By Cassidy Conner--Eagle Staff Writer
Franklin County High School's Cheer Team has already started their journey for this year's season and are preparing constantly. The members appear to be working extremely hard and motivating each other to be ready for upcoming competitions, showing they're not just a team; they are a working and supportive family within FCHS.
The FCHS cheer team strives to have a strong and close bond between the members of the team, and they're willing to put forth the effort it takes. “We try to do team bonding and we try to hang out outside of cheerleading and go out to eat together, just hang out together and just enjoy each other's company,” said Kamari Hash, a junior cheerleader at FCHS.
The sense of community is critical, given the difficulty of the sport. “Cheerleading is, to me, one of the most important sports and best sports that you can be involved in because you do so many things. We do silent cheerleading…We also do competition cheer… we also are responsible for school spirit. And also, as a sport, it's really diverse because you have to have so many skills. You have to be able to stunt. You have to be able to tumble. You have to be able to have good motions, good jumps. You have to be able to dance. So, it's really an all-encompassing sport,” expressed Marsha Lopez, the cheerleading coach at FCHS.
Opinions on whether or not cheerleading is a real sport may differ from person to person, but no one can deny the work that must be put in. “We practice every single day, six days a week, and we just put our heart, sweat and everything into it. We train for it all year, we go to summer conditioning just so that we’re ready for competition season, and that is definitely a sport. We do as much as any other sport does,” Autumn Hancock added, a senior cheerleader at FCHS.
The practice aspect of cheerleading can be really difficult according to some members of the team but they acknowledge that it is extremely rewarding and important to do these things as well. “We actually start conditioning right after tryouts… we condition all through the summer because it's really important that we have cardio, fitness, and strength and endurance. At practices, we stunt a lot because stunting is really hard, and it takes a lot of practice to perfect it, and we also want to make sure that we're really safe. But on top of that, we have to learn our cheers and chants. We have a lot to do,” Lopez stated.
The team needs and uses the support of the school community just as much as the school community needs their support and influence. “We really rely on the school's support and the student body's support when we're leading the cheers on the sideline. We really want the student section and the fans to get involved because we really do know that that can influence the game. We want to get behind the players, not just for football, but for our basketball teams as well," Lopez explained.
Demanding as cheer might be, Lopez - and her team - wouldn't have it any other way. "I love FCHS and that's why I love being the cheerleading coach because I really believe in our school and it's because of our students and our staff and faculty.”
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