Stunt Cheer Team Lifts Each Other Up
The stunt cheer team carries on through their third spring season continuing to hit stunts.
By Tatiana Viera
The stunt cheer team carries on through their third spring season continuing to hit stunts.
By Tatiana Viera
The stunt cheer team persevered through its third season as a school sport, flipping and flying toward a spot as yet another cheer sport. The team played seven games starting on March 1 and finished on May 4 with a 2-5 record.
A game is played in four quarters, each lasting two minutes and 30 seconds and consisting of tricks, jumps, tumbling, cheer and dances. The coach from each team chooses one out of six routines given and the teams compete to earn points. In order to do this, the team must hit the routine while keeping it clean and sharp.
Stunt cheer coach Jessica Horn said that sideline cheer, traditional competition cheer and stunt cheer are very different despite looking like similar sports.
“Stunt cheer is essentially founded from cheerleading. There are four quarters, quarter one is partner stunts, quarter two is pyramids, quarter three is jumps and tumbling and quarter four is all combined,” said Horn.
Maiya Aniff, 12, enjoys a lot of aspects of stunt cheer, including the competitive atmosphere of going head to head with a school and the freedom of being able to learn new skills.
“We’ve met a lot of our goals and there’s been a lot of growth. I think the biggest challenge that we’ve faced is having to push people to complete harder routines (because) some of the skills that we do are pretty tricky and require experience,” said Aniff.
Despite experiencing ups and downs, the team worked well together.
“Throughout the season we had a lot of injuries and people getting sick, which made it difficult because we had to replace people in our routines,” said Lyri Tripp, 9. “This happened almost every game, but we worked our way around it.”
Mylah Ariana, 11, wanted to find a new way to get more involved in the school and thought stunt cheer would be a good option for her.
“This was a great way for me to learn skills, become confident and meet some incredible people who I can call my friends,” said Ariana.
Isabel Antunes, 11, says that stunt cheer can be exhausting at times but an amazing sport to be part of, knowing that your teammates are going to keep pushing you is the best.
“We overcame new challenges not only as a team but also individually, when we thought it was impossible,” said Antunes.
Horn’s favorite part about coaching stunt cheer was the perseverance the athletes had throughout the season.
“Everyday coming in, they were ready to move past their previous struggles and really work towards succeeding while also having fun, which is the most important part. I feel that even when we would lose a game, these girls would still stay positive and try again the next week,” said Horn.
The stunt cheer athletes acknowledged that the bonding time with their teammates through the sport brought them closer together.
“After meeting new people from other schools who are all different levels of stunt cheer, I’ve made great friends from different high schools,” said Antunes.
Sophia Snyder, 10, appreciates that stunt cheer brings out the best in people to be a better person and to become more social with others.
“If you want to try out for stunt cheer even though you don't know how to, I will still suggest doing it because you form new bonds with people,” said Snyder.
A game is played in four quarters, each lasting two minutes and 30 seconds and consisting of tricks, jumps, tumbling, cheer and dances. The coach from each team chooses one out of six routines given and the teams compete to earn points. In order to do this, the team must hit the routine while keeping it clean and sharp.
Stunt cheer coach Jessica Horn said that sideline cheer, traditional competition cheer and stunt cheer are very different despite looking like similar sports.
“Stunt cheer is essentially founded from cheerleading. There are four quarters, quarter one is partner stunts, quarter two is pyramids, quarter three is jumps and tumbling and quarter four is all combined,” said Horn.
Maiya Aniff, 12, enjoys a lot of aspects of stunt cheer, including the competitive atmosphere of going head to head with a school and the freedom of being able to learn new skills.
“We’ve met a lot of our goals and there’s been a lot of growth. I think the biggest challenge that we’ve faced is having to push people to complete harder routines (because) some of the skills that we do are pretty tricky and require experience,” said Aniff.
Despite experiencing ups and downs, the team worked well together.
“Throughout the season we had a lot of injuries and people getting sick, which made it difficult because we had to replace people in our routines,” said Lyri Tripp, 9. “This happened almost every game, but we worked our way around it.”
Mylah Ariana, 11, wanted to find a new way to get more involved in the school and thought stunt cheer would be a good option for her.
“This was a great way for me to learn skills, become confident and meet some incredible people who I can call my friends,” said Ariana.
Isabel Antunes, 11, says that stunt cheer can be exhausting at times but an amazing sport to be part of, knowing that your teammates are going to keep pushing you is the best.
“We overcame new challenges not only as a team but also individually, when we thought it was impossible,” said Antunes.
Horn’s favorite part about coaching stunt cheer was the perseverance the athletes had throughout the season.
“Everyday coming in, they were ready to move past their previous struggles and really work towards succeeding while also having fun, which is the most important part. I feel that even when we would lose a game, these girls would still stay positive and try again the next week,” said Horn.
The stunt cheer athletes acknowledged that the bonding time with their teammates through the sport brought them closer together.
“After meeting new people from other schools who are all different levels of stunt cheer, I’ve made great friends from different high schools,” said Antunes.
Sophia Snyder, 10, appreciates that stunt cheer brings out the best in people to be a better person and to become more social with others.
“If you want to try out for stunt cheer even though you don't know how to, I will still suggest doing it because you form new bonds with people,” said Snyder.