At Pahrump Valley High School, the cheerleaders are hands down some of the most hard-working girls yet. Lexi Thorniley, a JV cheerleader talks about how many opportunities cheerleading has brought to her. For Thorniley, cheerleading has brought her a sort of sisterhood, all the cheerleaders feel like one huge family that does nothing but love and care for each other every second of their journey. They create endless memories together and having this type of sisterhood with girls from school is what Thorniley loves most of all.
Having spirit and being proud of your school is what Thorniley finds to be most important, she thinks it’s what gives someone the title of being a great cheerleader. Being prideful in your school no matter the score on the board is something that gives people hope, and it’s your main job as a cheerleader. Thorniley loves seeing all the cheerleaders progress as a team, seeing them all so happy and proud of each other is something nothing else can compare to. Not only does it take pride but also having the ability to, no matter what, try and understand coaches’ and other cheerleaders’ points of view, Thorniley comments, “It’s very hard to agree most of the time. Not everyone looks at the other side of the picture. They usually think they’re right and no one else is. It’s also very hard to voice your own opinions without it causing an argument.”
Thorniley is so happy with how cheer has been going for her and the team that it’s now something she sees herself doing throughout the rest of this year as well as the next three she has left of high school. For her, it allows her to escape from things bothering her outside of cheer and gets her mind off of things that could be mentally and emotionally troubling for her. Cheer allows her to be herself and when she’s with her teammates, worrying about being judged isn’t questioned at all.
Seen from a similar viewpoint, Coach Nelson finds that her favorite thing about coaching her cheerleaders is being capable of teaching the girls new skills, Nelson explains, “Seeing the success and progression not only at games but also throughout the weeks we practice is a greater feeling than most anything else”. The cheerleaders work extremely hard every practice and have worked their way up from the beginning of the season, they are now capable of succeeding in almost anything they put their mind to and the coaches are more than confident about it. Although Nelson loves coaching cheer, sometimes it feels like they never have enough time to achieve what they want by their next game. Nelson feels as though there isn’t enough time given for them to achieve new skills and cheers and although football season is much more flexible, with basketball season, they will be more limited on time. Not only do the coaches have to be comfortable with the limited time but also the cheerleaders, it will be hard but achievable for them all to be on the same page as much as they can.
Now that you’ve gotten a more detailed point of view on the ins and outs of cheerleading, you should go watch and support your cheerleaders at the next game!
