If you have a burning desire to join the cheerleading squad in your school, here are some things that you need to know:

Cheerleading is a sport

Many people do not consider cheerleading to be a sport, which is absurd because you have to be physically fit to cheer. However, the NCAA does not consider it a sport because there are no cheerleading competitions. Although some squads compete with each other, not all of them do, and as a result, the NCAA makes a blanket ruling.

If you go into cheerleading with a lazy mindset, you will not make it very far. You have to be prepared to give your body a thorough workout. You either have to be strong enough to lift lighter teammates up or agile enough to do flips and jump in the air.

You need the right uniform

Because you will be jumping up and doing flips, you need to purchase the right uniform. Buying clothes that are ill-fitting might prove dangerous. When buying cheer jerseys and skirts, you need to take the correct measurements so that you do not buy oversize outfits.

It is a lot of work

You need to memorize moves and cheers to avoid making mistakes in front of a live audience. Once you learn them, they will be easy to remember. Although coordination matters, you do not have to be the most coordinated person to cheerlead. However, you should be prepared to weight train, run, and practice most of the time.

It is dangerous

When it comes to female athletes, cheerleaders sustain the highest number of injuries. If you plan to become a flyer, you should prepare to be dropped a lot. In your cheerleading career, you might end up with a few concussions, sprained ankles, and cracked ribs.

Injury is a risk that comes with every sport, especially cheerleading, which does not have any protection gear. To avoid injury, you should attend all practice sessions and take the necessary safety precautions. You never know, you might go through your entire career without getting any injury.

You wear uniform frequently

You will wear the uniform a lot but not every single day: you only wear your costume on game days. This means that you should always keep it in pristine condition. You will be representing your school in that uniform, so you need to take care of it.

It is not that catty

As you have probably seen in movies, cheerleaders are portrayed as cold-hearted and bitchy. Although that might be the case in some schools, it is not like that everywhere. You could end up making life-long friends so you should not approach the sport with apprehension.

There is no dictatorship

Most cheerleading teams have coaches, as they are not allowed to cheer without one. This means that cheerleaders cannot assemble without their coach or rule the team with an iron fist. Moreover, if you are the cheer captain, you do not have the final say in what happens.

Yell from your diaphragm

You might be wondering why cheerleaders do not lose their voices all the time. It is because they are trained to yell from the diaphragm, not the throat. Even if you are the loudest person in the squad, you might never lose your voice if you yell correctly; shout from your belly to avoid damaging your vocal cords.

It is fun

Cheerleading will give you some of the best memories. Even if you are losing a game, being on the sidelines can be exhilarating. Throwing stunts, cheering alongside the crowd, choreographing moves, and painting banners is a lot of fun.

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