Making Changes for a Whole New Season

Posted: November 2, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The lazy days of summer are long gone, and those sweaty, long, and carefree cheer practices gone with them. There’s no more time for experimenting, or trying out stunts for the hell of it. That’s right – competition season is here, and as every dedicated cheerleader knows, it’s time to bring it.

A new season means changes – maybe a new coach, a few new teammates, and most importantly, a whole new routine. It can often be difficult to get used to change. Maybe you were front and center at last year’s dance section, but in this routine you’re way in the back. Or maybe you were at the top of the pyramid, but are now just a mid-base.  Being a good cheerleader means accepting change and continuing to work your butt off as if you were the star. So you’ve got a crappy little part at the back where no one will see you during the dance? OWN IT as if you were the only one up there. So you lost your spot in that tumbling line? OWN every other walkover, handspring, tuck, or full you have in the routine, and continue to practice the line on your own as if your life depended on it.

It can be very frustrating knowing that you’re able to do a lot more than what you’ve been assigned, but being a good sport and a good teammate means knowing when to suck it up and do your part. Choreography decisions are made by your coaches with the best interest of the team in mind, and sometimes that means that you don’t always get everything you want. Cheerleading IS a TEAM sport after all. There are reasons why your coaches have made the routine the way it is, and you need to respect that. If you mope around and keep complaining  and putting in minimal effort, your coaches won’t change their mind and put you up front, but the opposite – they’ll see you’re not being a good sport or trying your best, and won’t give you that stunt back. If you have good reason to be upset, and really feel like you’re able to contribute more to the routine, then consider having a chat with your coach about it. Don’t be rude or demanding, but be honest about how you feel, and be prepared to work your hardest to prove to your coaches why you want a certain part over whoever has it at the moment. I admit sometimes staying positive in such a situation can be very hard to do, as not having a routine you love can be rather demotivating. But this is what separates good cheerleaders from bad ones – good cheerleaders not only motivate others, but motivate themselves, during good times and especially during bad. It helps to remember you’re on a team, and you should be proud of having the privilege to be on that team. If you don’t have pride for your team, then you should consider changing teams because you won’t be able to reach your full potential on a team you’re not happy to be on.

So keep smiling, keep shining, and keep cheering no matter what!

Cheer on!

-Mina

“Cheerleading Is My Life”

Posted: February 27, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here, we come, the BLUE, BLACK, and WHITE. Panthers, All-Stars, Cheer and Unite!

So a few updates: Regionals went quite well last night, and I think we all felt pretty confident out on that floor! I was a little bummed that the nerves got the best of me, so I didn’t fully pull up my scorp during the partner stunts and instead went right to scale, but it didn’t look like a mistake when I watched the video so it wasn’t too bad. The other CCA teams that I watched (Black and Silver) did really good too. Black had really cute stunts, and Silver’s tumbling was awesome!

In this blog post, I’d like to share a few personal reflections on my love of this sport. This past weekend has really made me remember why I love cheerleading so so much, and it makes me so happy, that I feel the need to advertise it to the world!

It’s during competitions that I always vow that I’ll never stop cheering. Just having practices for a while can get kind of repetitive and tedious sometimes, but as soon as you come out and shine on that floor, you know that those grueling hours were well worth it! It’s during those 2:30 minutes that you fly to the moon and back, figure out the meaning of life, and restore peace to the world. You solve world hunger, you love with all your heart, and you live like you were dying. Because during those 2:30 minutes out on those 9 blue mats, you just know that anything is within your reach, and all you have to do is grab it.

For me, it starts about one week away from competition. That building excitement. It’s in the back of your head, poking its little glittery face around the corner. It’s all you ever want to talk about, and your non-cheer friends don’t get it and wish you’d stop bugging them about paying $15 to come watch you for two-and-a-half minutes.  You whip out the self-tanner and you make sure you have adequate quantities of bronzer and sparkles for the big day. You make sure to stretch every day, and do some conditioning to get your body into tip-top cheer shape. As the last practice before competition nears its end, you’re feeling confident. We got this in the bag.

The night before, you nervously fall asleep and dream of twisted routines, backstabbing handsprings, mocking judges and embarrassing uniform mishaps. You keep waking up  and checking the time every hour, until finally…

Eating Bananas before cheerleading competitions is one of my cheer traditions. What are some of yours?

You get up with a little knot in your stomach, you eat some bananas (bananas calm your nerves :)), and you begin your big day routine. You shower while mentally going over your cheer motions, and counting through the whole routine. Taking your time, you put on your uniform and do your hair and makeup carefully, while in the background your routine’s soundtrack is on replay. You lay out all your competition necessities on your bed, mentally checking each item off. Cheer shoes – check. Extra eye glitter – check. Lipstick – check. Uniform skirt – check. Bananas – check. Water bottle – check. Snacks and drinks – check. You look yourself over in the mirror, straighten out the giant bow on your head, smile, and pop your team jacket’s collar. Today is your day.

Arriving at comp, you can’t stop smiling, and you keep looking around at the other teams curiously. During warm-up, you give it your all, but  somehow it seems far from perfect. Stunts that were always solid at practice are all of a sudden falling down. Handsprings that were once a given are now hiding behind a sheet of nerves, causing injuries before the run. But you are strong. You are part of a team. And that team is with you in everything you do, and they won’t let those ugly nerves get to you, because they want that gold just as much as you do. And behind the curtain, ‘I’ becomes ‘WE’. And as our team is called out to the floor, WE BRING IT. WE smile so hard our faces ache. And those smiles aren’t fake – they are smiles because at this moment, WE are so happy. WE pull those sheets of nerves aside, and WE expose amazing handsprings, high jumps, and strong pyramids. “What injuries?” – WE say, and  WE pull our motions so tight that WE might snap in two at any moment. WE DO NOT BAIL, even when things go wrong. Shoes will fall off, bows will fly out, uniforms will come undone, and WE’ll still be going strong. WE pull those arabesques, heelstretches, scorps, and bows [okay maybe we’ve still got a bit of work to bows] like no tomorrow. Because during those 2:30 minutes, there IS no tomorrow. THIS IS OUR LIFE. WE LIVE TO CHEER.

-Mina

Battle wounds after our run!


Cheer Uniforms With Class (and Sportsmanship!)

Posted: February 12, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

One of the best things about being a cheerleader are the days I get to wear my uniform! Getting new uniforms is also always really exciting, especially if you get to have a say in the decision! Here is a compilation of some of my favourite cheer uniform styles. You may recognize some of the teams names from Canadian cheer clubs. If your  coach is thinking about changing uniforms, maybe you can casually hint about the style you’d like!

<– I love the colours (mainly because they’re Humber colours 🙂 ), and I like the cutout sleeve and v-neck. Actually there isn’t really anything I don’t love about this uniform!

 

 

This one reminds me of our current one at CCA Panthers, because of the colours and the shiny blue. I also like it because it’s pretty different than most uniforms, it’s dynamic and just plain awesome 🙂 –>

 

 

 

 

<– This one is pretty traditional but again I primarily included it because of the blue and gold colours 🙂 It’s a cute one for guys too I think.

 

 

<–And here’s yet another blue and gold one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<– Here’s a more original one that you don’t see every day. It almost doesn’t even look like a cheer but more of a dance uniform. Is the world of cheer uniforms headed towards more dance-y/gymnastic-y styles? Not sure if it’s really practical though. Slash, I’m not sure about you, but I feel like competing without one sleeve would have me fearing for my life that my boob would just fall out mid-routine.

 

I pretty much just loved the stars on this one lol. –>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<– I like this sleeveless look. Normally I prefer sleeves but this one works because the neckline isn’t cut out too low. I also like how it’s a one piece.

 

 

I like the straps and how it’s a one piece but kind of like two. I’m not sure how I feel about the hole in the middle… I think it might be kind of boring without it though. –>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<– This is another more gymnastics-inspired one. Not sure how I feel about it pertaining to cheer yet. Love the scale though 🙂

 

 

–>

I obviously had to include our sweet Team Canada uniforms!! Woooot! I can’t wait to see their routine this year at Worlds! (April 28th – May 2nd!)

C-A-N-A-D-A Canada, Let’s, Go, Canada!

 

 

 

 

 

<– Okay this one is really weird and just reminds me of a dominatrix…but hey that’s cheer in Taiwan for you! I’m not sure for what purpose the leg warmer things are… I hope they don’t stunt in these!

 

 

This one is kinda cute with the differing shoulder straps. It’s pretty traditional in terms of geometrical shapes. –>

 

 

 

<– I just like this top. It’s pretty simple and I like the straps and the triangle cut at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

The one below is cute too and it’s interesting that although there are no actual bold colours, it still works and looks good. I like the straps and the skirt.

Hope you all enjoy these! Let me know which ones are your faves!

Also, watch for the sequel to this post, ‘Bows Galore’, coming soon!

Cheer On!

-Mina