A sport typically entails one season of hard work, games, and tons of practice. For cheer the aforementioned still hold true. Their hard work extends through the fall and winter seasons, as they support football, basketball, rallies, and even perform on their own.
Cheer is a sport that requires practice, dedication, and teamwork. This sport requires everyone’s best foot to be set forth, and in order to do so there are prolonged practices set to attain perfection of performances.
“It takes a whole team to put on a show and if you don’t put in all your effort the show won’t go,” said senior Ciara Mendez Sisneros, who has been cheering for four years.
It is extremely important for every member of Selma’s squad to attend their practices as well. Even with a large team this year, no one is considered obsolete. The absence of even a single team member can make performances challenging to learn and execute. This entails new skillsets which include responsibility, leadership, and trust.
Alexis Aguilera, a returning sophomore cheerleader, confirms this.“Cheer has given me leadership skills especially this year since I am a returner on the team.” She adds that, “With a lot of new girls to cheer for we sometimes need to help others out with things which is normal, but it shows how we can be leaders and step up to help someone when they need it.”
The commitment has taught Ciara flexibility both physically and mentally. In cheer, you must be open-minded and try your best wherever you’re placed in the routine.
Performing in front of a huge audience can be very daunting for some, but the cheerleaders have tactics that allow them to put on their best performances. It isn’t hard to perform during games for Ciara because her family is there to support her. Instead of getting nervous in front of the rest of the audience, she’ll think to herself, “Let me show them what I can do.”
The students are a more nerve-wracking audience for her to perform for. Even so, she says there is “always someone to admire” and look to in the crowd.
“I like to prepare for performances by clearing my head and making sure the bad thought[s] and vibes are out because I feel like that can mess me up in a performance. It sounds weird but it works for me,” Alexis says.
Both girls expressed the hard work is worth it when they perform well for their coaches and see their families in the crowd.
The cheerleaders can’t practice without Ms. Fester, cheer advisor of 21 years. She witnesses the team’s different strengths and weaknesses each year.
“One year [it’s] cheers, another year [it’s] dances. This year it’s stunts. They are learning it in a snap,” Ms. Fester explains.
Ciara agrees.
“This season has been more fun and more involved than previous years. This year we’ve done more stunts and more dancing.”
In the past a lot of girls have been hesitant to try out for the sport, but this year they have soared in the number of participants. It’s favorable as the team is now more available to compete in competitions and do more stunts.
For Ciara, a bigger team is not necessarily “ hard, but something new.” There was a big increase in the number of participants in this year’s cheer team.
As the team’s abilities improve, they’ve gotten to learn harder routines and have been exposed to more opportunities. For example, many cheerleaders will have the opportunity to perform in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Pearl Harbor Day Memorial Parade on December 7th as All American Athletes.
“All American Cheer was a huge event before COVID. Cheerleaders would go to UCSB for cheer camp. Now, a three day camp takes place here at Selma High instead. On the last day, they try out for All American. From smiles to showmanship, everything is accounted for,” Ms. Fester explains.
Every year Ms. Fester has had girls make All American, but Mariah Gonzales was the first to actually attend the event in 2022. This year, she has five 4.0 student-athletes attending.
Cheer was also invited to the Selma Auto Mall on November 12th. They cheered and performed stunts and sideline dances. They took part in a canned food drive, ate at taco trucks, and ran a raffle all between 12pm and 2pm.
“The Selma Auto Mall event was fun. We didn’t have much of a big crowd there but we still put on our smiles and performed. There was a raffle to win a free TV and my cheer advisor, Ann Fester, won the raffle so that was a fun surprise from the event,” Alexis Aguilar shares.
The cheerleaders have also expressed their excitement for events like the Christmas Parade in Downtown Selma, and possibly cheer competitions in the future.
Ms. Fester sees their enthusiasm in and out of performances, claiming they are “the pinnacle of leadership and positivity,” at Selma High School.
Alexis says cheer has shown her “we can be leaders and step up to help someone when they need it.”
In the end, the cheer squad expresses that their sport is one of the hardest, most involved sports on campus. Despite all the demands of cheer, many don’t officially recognize or realize that it is an actual sport.
Ms. Fester is passionate that cheer gets the recognition they deserve as well. She says the cheerleaders “are not primadonnas” even though they might get that reputation.“They are athletes. They are hard workers.” She adds that she is “proud of the girls and proud of her daughter Priscilla,” who choreographs their routines.
“Going into high school I wanted to do a sport so I tried out and made the team, and I’m so happy I went through with trying out. We create bonds and I have made many close friends through cheer.”
To the students interested in cheer, Ciara would say, “Just do it. It’s not gonna hurt to try, it’s good to try something new. To people lacking confidence… [they] more than anyone should try out.”
