As we dive into another football season, our cheerleaders let us know what it is like cheering for the cat pack.
If you have ever wanted to understand what it’s like to pump a crowd up for game day, ask any cheerleader how fun it is. Friday nights are for football games and cheering. It is those Friday nights that bring on the school spirit.
Cheering can be intimidating, to say the least, especially for a younger cheerleader. Having hundreds of students yelling is not always the easiest thing to step in front of and say “Hey! Look at me!” A lot of times if you are not perfect, you will get made fun of. When asked about what it was like to cheer as an underclassman, Frannie Keeley had all the answers.
“Freshman year it felt like it was kind of surreal, like it was just so like crazy, but now it’s like really fun.”
The cheerleaders will celebrate a touchdown or ask the cat pack to shake their booty. They always make things exciting Students often express how long they have waited to get into the cat pack because of the thrill of it all. We talked to Myia Dood, a senior cheerleader, and four-year varsity athlete, her opinion.
As soon as you look up into the crowd and see the smiling faces of your friends, you know you are in the right place. Nothing beats the feeling of hitting a stunt in front of your peers and having them cheer for you. It is always a good feeling to impress people in the crowd. When talking to Frannie Keeley, we asked her her favorite stunt or activity to do in front of the cat pack.
“My favorite stunts to do are anything with flexibility because they don’t know how hard the stunts really are, they only see if we go on one leg and do something really flashy.”
Cheering is not as easy as smiling and looking pretty. Lots of hard work and practice go into perfecting stunts and routines. You have to have the entire team working together to prepare for anything that would happen in a game. Practices are almost every day of the week, including lifting and gymnastics. It also takes a lot of coaching to prepare the girls. Laurel McCay, an assistant varsity coach, let us know her thoughts on being a coach on the sidelines.
It is no lie, being in the cat pack is unlike anything else. But being in front of them all is a whole different experience, and one that is no easy task. The cheer team puts in a lot of time and effort to make sure you have fun. No matter if we win or lose, Jenison cheerleaders will always be there for you, cheering the night away.
