a choreographer if you're gonna rechoreograph yourself...

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Confession of a middle school cheerleader (from a long time ago)...I can't listen to Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam or Janet Jackson's Control without busting into our halftime dance from 7th and 8th grade.

Sadly, I can even remember CPs choreography from the last few years. Something about music and motions...my mind just picks it up quickly.

Additional confession:
I'm the athlete that never cheats on conditioning and hates everyone who cheats. Last week for school cheering we had to run 4 laps through both levels of the school and 6 people cheated so as a senior (since our coach wasn't there yet) I made everyone run a 5th lap. And said next week we'd run an extra lap for each person who cheats the next time. We came in 3rd last year at States. And we certainly won't win first this year when people cheat on simple conditioning like running.

Retired Cheerleader Part 2:
People hear I was a cheerleader and say 'They never would have guessed, you're smart.' or 'I can see it-you're so positive.' When they say the first, I'm only half-insulted because I think of some of the girls I cheered in High School with who I routinely wanted to punch in the face every time they opened their mouth. Then I think of the smart ones I know and I feel like I have to defend them.

Every time I got to practice for allstar, I was so excited because it was something I'd wanted to do. By the end I was so burnt out from wasted money (for practices where people just didn't show up, and I'd spent 5 hrs round trip and a chunk of change getting up there), people not showing up, quitting, dropping out. But I miss it again, even though I know I'm so out of shape and my body could barely handle level 2 (tumbling wise, anyway lol). Plus I'm 23 and just don't have the time.

I want to coach so badly, but it just doesn't fit in with my other life dreams right now. And I doubt anyone would want to hire me if I only cheered 3 years (2 HS, 1 allstar), and never had experience at big competitions. But I WANNA DO IT..

Julia Salmons said:

I'll confess I don't keep track of how many crunches or push ups I do, I just stop when someone stands up.

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honestly i dont count eather when every one stands up i stand up.

MaineStarEm234 said:

Additional confession:
I'm the athlete that never cheats on conditioning and hates everyone who cheats. Last week for school cheering we had to run 4 laps through both levels of the school and 6 people cheated so as a senior (since our coach wasn't there yet) I made everyone run a 5th lap. And said next week we'd run an extra lap for each person who cheats the next time. We came in 3rd last year at States. And we certainly won't win first this year when people cheat on simple conditioning like running.

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it seems like you are kind of trying to be the coach. are you the captin. and you should tell the coaches. and it is only herting/cheating there self.

When my school team and I are in the bathroom before games at visiting team's stadiums, if we see any of the other cheerleaders we say things like "Ugh, Coach made me take off my Worlds ring!" "Should I throw my full tonight? Idk I'm kinda tired." A little siking out never hurt anybody...

Also I secretly LOVE the little dance we have to do to our fight song. I'll deny it if confronted but deep down, it's my favorite.

1. I always had a lucky lip gloss, that was the key to success, no lip gloss = bad da
2. I always thought if the opening stunts hit the rest of the routine would hit, and thought if they didn't we may be destined for failure.
3. We always did a little "pump up"chant before competing and it involved jumping up and down. I pretended to jump cause that wasted my energy.
4. During the cheer section, sometimes I may or may not have always yelled to my loudest capacity... sorry team.
5. I have cheated on conditioning, sorry self.
6. Before a competition, I always would google search their name and try to find their website/page so I could check their videos and pictures to see how we measured up.. and YouTube
7. Before UCA nationals almost every year, I really wanted to know what chances we had going into the comp, so my sisters and I watched every video on Varsity.com in our division, wrote down our skills, compared them to us, saw if the continued on to the next stages and tried to determine if we would advance... a little crazy maybe but I realllllyyyyy knew our competition.


Oh yeah, I always knew the certain girls on our team/program with the scary tumbling and I could never watch them because I thought their bad technique and form might rub off on my next pass

I also may or may not have witnessed a friend stuffing her backpack with free tampons in a bathroom in the Milkhouse at UCA nationals. And I may or may not have encouraged her to take more because, you know, those things are expensive back home...

kristenthegreat said:

Retired Cheerleader Part 2:
People hear I was a cheerleader and say 'They never would have guessed, you're smart.' or 'I can see it-you're so positive.' When they say the first, I'm only half-insulted because I think of some of the girls I cheered in High School with who I routinely wanted to punch in the face every time they opened their mouth. Then I think of the smart ones I know and I feel like I have to defend them.

Every time I got to practice for allstar, I was so excited because it was something I'd wanted to do. By the end I was so burnt out from wasted money (for practices where people just didn't show up, and I'd spent 5 hrs round trip and a chunk of change getting up there), people not showing up, quitting, dropping out. But I miss it again, even though I know I'm so out of shape and my body could barely handle level 2 (tumbling wise, anyway lol). Plus I'm 23 and just don't have the time.

I want to coach so badly, but it just doesn't fit in with my other life dreams right now. And I doubt anyone would want to hire me if I only cheered 3 years (2 HS, 1 allstar), and never had experience at big competitions. But I WANNA DO IT..

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Girl, I'm 25 and I'm still doing it. There will come a point where my body just can't so I don't want to regret not doing it while I still can. And I have level 1 tumbling. A lot of open teams are only once a week, so I'm of the opinion that if you really, really want to do it, most of the time you can make the time. Though I know you're in NYC so that's tough.

When I finally stop doing it, which might be after this year, I'm not going to give the time or money excuse, I'm going to say I decided to focus on other things in my life (like planning a wedding most likely) and hopefully I won't regret.

More confessions:
-all my personal statements for college apps are cheer related
-I honestly don't mind waking up at the crack of dawn on a comp morning but getting up for school in the mornings is dreadful
-cheer comp "hangovers" are the worst and then having to deal with normal people

Ashley said:

Girl, I'm 25 and I'm still doing it. There will come a point where my body just can't so I don't want to regret not doing it while I still can. And I have level 1 tumbling. A lot of open teams are only once a week, so I'm of the opinion that if you really, really want to do it, most of the time you can make the time. Though I know you're in NYC so that's tough.

When I finally stop doing it, which might be after this year, I'm not going to give the time or money excuse, I'm going to say I decided to focus on other things in my life (like planning a wedding most likely) and hopefully I won't regret.

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It's funny this came up, because I did 'time management' today at my business coaching for acting. Oh the things I can do when I learn to schedule it all in!

But being in NYC is difficult, as no matter WHERE I go, I have to factor in an exorbitant amount of travel and said expenses. Sad panda

I have to pee about a thousand times before we compete

1. You couldn't pay me to spray tan
2. I can't talk to anyone while we're waiting to go onto the matt, it stresses me out
3. I wear the same perfume to every competition
4. After high school i didn't cheer for 5 years and I came back