The cheer team had their first virtual practice on Mar. 1. They meet every Monday and Thursday after school for one hour. Captains start off practice by asking how everyone is doing and then they move to teaching cheers, again led by the captains.  Besides cheer, the team will also do team workouts, or sometimes yoga depending on the day. 

The practice workouts consist of exercises like calisthenics, to conditioning. The yoga portion they all do together as a team, to fully stretch them out and get them prepared for the rest of practice.

As of now, the cheer season will continue to be all virtual. They will not be cheering at football games, and will not be having any county, regional, or state competitions. It is upsetting to some of the teammates, especially the seniors. “Although there are many restrictions and we haven’t really been able to have an actual season this year, I’m happy I can still be in touch with my teammates and be on the team for one last time,” senior Eleni Jones said.

Players on the football team enjoy the cheer team’s presence when they play. Some believe it boosts their morale and positive energy during the games. The football teammates believe the cheerleaders make a big impact, and can sway the momentum of a game. “The cheerleaders do a good job hyping up the crowd, which makes the game 10 times more fun. When cheer gets the crowd involved it’s a whole new game,” junior Nate Jacobs said.

Outside of practices, people on the cheer team still find ways to work on their game despite not having in-person practices. “In my free time I try to stay in the best shape possible so I run all the time on the treadmill and continuously stretch and practice the cheers so that I can teach them to the new students on the team,” senior Danielle Berman said. 

The students on cheer enjoy the practices, and even though it isn’t everything that they hoped for, they enjoy getting out there and doing what they love best. The last time cheer participated in person was last fall before the Coronavirus outbreak, when they were cheerleading for the football team and participating in competitions. 

The team’s last competition was Nov. 2, 2019, and they performed solidly. “Our last competition we did our very best and although we didn’t place well, I still would do anything to go back and compete with my school friends,” junior Nicole Wasserman said. 

It has been confirmed by Montgomery County that cheer will not be participating in any competitions, and their season ends next week with their final practice. It is unfortunate for the seniors, who will end the last of their high school cheer season over Zoom.