Football season is wrapping up, and it’s not only the football players getting a bit of a break.
The DMS cheerleaders are almost done with the fall sports season. Even though they will soon get a short break from cheering at sporting events until winter sports get underway.
All of the cheerleaders worked often and continuously all year. They practice a lot of different cheers each day, for around 40 total cheers.
Adyson Cook, an eighth-grade cheerleader, said being in cheer is competitive, straining, but also compassionate.
Cook says that when the cheerleaders are making a “pyramid” it is usually not scary to be the person on the top because the person on top is comfortable doing so. Additionally, she claims that she plans to participate in cheerleading next year in high school.
Though there used to be stand-ins for injured or missing cheerleaders, there are no longer, and instead, the cheerleaders who would have been stand-ins are now just cheerleaders and other cheerleaders will take the place of any non-participating cheerleaders.
As for the boys who want to join cheer, they will not be able to join in middle school but they will have the opportunity in high school.
They usually practice from about 2:30 3 p.m. but on Wednesday it is about 2:30 to 4 p.m. The cheerleaders mostly practice in the wrestling room but sometimes they also practice at a place called Extreme Thunder. Every cheerleader has pompoms, and some have new ones that come with handles and some are on a stick.
Right now they are practicing for a competition, in November, and they practice for any pep rallies once one comes around. The next event they will be participating in is today’s football game, which is the last of the season.
Cook says that she feels good about the newest uniforms and that she likes the new ones better than the old ones. These uniforms are washed by washing machines, usually set to delicate, they do not have to be dry washed. The cheerleaders also do not have to pay for the uniforms.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing you don’t go out there,” Cook said.
