By Marissa Fee
“Go Sabers, Go Sabers, Go Sabers, Go!”
This chant has been heard many times by our fellow Sabers, echoing through our gyms and fields. It’s brought on by our wonderful cheer team. They bring our school together with their Saber spirit! The Central DeWitt High School cheer team works hard every season, putting in hours of work, practice, and dedication while uniting our school and uplifting our Saber spirit!
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be part of a team, whether you have never played a sport or have played many? An experienced athlete or just looking for a great way to spend your time, cheer can be your place to start!
If you are interested but have no idea what it’s about, you’ve come to the right place.
Starting off, cheer practice begins about a week before school starts, and continues for football, basketball, and wrestling season. Including away games which they travel for. During the first week, you have practice almost every day to get in the time to learn all the new cheers. We asked a few of the cheerleaders how much time they put into practicing these.
“Well, outside of practice each week you should put in about 2-3 hours a week. Just going through the cheers, memorizing, practicing,” Eli Dimmick, a junior, shares.
“The more you practice, the easier it gets. Once I’m used to it, my favorite part is learning new cheers. We get shown a cheer, and you gotta lock in because it’s really satisfying at the end when it all comes together.”
Another Junior, Lacey Stoker, adds. “I’ve been in cheer since middle school, and continued for high school, so it definitely gets easier. At the beginning of the year it can be a bit overwhelming, but the more you put the work in, the easier it gets. It’s very rewarding.”
With good cheers comes lots of practice. It can’t be done in one day!
Although lots of hard work is put into the cheers, the outcome is always worth it.
Our cheerleaders don’t just bring the energy to home games; they also showcase their spirit at away games. Many of them enjoy the team bonding time that ties in with the road trips.
“Going on the road trips for away games is so fun, I love it when Eli and I get to listen to music and just have a blast on the bus ride there,” Ella Taylor, a freshman, says.
If you haven’t done a sport before, it’s a good sport to start with. “If you don’t have things going on during fall and winter, it’s a good thing to keep you busy,” explains Suzie Cox, a junior on the team. “You also get into all football, wrestling, and basketball games!”
If you’re worried it’s too late in your high school career, don’t be! Many cheerleaders on the team didn’t start off in middle school, or their freshmen year. Many agreed that it did not set them back, but were so happy they joined regardless, still having fun and learning new things!
So why should you join cheer? Here are not all, but many reasons you should.
“While cheer is a good sport for your body, it’s not overly tiring.” -Ella Taylor
“Gaining new skills, like teamwork and becoming more observant.” -Lacey Stoker
“Everything about it is honestly just so much fun.” -Suzie Cox
“As a small group, it’s just like one big group of friends and you love being around them, especially creating new memories.” -Eli Dimmick
Team bonding was also a reason that almost everyone said!
Have you been persuaded and thinking about joining? Make sure to keep an eye out for Cheer auditions at the end of the year and be a part of our school spirit! Go Sabers!
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