Each year, the homecoming pep rally is started with the homecoming cheer routine. The routine is meant to hype up the crowd for the assembly and the homecoming game that evening.
As the cheer team gets set on the mats or the football field, trying to shake their last nerves before the music starts, the adrenaline can feel euphoric; then the music starts, and everything goes fast.
The routine is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds long. It is made up of a cheer, dance, stunting, jumps and a pyramid.
Even though it’s only two and a half minutes, the routine takes about a month or two to perfect. The LHS cheer team has been working on the homecoming performance since August.
The pressure that comes with cheer is intense. Each team member is relied on for the routine to work. One mistake can make the whole routine crumble.
This is the first performance of each year for the cheer team, but it is so much more than that for the team, especially the senior cheerleaders.
For some cheerleaders, this is their very first time performing with the team, and for others, it is the last homecoming routine they will do.
“I feel very sad because I’ve been a part of the team since freshman year, and the team is so close with each other, I don’t want it to be over,” Mia Marquez, a senior on the cheer team, said.
The pressure and trust each teammate has to put in each other builds a strong friendship that connects everyone on the team. Even the people who are not friends come together once the team hits the mat because the team can not be successful without everyone working together and fully trusting that everyone will do their job.
The feeling of stepping onto the mat with the team can be terrifying, especially for teammates who have never performed in front of a crowd before. When the crowd is made up of friends, teachers, and peers, it can be very nerve-racking.
“Honestly, I’m really nervous because I don’t want to mess up, but during practice, I’m doing pretty good, so I think I will do okay,” said freshman Delaney Burke.
This routine is considered easy compared to the team’s competition routines. However, this homecoming routine definitely helps the team prepare for the competition season.
Even though it is not as intense as a competition routine, there is a different pressure of wanting to impress the school.
In reality, the routine will not always be perfect, so the team has to prepare to move fast after any possible mistakes.
A big part of being on the cheer team is learning how to forgive and move on. When a cheerleader messes up on a performance, their heart drops, and they know they have cost the team. However, the team has to learn to move on.
This routine is also harder to perfect because every member of the team is in the routine, unlike competitions, where there are only selected members.
It can be more challenging to make a routine where every team member’s talents and strengths are used when there are so many different skill levels in one routine.
“It forces everyone to combine their skills and also get used to performing in front of people,” the head cheer coach Cynthia Peck said.
It is important while working on the routines that everyone tries their hardest and works together. While watching the routine, the student body might notice some of the cheerleaders talking during certain parts. This is usually teammates yelling encouraging words to keep everyone motivated to keep trying even if they are making mistakes.
With all of this stress of doing the routine during the pep assembly and the football game, the cheer team has much more that they have to do before their day is over.
On the day of the game, the cheer team will perform at the assembly.
After school ends, they will run to meet at the football field to practice a couple more times before the game. After that, they will run to their float and decorate until the parade, where they have to cheer and dance the whole way.
Once the parade is over, the team will get an hour to get dinner and be ready for the game, where they will perform the routine before the game starts and continue to cheer for the rest of the game.
Even though the day is jam-packed for the team, they will do their best because there are only so many opportunities to perform with each other.
“I hope everything goes well, and I’m sad it will be our last time performing a homecoming routine as a whole team,” Marquez said.