My experiences with cheerleading started out in a discouraging way. When I was in middle school, I tried out to be a cheerleader. This was truly when cheerleaders were chosen to lead cheers. To try out, a girl had to do a jump, a cartwheel, a split, and a cheer. Sounds easy enough, right?…. The worst part of this try-out scenario is that the try-out took place in front of the entire sixth and seventh grades in our school!! (If any of my friends from Andalusia Middle School are reading this blog, please correct me if my memory is wrong. It has been a while. 🙂
In order to prepare for try-outs, I did what every determined middle school girl would do, I ordered a little book entitled, “How to Become a Cheerleader.” Yes, I am serious. I remember ordering the booklet and reading it over and over. I read the book over and over and studied the advice. I stretched; I practiced; I cheered in front of my full-length mirror to get every move perfected.
When the day came for the try-outs, I was nervous but ready. I bravely faced the crowd of students who sat on one side of the gym while each potential cheerleader walked to the center of the gym floor to perform her cheer and show her skills. Best I remember, we tried out in small groups of 2-3 girls at a time. We each did the jump, cartwheel, and split individually, so every kid could STARE at us, then the cheer was done in our small group. It was intimidating to say the least! Why did the students get to watch, you might be wondering? The students watched because they are the ones who got to VOTE for who made the cheerleading squad! Yes, you read that right. Cheerleading try-outs were held during the school day, and all the students made the decisions about who made it. It was quite different than the way things are done today. Nowadays, that kind of whole school try-out would create some great material for a Lifetime cheerleader movie!
At the end of the day, when the votes were all tallied, the names of the girls who made the team were announced over the intercom. I felt good about my performance that day. My split could have been better, but overall I felt the author of the cheerleader book would have voted for me. The saddest part about my whole cheerleading story is that when those names were announced that afternoon, my name was never one of them. I sat anxiously listening and feeling ever hopeful, but my name was not announced. (I warned you this story was discouraging.) I did a good job not showing my disappointment, I tried to keep a smile on my face while screams of delight echoed down the hallways from the girls who heard their names. I think the thing I was most disappointed about was not getting a pair of those black and white “cheerleader shoes” that everyone of them got to wear with their outfits!
It’s funny now when I think about those try-outs. I had my heart set on being a cheerleader, but that was one dream that did not come true. Little did I know that when I had my heart on cheering that next year, God knew that I would be pretty good at something else, playing softball. About the time I didn’t make cheerleading, I started playing rec league slow-pitch softball. That was something I was actually pretty good at. As time went by and I got some confidence, I asked if I could try to pitch. My coaches realized that I was a really good at it, so I spent the next three years pitching and actually got to be the pitcher for a state championship team rec league team. Who knew? Right after a huge disappointment, I found something new that I was gifted to do and had a lot of fun using those abilities.
It’s hard when you are discouraged to see a bright side. It’s hard when you have your heart set on something and you just do not get the vote. Maybe even what looks like a “no” from God is actually just a “wait and see what happens next.” Although that wait can take some time, if we watch for it, redirection always comes.
A few months ago, one of my middle school dreams finally took place; I became an honorary part of a very elite cheerleading team, the PCHSÂ Competition Cheerleaders. Coaches Amy Nimmer and Lindy Wright asked me to become their team chaplain when the season began. At first, I laughed and felt I should confess, “I’ve never even been a cheerleader.” Thankfully, that did not make them revoke the offer!
Cheerleading is certainly not what it was when I tried out. Now it is all about athleticism, skills, and abilities. These girls have strength, agility, tumbling skills, and so much determination and energy! They have impressed me with their God-given abilities and their enthusiasm to be the best. This past Saturday, this group of girls once again proved that they are the best by winning the AAA State Championship for the second year in a row. What an amazing feat!! I am so proud of these young ladies and coaches; they have all worked so hard to accomplish this team goal. They work diligently through the whole summer and months leading up to competition season, and most of them are in the gym perfecting their tumbling skills during the off-season, too.
The first time I spoke to the cheerleaders, I decided to go ahead and confess that I was never a cheerleader. But, I continued to stress that if God can use my sad, discouraging cheer story for something good, just think what He can do with all of their talents and abilities. I certainly was right!! With God getting the glory, those amazing girls performed their hearts out last Saturday in Columbus. They represented our county in a classy way throughout the entire season and brought home the huge trophy once again. To God be the glory and the thanks! I may not have had my name called out for the cheer squad in middle school, but many years later, God gave me the opportunity to take my sad story and make it something worth cheering about!
