Cheerleading is an amazing sport, not only for cheering on the basketball players in games, but also for cheering on others in real life. Being a cheerleader means that you have to encourage others to do their best. It doesn’t necessarily have to be for people playing a game, you can be a cheerleader to just about everyone you meet! Most people would say to be a cheerleader you must have the uniform and come to the team’s games. But that’s not what being a cheerleader really is. Sure, being a basketball cheerleader requires you to do cartwheels and chants, but who says you can’t be a cheerleader just to your neighbor, or your best friend, or even someone you don’t like? For example, say your friend is struggling in math, even if you just say, “You got this!”, you are being a cheerleader. When someone says they can’t do something, even just saying “Don’t worry! I believe in you!” is cheering them on. I bet, if you tried, you could count at least three people everyday cheering you on. And some people might not even realize they are being cheerleaders.
There are lots of cheerleaders everyday! Your teachers are cheerleaders. They believe in you and encourage you in subjects. Your friends are cheerleaders too. Many of them probably cheer you on everyday and you don’t notice it. Cheerleading has taught me so much. I’ve learned to be positive in a lot of situations, because just like in a basketball game, there’s always a chance we might make a comeback and win just like when something seems bad, you never know, it might turn around.
Being a cheerleader has also taught me to never be afraid to say something. A lot of times in a game, one person has to just start a chant and everybody else joins in. I’ve had to learn to never be afraid to start a chant in a game, which has taught me to also never be scared to say something in my daily life. If you want to say something or tell somebody something, don’t be afraid to be confident and just say it. In cheerleading, we’ve had to learn to always be happy for the team. Even the smallest things like stealing the ball back from the other team, we cheer for. This has taught me that I can be happy over everything, even if it’s small. And, I can also be happy for my friends and others small accomplishments too. If someone you know gets a 100% on their homework, just say “Nice job!” even though they got something small and you only said two words, it can really change a lot. Say somebody is having a bad day and at lunch you say something like “Hey, you did a really good job in PE today.” Those ten words could make their day.
So, as you can see, you can be a cheerleader in so many different ways. You don’t have to be able to do a split, memorize chants, and join a cheer team to be a cheerleader. Just by saying a few words, you are being a cheerleader. And it’s a great feeling to encourage or cheer someone on. So I dare you, today or tomorrow, try to be a cheerleader. You won’t regret it.