dd cheerleader ivy bound?

Parents Forum
81

<h2>Some of my d's responsibilities as a H.S. cheerleader for those with doubts as to the leadership aspects of the activity....</h2>

<p>Hosting pep rallies and parades which involved scripting the event and supervising activities of other groups (step, players, drill team, mascot, even FACULTY). Making sure all participants 'hit their marks' while "leading" the spectators in cheers, skits, song.</p>

<p>Coordinating sideline activities at all football games basketball games and volleyball games with athletic coaches, score keepers, band directors.</p>

<p>Planning, choreographing and teaching cheer clinics for elementary and middle school children and tryout clinics for high school students trying out for the cheer squad.</p>

<p>Creating and implementing fund raisers to benefit the school and the organization. Some of the most successful fundraisers at our school have the cheerleaders front and center </p>

<p>Public appearances for everything/everyone from Boy Scouts of America to the local morning news shows.</p>

<p>Representing the school the school at national competition. (15-20 hours a week practice required btw.)</p>

<hr>

<p>Facts....</p>

<p>NHS considers cheerleading one activity that satisfies their 'leadership' requirement.</p>

<p>At my d's college, the 'leadership' aspect of cheerleading is so highly prized that the NCAA Div I rowing coaches actively seek former cheerleaders for coxswain positions on their boats. What do coxswains do? Lead.</p>

<p>At every one of my d's college interviews, she rec'd extremely positive comments about her participation in cheerleading. </p>

<p>Leaders are those who have the power to influence or guide others. Cheerleading is definitely activity that satisfies that criteria.</p>

82

<p>In response to cheerleading as an EC and how it looks on the college app, I would like to share my own experience. I have cheered since the 7th grade and am now a senior in high school and captain my varsity squad 06 16 members. It isn't rocket science or brain surgery but neither is any other sport....football, basketball, soccer included. What it has been for me all these years is a way to learn self-confidence, good work ethics, time management, people skills, sportsmanship, and a myriad of other things. I was very shy and awkard in middle school and I have learned self-confidence through this sport. Being fortunate enough to have coaches that valued academics, reputation, and physical fitness has also been a plus. I have never viewed cheerleading as anything but a real sport because that is how they approach it. It doesn't hurt that our daily 2-3 hour practices are as tough on the boys on our squad as they are during football season when they are playing on the football field. We currently have two boys on our varsity squad that join us during basketball season so they will not lose the endurance they worked so hard on during summer football workouts. Having boys on the squad enables us to do more difficult stunts since they have a have the upper body strength to lift and catch our flyers. I visited all the colleges I am applying to last summer and was able to meet the cheerleading coaches at each college. Every one of them first asked me about my academic record, tme management skills, and attitude and then finished with what their expectations and requirements were for all cheerleaders on their team. The boys and girls are treated equally and scholarship funds are limited so be careful about being drawn to any particular college for that reason.Cheerleading at most colleges is yet to be a sport that's funded and supported like the others and when scholarships are offered they are very minimal, hopefully that will change one day. The college coaches I spoke with AND the individuals I met that were part of the admissions dept. at these colleges, all take cheerleading seriously and are well informed about how much this sport has changed from the old days of "rah-rah" and cute little uniforms. Sure the skirts are shorter and the tops might be a little tighter, but that is to assure a safe and sure catch when the flyer is doubling down in the air. The physical stamina that is required to complete these skills and make them LOOK easy comes from daily practices that consist of running, dancing, advanced tumbing, and strength conditioning. We are also expected to do community service work throughout our school year, teach cheer clinics, hold fundraisers, plan pep rallies, take private tumbling classes in addition to tumbling practice at school, AND maintain an A/B average with most of us in honors and AP classes. Almost all schools now require you to cheer for both football and basketball which means you are practicing and attending games from Aug. through Feb. or March. College admissions people know that by that freshman year we have also learned leadership skills because our reputation is constantly scrutinized (and should be) since we are ambassadors of our school and we spend a lot of time with the youth in our community. When and if our academics are negatively affected or our social activities are questioned we are immediately pulled aside, questioned, and placed on probation until things improve or else....because there are fewer of us on a team than in football, basketball, soccer, etc. word travels fast and we get by with very little with serious consequences which is how all sports should be. I feel like.....no.....I KNOW that I am learning skills that will last a lifetime and that will only help give me a better chance of being successful when I graduate from high school and college and enter the real world.</p>

83

<p>Thanks for sharing your experiences. It confirms that cheerleading and other like activities are an important component of college life and admissions- and schools really do seek out kids who have those more specialized backgrounds.</p>

<p>as I have mentioned before- I'm aware of the cheerleader who got into Columbia. The family never doubted that her cheerleading experience made her application stand out amongst ALL the similar sounding candidates from Long Island. And of course, her academic record was in line with all the other candidates!</p>

<p>Good luck to you Tarheelhopeful- and Thanks for the info.</p>

84

<p>marny1: please excuse the typos in my post....the pain medicine for a sprain I am recovering from kicked in about the time I was posting. ha!</p>

85

<p>Take care of the sprain- d # 2 did sports throughout the year- (soccer-basketball-track). I just thanked G-d, she got through HS school without breaking anything or having a serious injury.</p>

<p>Good Luck with UNC (I think they are known as Tarheels??)</p>

86

<p>"many h.s. and college cheerleaders are male"</p>

<p>Just curious--are there in fact many male cheerleaders in high school? In the past, a lot of the college male cheerleaders were gymnasts.</p>

87

<p>I don't know about other squads, but our h.s. had a number of male cheerleaders who were football players, who (obviously) didn't cheer during football season, but were on the squad for competition. Some had quite good tumbling skills, but they were most valuable for being incredibly strong bases. We also had a handful who were not football players and who did participate on the sideline during football games as well as in competition. How many guys there were varied from year to year, depending on interest and ability. </p>

<p>If you check out some of the cheer competition websites, like varsity.com, Varsity.com</a> | Wired for Spirit | Your connection to everything cheerleading and dance., you can see the number of entries in the h.s. and college coed divisions to get an idea of how many squads were coed.</p>

88

<p>Thank you all for in depth views on this subject. I am new here and believe I am in awe of those of you that have children in ivy leagues. I greatly appreciate all of your input.</p>

89

<p>I actually was a basketball cheerleader at Harvard. To my knowledge, I was in the first group of cheerleaders that Harvard ever had. We were all friends who began cheering at the invitation of a fellow freshman who had been recruited to Harvard and its basketball team by Bobby Kennedy. </p>

<p>We considered cheerleading to be a joke and had outfits that literally were made from bedspreads. (I kid you not!).</p>

<p>A few years ago, I met a woman who graduated at least 15 years after me and was a Harvard cheerleader and was very proud of the fact. Clearly, in her era, some people took cheering very seriously. At least the cheerleaders did. </p>

<p>Still, I wonder whether someone who honestly likes cheerleading and views it as a sport would be happy cheering at an Ivy where, I think, even now most students wouldn't take cheerleading seriously. Your D may want to take a close look at the cheering squad and how they're regarded before deciding whether to go to a place like an Ivy if cheering is important to her.</p>

<p>Yes, perhaps being a cheerleader would make her stand out in admissions, but is it possible that being a cheerleader would make her stand out in the wrong way on campus?</p>

90

<p>Northstar- I would hate to be in an environment where a kid would be made to feel uncomfortable pursuing an interest- be it cheerleading, another sport or a political/religious club. I hope you are not implying that the Ivy's are an intolerant environment which could make a kid "stand out in the wrong way on campus" if the pursue certain interests that don't fall lock step to the Ivy stereotype.</p>

<p>I just checked out the cheerleading squad website at my kids school- cornell. I saw there was an engineer, 2 bio majors and an economics major. I didn't check out the rest of the squad.
I don't think anyone would feel that the Cornell Cheerleaders ( or any other Ivy squad) would "stand out in the wrong way on campus".</p>

91

<p>Marny1,
After seeing your note, I Googled to find out about Harvard's current cheerleaders. I found out some interesting history: Franklin Roosevelt was a cheerleader in 1904, long before I was with what my friends and I were sure was Harvard's first cheerleading squad. (Interesting, none of the members of the squad that I was on has gone public on the site listing some of Harvard's cheerleaders. We all did regard it as a joke.)</p>

<p>So, I guess I was wrong in thinking that cheerleaders might stand out in the wrong way at Ivies. Perhaps it was just back in my day -- a time of campus activism including the new women's movement -- that cheerleaders did things in a tongue and cheek wayso as not to be objects of ridicule.</p>

92

<p>
[quote]
We considered cheerleading to be a joke and had outfits that literally were made from bedspreads. (I kid you not!).

[/quote]
You mean like the Von Trapp kids wearing lederhosen made from old drapes?</p>

93

<p>Or the gown that Scarlett O'Hara (and subsequently Carol Burnett) wore?</p>

94

<p>How did I forget about Carol Burnett with the curtain rod sticking out of her shoulders?! One of the funniest moments on t.v. EVER....</p>