There’s nothing like a solid team performance to cheer a team up.
The Foothills Falcons cheerleading team finished third at the provincial big squad championship at Brooks Composite high school on March 2- 3 in Brooks. Big squad is made up of cheerleading teams with 24 members or more.
However, the Falcons got off to a slow start when they lost 10-points in deductions in their opening performance on March 2. The next day, they were practically flawless.
“The second day was absolutely amazing,” said Foothills Falcons cheerleading captain Laurel Wayne-Nixon. “We had been training so much for a 2- minute routine and to have it all come together was amazing.”
Fellow captain Taylor Pilling said the team members talked to one another prior to the second day performance, reminding them of the close relationship within the squad.
At the banquet (Edmonton Eskimo cheerleading coach) Dianne Greenough reminded us that once we are out of high school, what we will remember are the bus rides, and the hotel room, and your friends, not necessarily the competitions,” Pilling said. “That really helped us It was so applicable for us.”
She called the day two routine the best performance in her three-year career.
Talking to one another is important, but trust is everything in cheerleading.
“It’s not like basketball — instead of having a ball at risk you actually have a person at risk,” said Pilling. “You do everything you can to make sure that person doesn’t hit the floor.”
That means risking your own body to ensure your teammate — the flyer — who is spinning to the ground from as high as 20-feet, trusting her teammates to catch her.
Wayne-Nixon and Pilling are both bases, which means they catch and support their teammates.
Grade 12 student Magda Carlson is also a base. It can be a tough job.
“I broke my eye socket in when the flyer’s elbow hit me in the eye when she was spinning,” said Carlson. She has also broken a bone in her wrist while cheerleading.
Safety is paramount in cheerleading. The Falcons lost their points on the opening day at provincials when a flyer touched her hand to the floor. The other deduction was when a spinning flyer was caught by her teammates in the wrong position. Neither time was the individual injured.
Nixon said many people aren’t aware of the athleticism of the cheerleaders.
“The most people see of us is what we do at the (Foothills Falcons) football games,” Wayne-Nixon said. “What we do at the football games isn’t sport. We are cheering on the team.”
The Falcons make no bones about it, cheerleading is a sport.
“What we do when we train and compete, we are doing cardio, using all your muscles, you’re sweating and working so hard. It’s not like you can just throw it together.”
The Falcons followed their bronze medal performance at provincials with a second-place finish at the West Edmonton Mall competition on March 10. They finished first at the Ross Sheppard tournament on March 17. Their success means cheerleading is getting the respect it deserves among students at the school — it doesn’t have the ditzy blonde image portrayed in Archie comics.
“I have definitely seen the respect grow over the years,” said Lindsi Irwin, the Falcons’ cheerleading squad teacher representativeThere’s nothing like a solid team performance to cheer a team up.
The Foothills Falcons cheerleading team finished third at the provincial BBig sSquad championship at Brooks Composite HHigh Sschool on March 2-3 in Brooks. Big Ssquad is made up of cheerleading teams with 24 members or more.
The However, the Falcons got off to a slow start when they lost 10-points in deductions in their opening performance on March 2. The next day, they were practically flawless.
“The second day was absolutely amazing,” said Foothills Falcons cheerleading captain Laurel Wayne-Nixon. “We had been training so much for a 2- minute routine and to have it all come together was amazing.”
Fellow captain Taylor Pilling said the team members talked to one another prior to the second day performance, reminding them of the close relationship within the squad.
“At the banquet (Edmonton Eskimo cheerleading coach) Dianne Greenough reminded us that once we are out of high school, what we will remember are the bus rides, and the hotel rooms, and your friends, not necessarily the competitions,” Pilling said. “That really helped us. It was so applicable for us.”
She called the day two routine the best performance in her three-year career.
Talking to one another is important, but trust is everything in cheerleading, said Pilling.
“It’s not like basketball — instead of having a ball at risk you actually have a person at risk,” said Pilling. “You do everything you can to make sure that person doesn’t hit the floor.”
That means risking your own body to ensure your teammate — the flyer — who is spinning to the ground from as high as 20 -feet, trusting trusts her teammates to catch her.
Wayne-Nixon and Pilling are both bases, which means they catch and support their teammates.
Grade 12 student Magda Carlson is also a base. It can be a tough job.
“I broke my eye socket in when the flyer’s elbow hit me in the eye when she was spinning,” said Carlson. She has also broken a bone in her wrist while cheerleading.
Safety is paramount in cheerleading. The Falcons lost their points on the opening day at provincials when a flyer touched her hand to the floor. The other deduction was when a spinning flyer was caught by her teammates in the wrong position. Neither time was the individual injured.
TRANSITION
“The most people see of us is what we do at the (Foothills Falcons) football games,” Wayne-Nixon said. “What we do at the football games isn’t sport. We are cheering on the team.”
The Falcons make no bones about it, cheerleading is a sport.
“What we do when we train and compete, we are doing cardio, using all your muscles, you’re sweating and working so hard. It’s not like you can just throw it together.,” who said this??
Transition
The Falcons followed their bronze medal performance at provincials with a second-place finish at the West Edmonton Mall competition on March 10. They finished xxxxxx at the Ross Sheppard tournament on March 17.
Their success means cheerleading is getting the respect it deserves among students at the school — it doesn’t have the image of ditzy blonde image portrayed in Archie comics.
“I have definitely seen the respect grow over the years,” said Lindsi Irwin, the Falcons’ cheerleading squad teacher representative.
Conclusion: What’s next for the team??
