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Lisa Welsh
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By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
PROathletics Coach Kelly Proctor, former NCA cheerleader, New England Patriots cheerleader and everything in between, is a master of glitter makeup, as applied to ShowStopper Kiley.
It’s that time of year. Bids to Worlds have been coveted and won. Members of Levels 1 to 4 teams are honing their skills as attention turns to impending try-outs. Cheer moms and dads have unpacked, conducting post-travel comp laundry and repacking for one of the last times.
But the greatest indication that we’re approaching the end of the season is the weird places I find bobby pins and the random glitter that appears out of nowhere.
Bobby pins and glitter are two essential ingredients in cheerleading. Before “Got 2 B” Glue takes care of the whispies atop, bobby pins secure a pony at the center of the head and bows in place.
Glitter is both carefully applied to designated areas and carefreely draped anywhere a little sparkle is warranted.
Once a staple of pin-up curls and vintage hairdos of the 1940s (there’s even a Bobby Pin Blog) Bobby Pins were restricted to grandmotherly coifs before All Stars (and maybe ballerinas) discovered them.
At the beginning of the season, at the conclusion of every competition, bobby pins are returned to the container that held them. Painstakingly reattached to the cardboard holder or slipped through the tiny hole of its plastic case, few bobby pins are left behind.
But around comp four or five, bobby pins don’t find their way back home anymore. Pulled from the hairsprayed jungle and dropped wherever there’s space: the niche in the interior of the car door handle was a favorite of Becky’s, Rachel’s bobby pins just don’t seem to make it home. They can found in make-up cases, at the bottom of duffel bags, hotel bathroom counter tops, hotel nightstands or on the heads of teammates.
At this point in the season, I might introduce the concept of a new bobby pin holder, like a recycled plastic face-wipe holder that can also hold hair elastics that no longer have their original packaging.
But after the big nationals and travel comps, it’s anyone’s guess where a bobby-pin will show up. Frantically searching in the wee hours of a competition morning, I’ve sent the girls scrounging to places that I can kind of recall seeing a bobby pin hiding during the week. This has included but not limited to within the grate of the bathroom tile floor or atop the shower stall ledge. Against the kitchen floor board and under a computer keyboard.
In ready supply at the beginning of the season, glitter spray can be hard to find this time of the season.
Glitter is much harder to retrieve once it’s been released. After a quick, last-minute spritz of glitter before heading out the door, sparkles are attached to everything for days. This has included the bedroom mirror, library book pages (now stuck together), hallway wall.
The fun thing about glitter is it rarely stays where it’s intended to be.
Fierce Kid Nori and her glitteratzied hair with Coach Becky.PHOTO BY standSTILL Photography
The first application at home is followed by another, then another and another right until a team mom sprays down the line of athletes waiting to take the mat (skipping those asthmatics of course).
But my favorite was the time a few random speckles of glitter affixed themselves to my husband’s cheek where they travelled to his construction site and the crew promptly nicknamed him “Glitter Fairy.”
By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
PROathletics Coach Kelly Proctor, former NCA cheerleader, New England Patriots cheerleader and everything in between, is a master of glitter makeup, as applied to ShowStopper Kiley.
It’s that time of year. Bids to Worlds have been coveted and won. Members of Levels 1 to 4 teams are honing their skills as attention turns to impending try-outs. Cheer moms and dads have unpacked, conducting post-travel comp laundry and repacking for one of the last times.
But the greatest indication that we’re approaching the end of the season is the weird places I find bobby pins and the random glitter that appears out of nowhere.
Bobby pins and glitter are two essential ingredients in cheerleading. Before “Got 2 B” Glue takes care of the whispies atop, bobby pins secure a pony at the center of the head and bows in place.
Glitter is both carefully applied to designated areas and carefreely draped anywhere a little sparkle is warranted.
Once a staple of pin-up curls and vintage hairdos of the 1940s (there’s even a Bobby Pin Blog) Bobby Pins were restricted to grandmotherly coifs before All Stars (and maybe ballerinas) discovered them.
At the beginning of the season, at the conclusion of every competition, bobby pins are returned to the container that held them. Painstakingly reattached to the cardboard holder or slipped through the tiny hole of its plastic case, few bobby pins are left behind.But around comp four or five, bobby pins don’t find their way back home anymore. Pulled from the hairsprayed jungle and dropped wherever there’s space: the niche in the interior of the car door handle was a favorite of Becky’s, Rachel’s bobby pins just don’t seem to make it home. They can found in make-up cases, at the bottom of duffel bags, hotel bathroom counter tops, hotel nightstands or on the heads of teammates.
At this point in the season, I might introduce the concept of a new bobby pin holder, like a recycled plastic face-wipe holder that can also hold hair elastics that no longer have their original packaging.
But after the big nationals and travel comps, it’s anyone’s guess where a bobby-pin will show up. Frantically searching in the wee hours of a competition morning, I’ve sent the girls scrounging to places that I can kind of recall seeing a bobby pin hiding during the week. This has included but not limited to within the grate of the bathroom tile floor or atop the shower stall ledge. Against the kitchen floor board and under a computer keyboard.
In ready supply at the beginning of the season, glitter spray can be hard to find this time of the season.
Glitter is much harder to retrieve once it’s been released. After a quick, last-minute spritz of glitter before heading out the door, sparkles are attached to everything for days. This has included the bedroom mirror, library book pages (now stuck together), hallway wall.
The fun thing about glitter is it rarely stays where it’s intended to be.
Fierce Kid Nori and her glitteratzied hair with Coach Becky.PHOTO BY standSTILL Photography
The first application at home is followed by another, then another and another right until a team mom sprays down the line of athletes waiting to take the mat (skipping those asthmatics of course).
But my favorite was the time a few random speckles of glitter affixed themselves to my husband’s cheek where they travelled to his construction site and the crew promptly nicknamed him “Glitter Fairy.”
