Is Cheerleading A Thing of The Past?

Posted by: gretchen on September 26, 2007 |

I attended a local high school football game this past Friday and sat down a with a few neighbors to chat while we watched the game. (Ok I never really watched it - I don’t like football). About midway through the second quarter, my husband commented on how few cheerleaders we had. Granted, our school district is rather small, but there were only 5 girls on the squad. I looked across the field at the opposing team from a larger school (who were slaughtering us at the time) and they had about 16 girls lined up in front of the crowd.

Being relatively new to public school, I asked my neighbor (who works at the school) if it was normal for our team to only have 5 cheerleaders. She said they actually used to have a lot more members of the cheerleading squad back when girls sports were less popular. Now that sports have opened up girls teams for golf, volleyball, soccer and basketball, more girls are concentrating on sports than cheerleading. (This is the part where someone jumps in and says “cheerleading IS a sport!” - have fun with that.) She said it seems now that cheerleading is just an activity anyone can do if they want. They don’t even hold tryouts! Wow - that is so not the way things were when I was in high school. I knew girls who would kill for those coveted pom-poms. (Not me. I was too busy making the boys basketball team. ;) )

So is anyone else noticing this trend? Are girls choosing to play the game rather than cheer for it?

39 Responses to “Is Cheerleading A Thing of The Past?”

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  1. 1. Lissa Says:
    September 26th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

    Here is my 2 cents on the subject. I think cheerleading is a sport, especially if they have to do gymnastics too. But I would rather see a girl excel at basketball, softball or any other sport. Personally I think that some cheerleaders are prissy and that is how they are typically suppose to act. I like to see a girl that is tough, can hit a ball, shoot a ball, etc.. and can compete in a sport that does not require them to wear a skirt. It seems that cheerleading has as much to do with showing off their assets and it does with supporting their team or showing off their ability.

  2. 2. Cindy Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 4:17 pm

    Yes Gretchen, I do have a comment about this. And Yes, cheerleading has grown into a sport in its own right. Cheerleading is more physical and more active than it was decades ago. As with all sports, coaching plays a big role. The cheer coach can chose to sign their team up for competitions or to “just cheer on the sidelines.” How the team is categorized will also determine how many girls and what type of girls are interested in participating.

  3. 3. gretchen Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 4:26 pm

    I knew you’d nail me on the “cheerleading IS a sport” comment. :d But you know I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be sarcastic about it. ;)

    That is true, tho. It does depend on the coaching and what the intent of the group is. Thanks for posting.

    By the way, are you still coaching cheerleading down in T-ville?

  4. 4. Kel1 Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 10:52 pm

    And this is where Kel comes in and raises her hand sheepishly to say…
    “I was a cheerleader.” *cough*
    In addition, I will say the following:” Since I don’t play sports, I have never viewed it as a sport.” :D
    And yes, we had tryouts. But since I wasn’t one of the “popular” crowd, I think I stunned a few people by having the guts to try out and also because I made it…and I wasn’t the alternate, either. ;)

    The way I saw it, I was doing choreography and saying cheers, learning different moves…very much like show choir, which I joined the following year as I entered high school. ;) It’s a type of performance, in my opinion, and it is still valuable. They have amazing competitions that are televised, as well, and it takes a tremendous amount of skill to compete in something like that.

    To sum it up, I think it takes talent, but it’s not a sport. I think there are just so many things for girls to do in school today that perhaps cheerleading doesn’t hold the appeal it once did. Nothing wrong with that.

  5. 5. gretchen Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 10:55 pm

    Aw - dang it. I swear - every single one of my friends was a cheerleader at some point. Boy, can I pick ‘em. #-o

  6. 6. Kel1 Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

    Apparently, you just need LOTS of encouragement. :D

    *Gooooooo GRETCHEN!!*

    Okay, that’s all I got right now, sorry. :P

  7. 7. gretchen Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 11:14 pm

    I’m gonna need to hear that again…except in person and with the choreography. ;)

  8. 8. Kel1 Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 11:20 pm

    Dream on. :D

  9. 9. tinymeme Says:
    October 1st, 2007 at 2:43 pm

    Cheerleading was the IT thing to do in my high school too. This was before we had more than basketball & track for girls. I can see how the number of cheerleaders can drop with the addition of more competitive sports for girls.

  10. 10. angel Says:
    October 3rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm

    cheerleading like you have in america is only now really taking off in south africa, maybe thats where the interest is going?

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