Cheer has always been a popular sport in St. Anthony’s High School with over 100 girls trying out from 4 grades each season.
Opening day for cheer is the first home game and this year the Varsity Cheer Team’s stunts and tumbling was amazing. The goal for this fall season is to be better than ever and the most important job is to support the football players and encourage the crowd. However, there’s a lot more to cheer, than just cheering.
After talking to Varsity Cheer senior captains Amelia Boccardo and Brooke McGuire, Amelia gave us a snapshot of the cheer teams daily routine in depth: “Every practice we come in, roll out the mats and get right into running laps around the track. Then stretch, go into tumbling lines, and warm up all tumbling that is in our routines.” At this point practice is about 40 minutes in. “Then we begin to warm up stunting and as everyone warms up we begin running through our actual routines, whether that’s pep rally or competition routine.”
Having a routine is really important to make sure that practice is organized, and that the cheer team can get everything done. “We usually have this set routine because it helps make practice more efficient.” The amount of work these girls put in every day to perfect a routine that is visually appealing to everyone takes a lot of effort. They practice 5 days a week, at least 2 hours a day plus traveling to games and doing outside tumbling practice. The commitment to Varsity Cheerleading is a lot more than most people expect, and it needs to be recognized.
Tumbling is a significant part of this year’s squad and was significantly noticeable with all the passes they did at the first home game vs. Chaminade. Amelia Boccardo ‘23 states “Having more tumbling has been crucial to earning our spot at nationals. As competition season approaches we are using the advantage of having a full team of tumbling in our best interest. In order to compete in Disney in February, tumbling and stunting are the best way to get to where we want to be; Champions.”
The stunts are an important part of each game, so the bases and flyers both play an important role. Boccardo, who is a flyer and captain told me what it’s like being a flyer. “The responsibility of the flyer is to have trust in your bases. As well as remaining tight in the air. Freaking out when you’re up there can lead to injuries. I think that’s why our team is so close because cheer is all about trusting the people that are under you, and knowing they will catch you no matter what happens.” To become a flyer you need to have skill and persistence. Your main goal is to stay tight and lock your knees in a firm position so that you make the job easier for the bases. You need to look clean and presentable at all times as you’re the main eye catcher in a stunt group. However, cheer is more about teamwork than anything else, because you need to trust your stunt group, and know, as a flyer, that the bases will catch you.
The bases in the stunt groups are probably the most important part, because not only are they busy watching the flyer constantly, they are also trying to prepare to quickly let the flyer down once she’s done her stunt. Brooke McGuire ‘23, who is a varsity Base said that, “The most important part of being a base is to be strong and support your flyer in the air. We have to try to make it easy for her! It is very important to make sure you are there to catch her if she were to fall.” To prevent injuries a cheerleader must know the stunts by heart, be in sync, and trust in their teammates to do a good job.
The football game without the halftime show is not worth going to. Let’s support the cheer squad and remember to value their importance, during the next football game! Winter cheer competition team tryouts begin October 17th and you have one more home game to see the amazing tumbling and stunts our Friar Cheer Squad will entertain us on October 21st, at Senior Night.
Follow the cheer team on Instagram @st.anthonyscheer
Anna Rzymski is a freshman at St. Anthony’s, this is her first year with friar Scoreboard. She plans on joining the winter track team or the winter cheer team.
