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JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter
Competitive cheerleading coach Nicole Deller practices a dance routine with Michelle Lewis (from left), 11; Taran Krieghauser, 6; Cameron Keller, 6; and Taylor Williams, 9, on Thursday at Kelly's Absolute Fitness i
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| Competitive cheerleading coach Nicole Deller practices a dance routine with Michelle Lewis (from left), 11; Taran Krieghauser, 6; Cameron Keller, 6; and Taylor Williams, 9, on Thursday at Kelly's Absolute Fitness in Lake City. JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter |
By CHRIS WHITE
cwhite@lakecityreporter.com
Pompoms and ponytails may seem oddly out of place so far from a
football field this time of year, but
the crowds don’t mind.
They fill auditoriums with excited noise and team pride, and there’s not a helmet or set of shoulder pads in sight.
It’s competitive cheerleading, one of the fastest growing sports in Florida and around the country, and it doesn’t need another sport to
support it.
“Everybody is getting programs started right now,” said
personal trainer and cheer coach Nicole Deller, who is heading up the creation of a new competitive team called Kelly’s Elite Kix with Kelly’s Absolute Fitness in Lake City. “There are a lot of teams all over, and there are a lot of girls in Lake City that want to do it.”
There is more to the sport itself, too, than a casual Friday-night fan might pick up on.
“At a football game, you’re not really competing against anyone, you’re just trying to get the crowd excited,” Deller said. “In this sport, you’re being judged.”
Rhymes and spirit are worth plenty of points in the competition, but so are a handful of other factors. Gymnastic and dance skills are coupled with traditional cheerleading routines, and more advanced squads venture into some intense stunting, according to Rick Harper, who coaches the Cheer Starz teams
organized by Fancy Dancer in Lake City.
“It entails conditioning, strength and talent all crammed into a two-and-a-half minute routine,” Harper said. “The girls are required to tumble, stunt, dance, cheer, jump and are judged on all of them and overall choreography.”
Squads are based in age groups, typically into 5-, 8-, 11-, 14- and 18-and-under teams, and then placed in Level 1 through 5 depending on the skill level of the participants. Level 1 teams are required to do more simple routines, while level five teams must complete a number of advanced tasks in each judging area to score well.
And there can never be too much enthusiasm.
“You have to have a lot of energy and smile a lot and wear a lot of makeup,” said Michelle Lewis, 9, a
second-year competitor now
training with Deller.
Running a risk
As the levels get
higher, so does the chance of serious injury. Competitive cheerleading is one of the most dangerous youth sports, according to several sports medicine studies.
One study done by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Columbus Children’s Research Institute found that the
number of injuries caused
by the sport doubled between 1990 and 2002, and another found that more than 50 percent of all serious injuries in women’s sports are now a result of competitive cheerleading.
The high-speed maneuvers and intensity of the stunts are often dangerous themselves, but the studies suggested proper form,
balance training, regular rest periods and stretching are the best ways to prevent injury while competing.
Unfortunately for cautious coaches and wary parents, stunting is one of the most appealing aspects of the sport.
“My favorite thing to do is the back handspring,” Brittany Hobby, 9, said on Thursday during a practice session at Kelly’s Absolute Fitness.
Added 9-year-old teammate Taylor Williams, “I like the basket toss
because they get thrown up high.”
But Hobby, now in her fourth year competing, and Williams, who is in her second year, would not be allowed to try the moves
if coaches did not think
they were capable or
trained properly, Deller said.
“Stretching is one of the biggest things we do, whether if it’s for tumbling or stunts,” Deller said.
“We spot them (when
they try new moves) until they feel comfortable and we feel comfortable that they can do it on their own.”
Cost of competition
Just as dedication is required to improve, it also is needed to justify the costs. A typical member of a club team can spend between $1,000 and $2,500 a year on travel, tournament fees and lodging in a year, according to Harper.
“I think an average
family could spend $2,500 a year on it if they want to go to a lot of competitions,” the former Florida State University cheerleader said. “It’s a 101⁄2 month season, so it adds up.”
But there are enough cheerleaders interested to keep the sport rolling. Harper estimated his Cheer Starz teams would have nearly 50 cheerleaders when the new season begins Monday.
And competitions have little trouble filling out their lineups. More than 10,000 girls competed at the World Competition in Las Vegas, and about 7,000 girls filed into the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando for the US Open Championship in 2007.
Teams begin training in June or July, and most competitions take place between November and April.
“It keeps you busy
year-round,” Deller said.
Skipping school
More than 170 high schools are scheduled to field competitive cheerleading squads this fall, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association, which began recognizing the sport in 2007.
A handful of area high schools already are offering it, including Baker County, Keystone Heights, Middleburg and Newberry high schools, as well as
P.K. Yonge School. But there are no plans to add the sport at Columbia County high schools in the near future, according to athletic directors.
Columbia High offers students 18 sports to chose from, and is only missing five FHSAA sports — girls flag football, lacrosse, water polo and competitive cheerleading. With all the options, nobody has pressed the school to take up the sport yet.
“It’s something we’ve talked about adding, but never really considered yet,” CHS Athletic Director Mitch Shoup said. “When we first heard about it two years ago, when the FHSAA took it up as a sport, we talked about doing it in the future, but nobody has approached us and proposed anything just yet.
“But it is getting pretty popular in Florida, and I think we’ll have to adopt it here eventually.”
But with a prep season that runs from August to March, it would block many athletes from competing in other sports. At Fort White High, for instance, the
numbers just don’t allow
for adding it any time
soon.
“We just can’t do it right now because we have too many girls involved in other sports like cheerleading and volleyball and
soccer that go on at the
same time,” Fort White Athletic Director John Wilson said. “You have to have enough girls to fill out a team if you want to do competitive cheerleading, and we don’t have the numbers to do it. I think it’s mostly a thing for the
bigger schools right
now.”
football field this time of year, but
the crowds don’t mind.
They fill auditoriums with excited noise and team pride, and there’s not a helmet or set of shoulder pads in sight.
It’s competitive cheerleading, one of the fastest growing sports in Florida and around the country, and it doesn’t need another sport to
support it.
“Everybody is getting programs started right now,” said
personal trainer and cheer coach Nicole Deller, who is heading up the creation of a new competitive team called Kelly’s Elite Kix with Kelly’s Absolute Fitness in Lake City. “There are a lot of teams all over, and there are a lot of girls in Lake City that want to do it.”
There is more to the sport itself, too, than a casual Friday-night fan might pick up on.
“At a football game, you’re not really competing against anyone, you’re just trying to get the crowd excited,” Deller said. “In this sport, you’re being judged.”
Rhymes and spirit are worth plenty of points in the competition, but so are a handful of other factors. Gymnastic and dance skills are coupled with traditional cheerleading routines, and more advanced squads venture into some intense stunting, according to Rick Harper, who coaches the Cheer Starz teams
organized by Fancy Dancer in Lake City.
“It entails conditioning, strength and talent all crammed into a two-and-a-half minute routine,” Harper said. “The girls are required to tumble, stunt, dance, cheer, jump and are judged on all of them and overall choreography.”
Squads are based in age groups, typically into 5-, 8-, 11-, 14- and 18-and-under teams, and then placed in Level 1 through 5 depending on the skill level of the participants. Level 1 teams are required to do more simple routines, while level five teams must complete a number of advanced tasks in each judging area to score well.
And there can never be too much enthusiasm.
“You have to have a lot of energy and smile a lot and wear a lot of makeup,” said Michelle Lewis, 9, a
second-year competitor now
training with Deller.
Running a risk
As the levels get
higher, so does the chance of serious injury. Competitive cheerleading is one of the most dangerous youth sports, according to several sports medicine studies.
One study done by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Columbus Children’s Research Institute found that the
number of injuries caused
by the sport doubled between 1990 and 2002, and another found that more than 50 percent of all serious injuries in women’s sports are now a result of competitive cheerleading.
The high-speed maneuvers and intensity of the stunts are often dangerous themselves, but the studies suggested proper form,
balance training, regular rest periods and stretching are the best ways to prevent injury while competing.
Unfortunately for cautious coaches and wary parents, stunting is one of the most appealing aspects of the sport.
“My favorite thing to do is the back handspring,” Brittany Hobby, 9, said on Thursday during a practice session at Kelly’s Absolute Fitness.
Added 9-year-old teammate Taylor Williams, “I like the basket toss
because they get thrown up high.”
But Hobby, now in her fourth year competing, and Williams, who is in her second year, would not be allowed to try the moves
if coaches did not think
they were capable or
trained properly, Deller said.
“Stretching is one of the biggest things we do, whether if it’s for tumbling or stunts,” Deller said.
“We spot them (when
they try new moves) until they feel comfortable and we feel comfortable that they can do it on their own.”
Cost of competition
Just as dedication is required to improve, it also is needed to justify the costs. A typical member of a club team can spend between $1,000 and $2,500 a year on travel, tournament fees and lodging in a year, according to Harper.
“I think an average
family could spend $2,500 a year on it if they want to go to a lot of competitions,” the former Florida State University cheerleader said. “It’s a 101⁄2 month season, so it adds up.”
But there are enough cheerleaders interested to keep the sport rolling. Harper estimated his Cheer Starz teams would have nearly 50 cheerleaders when the new season begins Monday.
And competitions have little trouble filling out their lineups. More than 10,000 girls competed at the World Competition in Las Vegas, and about 7,000 girls filed into the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando for the US Open Championship in 2007.
Teams begin training in June or July, and most competitions take place between November and April.
“It keeps you busy
year-round,” Deller said.
Skipping school
More than 170 high schools are scheduled to field competitive cheerleading squads this fall, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association, which began recognizing the sport in 2007.
A handful of area high schools already are offering it, including Baker County, Keystone Heights, Middleburg and Newberry high schools, as well as
P.K. Yonge School. But there are no plans to add the sport at Columbia County high schools in the near future, according to athletic directors.
Columbia High offers students 18 sports to chose from, and is only missing five FHSAA sports — girls flag football, lacrosse, water polo and competitive cheerleading. With all the options, nobody has pressed the school to take up the sport yet.
“It’s something we’ve talked about adding, but never really considered yet,” CHS Athletic Director Mitch Shoup said. “When we first heard about it two years ago, when the FHSAA took it up as a sport, we talked about doing it in the future, but nobody has approached us and proposed anything just yet.
“But it is getting pretty popular in Florida, and I think we’ll have to adopt it here eventually.”
But with a prep season that runs from August to March, it would block many athletes from competing in other sports. At Fort White High, for instance, the
numbers just don’t allow
for adding it any time
soon.
“We just can’t do it right now because we have too many girls involved in other sports like cheerleading and volleyball and
soccer that go on at the
same time,” Fort White Athletic Director John Wilson said. “You have to have enough girls to fill out a team if you want to do competitive cheerleading, and we don’t have the numbers to do it. I think it’s mostly a thing for the
bigger schools right
now.”
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