Inspired by “Serving in Florida” by Barbara Ehrenreich

Picture a germaphobe’s hell. The mats are littered in broken finger nails and stray pieces of hair that resulted from stunting disasters. Last week's bloody nose leaves marron stains on the blue carpet. The occasional vacuuming tries, in vain, to suck up the filth tracked in from the outside world. These mats haven’t been truly cleaned since the last lice outbreak a few months ago. None of that matters today. It is the night before the sectional competition, but the team might as well be heading into battle. Three girls have the flu but that is no excuse to be missing practice. Coach Carissa is our commander-in-chief and she is hoping to march us to a top 5 spot and a place at the state competition. We know a war is coming, and we know that there is nothing that we can do to stop it. “Alright everyone”, Coach Carrisa announces, “time for our first full out of the night.” 

You scramble to your starting position. A smile is plastered to your face as the music blares from the cheap speakers. You move from formation to formation with the urgency of a trained soldier. Stunts come crashing down into a pile of exhausted human bodies, but stopping in the middle of the battlefield is never an option. You’re only a minute in. And so you crawl back onto your feet and dash to your next position. You keep a smile on your face through it all because you can never let the enemy see you waver. You strike your ending poses and collapse onto the mat. “Quick water break then set back up,” declares Coach Carissa. You get only a five minute rest between each full out. Oh you forgot your water bottle? I guess you’re out of luck. The water fountain has been broken and surrounded by caution tape for the last two years. 

Muscles ache as we run through the routine over and over again. The worst part is knowing that, despite all of the effort we put in throughout the season, there will still be people who insist that cheerleading is not a sport. They only witness the final result; we see all of the work that is put in. The school only sees sideline cheers and the most basic stunts during football and basketball games. Behind the scenes cheerleading is the hardest battle I have ever fought in. Cheerleading has evolved significantly in the last few decades from simple sideline chants to a combination of gymnastics and high flying aerial skills. A modern cheerleading routine consists of tumbling, stunting, a pyramid, jumps, and a cheer segment, all jammed into 2 minute and 30 seconds. We run these action packed routines over and over until we reach perfection. Practice doesn’t end until long past sunset. We will start again at seven o’clock the next morning before leaving for the competition. Despite the pain we put our bodies through day in and day out we know that the work will be worth it when we hit the floor the next day. 

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A full out refers to performing a routine as if it were a competition. This means all stunts, tumbling, transitions, and facials are fully executed.