Hudson High School’s cheerleading team has taken several steps this year to reach its full potential. The program combined junior varsity and varsity into one squad, attended a summer camp and added stunting to its routines. Coaches and athletes say the changes are designed to strengthen the team’s overall performance.
Over the summer, the cheerleaders participated in a two-day camp. Each of the camp days were dedicated to hours of cheer-related activity. The team learned a new dance, two chants and two cheers. Additionally the team had tryouts for All- American Cheer, a nationwide award that is highly competitive and highlights exceptional skills and leadership qualities.
As for stunting, this is a skill that involves lifting a flier (which is the person being lifted) up into the air by bases and backspots to hold them up with support.the concept itself for the team as a whole is quite new. Most of the team have not stunted before. For stunting, there are multiple groups of four cheerleaders and each group has a flyer. The flyers for each group this year are Katelin Paradise, a denior; Sammie Bielecki, a Senior; Sabrina Jones, a Junior; and Claire Roberts, a Junior. The stunt kickoff game took place at the homecoming game on September 12th.
Sofia Perry, a senior cheerleader at Hudson High School, spoke on this year’s transformation. Perry enjoys being combined with JV., “There are definitely a lot of us this year, but we are louder and have the ability to do more complex routines with stunts and ripples”. She had no negative remarks about this change and only saw positive aspects of expanding the cheer team.
Perry’s favorite new cheer is the “Hey Fans” cheer. Instead of just a regular typical cheer, the specific cheer is on the next level since it was turned into a routine with stunting, signs and megaphones to really pump up the crowd.
Since this is Perry’s last year, she has taken a lot of positives away from Hudson Cheerleading:friends she has grown up with, opportunities, confidence off and on the sidelines, ability to keep a positive attitude, and cheering on her teammates. All of these skills she developed from Hudson Cheer and will continue to be used throughout her life.
Coach Greenspan has been an amazing addition to Hudson Cheerleading for the past two years. Greenspan mentioned that her favorite part about coaching this team is building strong relationships with the girls and watching them grow not only in cheer but as leaders as well. “It’s also so rewarding to see their hard work spark more school spirit and pride throughout the student body”.
As for the concept of stunning and how it came about, she said that it has been on their radar for a while, but this year felt like the right time to introduce it. They wanted to add something new and exciting to Friday nights that would boost school spirit and give the crowd even more to cheer for. In preparation for this, the team has been working hard on strength, safety and technique so they feel confident and ready to perform these new skills.
Greenspan spoke about how the large team brings such positive remarks. With stunting, it takes at least four girls per group, so having a bigger squad this year gives them more opportunities to put stunts in the air. Greenspan added that the large squad also helps to bring a lot of energy to the games. This big team is very senior heavy, with 13 seniors this year. Greenspan added that they will be greatly missed when they graduate since this senior class brings so much personality, leadership, and spirit to the team.
Ali Rosenburg, a senior cheerleader, also sees the positive in these changes. . She believes these changes have made the team look really strong, especially with stunting. In her eyes, stunting takes the team to a whole different level and teaches them to trust each other and communicate. Although stunting overall has gone well , there have been some challenging parts. These includeo not only having the right formation but also communicating with the stunt group at the same time. According to Rosenberg, it is not always taken into account that it is a four part job. If the stunt is not working it is not solely the fault of a single individual.
Rosenberg fondly recalled the dances and cheers the girls learned during their summer camp. She highlighted a particular dance called “Abracadabra,” which she considers her favorite, and expressed wanting to perform it at future games. She added that the hyping up all the girls all did to each other over the camp spoke out to her. The camp did not only just highlight their skill levels but also their supportive nature and team bonds.
After being a part of the Hudson cheerleading team, Rosenberg has learned several valuable lessons. She emphasized the importance of communication, stepping outside your comfort zone, engaging with the crowd and most importantly, having fun. She expressed her enjoyment of being part of a large team and facing challenging obstacles together, even though some skills may be difficult, they are all in this together, without any judgment.
The cheerleading team is filled with potential and talent. It is exciting to see what they will accomplish this season with their new additions. The school spirit is truly being embodied by them this year and it is thrilling to see how the team progresses each game.
