Flashy pom-poms, dazzling stunts, smiles and impressively loud cheers are always present at every football game, home or away. But what happens when the temperature cools down, leaves fall off trees and we get chances of snow? In most ways, winter cheer is the same as its fall counterpart. Change the football games for basketball and you’d think you’d be ready to go.
However, there are more differences than meets the eye. For starters, only varsity cheer is available during the winter, unlike the fall which offers both varsity and JV. This also leads to a bigger squad, as more girls tend to be combined into one team. That’s not the only reason more girls try out and make winter cheer. “I play travel ice hockey, which consumes most of my time and I like to start my school year off strong, so I prefer to prioritize my academics in the beginning,” junior Callie Guttman said. Many RM cheer girls are multisport athletes, whether track, softball, or lacrosse in the spring, or soccer, field hockey, and flag football in the fall. The start of the academic school year doesn’t always leave time for extracurriculars, which also plays into a larger roster. That means when the winter season comes around, more girls are available to try out. Another factor that increases their roster is simply the timing of the season and tryout dates. “Try out for fall sports is in the summer, and many girls can’t make that,” Guttmann said. A more accessible start and try-out date allows more girls to discover and try out for cheer.
The benefits of a larger team are clear when you think in terms of cheer. More people means more voices; louder cheers and louder spirits. At basketball games in the winter, the girls’ voices ring powerful and clear, hyping up both the crowd and the players.
Another difference is that winter cheer does not participate in competitions near the season’s end, unlike fall cheer. This encourages many girls with less experience in routines or competitions to try out, which contributes to the larger team. It can be a great way to build confidence for fall cheer, where the team can potentially go all the way to states with a more intense performance and more stunts. They train to perform at the winter pep rally, which is always a treat to attend and watch. Often at basketball games, they are in the halftime show, whereas the Poms and RM Band bask in the halftime spotlight at football games.
Although winter cheer can be a distinct experience from fall cheer, the community doesn’t change. “ The spirit and rocket pride they bring to every game is always a highlight and you can always feel the passion the girls have in every chant. “I love the community that the winter cheer team has. I like positively representing our school and bringing energy at every game,” junior Isabel Triandafilou said.
Compared to other sports, where games are fought and won, cheer is a little bit different. While in soccer scoring a goal and winning a game might define personal success, “I think personal success would be, for example, becoming more confident in the different skills that we have, like jobs and cheers, and really nailing them.” sophomore Rafaella Castro said. In baseball, team success depends on how many innings you win and how far you get in the season. Similar to personal success, it can vary in cheer, “If we’re able to, like, hit harder stunts, and getting or picking up stuff quickly, while staying in sync” junior Ewina Chen said when describing what team success looks like for cheer.
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