OT Being A Cheerleader Back Then, Was It Really That Big Of A Deal?

[Fierce_Elite]

Lifetime shows these amazing movies about cheerleaders on true movie Thursday sometimes and I just wanted to know, was it really that serious to be on a high school team during that era? People were willing to kill one another over, bully, etc. just so they can get a spot on the team. Even the parents would freak out about it.

Was it really like this? For the people on here living in that drums era, do you remember cheerleading being that big of a deal? If so, why was it such a big issue then, but people could care less about school cheer now? Especially if the team is really bad.

Ps: other people can answer this obviously, but I also wanted to hear from the parents and older adults on here who possibly lived and witnessed that time period at there high school!

 

[cheer25mom]

Yes it was the apex social status symbol. Some people would do anything to make that squad because it made you queen of the school.

 

[Keep_Believing]

Lifetime shows these amazing movies about cheerleaders on true movie Thursday sometimes and I just wanted to know, was it really that serious to be on a high school team during that era? People were willing to kill one another over, bully, etc. just so they can get a spot on the team. Even the parents would freak out about it.

Was it really like this? For the people on here living in that drums era, do you remember cheerleading being that big of a deal? If so, why was it such a big issue then, but people could care less about school cheer now? Especially if the team is really bad.

Ps: other people can answer this obviously, but I also wanted to hear from the parents and older adults on here who possibly lived and witnessed that time period at there high school!

In my opinion cheerleading was a very big deal to a lot of people. It represented popularity, similar to being homecoming queen. With that said "people" were not willing to kill over it. They lady who did that was a sociopath who was willing to try and kill because she percieved that they got in the way of something she wanted.

 

[JMW]

I graduated from high school in 1981. You have to keep in mind that there was no such thing as all stars - or even rec league - then. If you didn't make your school team, you didn't cheer, period. It's not like you could go find another place to cheer, or cheer at a lower level.

There may have been some 'popularity' factor, but for girls who loved to cheer it could be devastating to not make the team. I think that was a bigger factor that the popularity issue.

I also object to this statement in your post: If so, why was it such a big issue then, but people could care less about school cheer now? According to the NFHS, there are about 400,000 people who cheer for their high school (this number is a few years old...I couldn't find an updated one). I think its fair to say that people still care about school cheer.

 

[Keep_Believing]

At my school when we tried out it was in front of the student body/our peers. They voted and decided who made it on the cheerleading squad. It honestly was a popularity contest. On top of that, our cheerleading squad was more like a pep squad. It lacked the athletic sport side that I see many school cheerleader squads now highlight. From what I understand most school squads are now voted on by judges. I am glad to see a positive shift in that area. And, as mentioned there are now other options for those interested in being a cheerleader such as all star or rec. cheer like Pop Warner.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

I went to high school in the 80's, and I'd say YES, it was that big of a deal. I totally agree with what @Kris said though - "people" were not willing to kill for it. ONE PERSON was - and she was crazy, with or without cheerleading.

Cheerleaders in my high school were the queens of the school. The boys all wanted to date them, the girls all wanted to be them. It really didn't matter if you were pretty or nice or smart...if you had that little red, white, and blue outfit, you were IN. I also agree with what @JMW said - the fact that there was no allstars played a big part in that probably (although we did have rec in my neck of the woods - everyone did make a team there, but there were different "levels" - same as all stars now. And it was the same as allstars in that the girls on the "Red" squad were revered more than the girls on "blue")

If you were cut from school cheer, that was it. You just weren't a cheerleader. About 75 girls tried out at my school - and only 14 made it. Those other 60+ girls spent the next 4 years watching those 16 girls rule the school. I'm sure there was some bitterness and jealousy and a whole lot of "What does she have that I don't have? That should have been ME!"

All that being said, I wouldn't say people don't care about school cheer now. At least here they do. In Illinois you can't do allstar and high school competition cheer, so you have to choose. The way these moms talk about who made JV vs who made Varsity, you'd think it was worth killing over. There is VENOM coming from these women. :starwars:

 

[Keep_Believing]

I went to high school in the 80's, and I'd say YES, it was that big of a deal. I totally agree with what @Kris said though - "people" were not willing to kill for it. ONE PERSON was - and she was crazy, with or without cheerleading.

Cheerleaders in my high school were the queens of the school. The boys all wanted to date them, the girls all wanted to be them. It really didn't matter if you were pretty or nice or smart...if you had that little red, white, and blue outfit, you were IN. I also agree with what @JMW said - the fact that there was no allstars played a big part in that probably (although we did have rec in my neck of the woods - everyone did make a team there, but there were different "levels" - same as all stars now. And it was the same as allstars in that the girls on the "Red" squad were revered more than the girls on "blue")

If you were cut from school cheer, that was it. You just weren't a cheerleader. About 75 girls tried out at my school - and only 14 made it. Those other 60+ girls spent the next 4 years watching those 16 girls rule the school. I'm sure there was some bitterness and jealousy and a whole lot of "What does she have that I don't have? That should have been ME!"

All that being said, I wouldn't say people don't care about school cheer now. At least here they do. In Illinois you can't do allstar and high school competition cheer, so you have to choose. The way these moms talk about who made JV vs who made Varsity, you'd think it was worth killing over. There is VENOM coming from these women. :starwars:

Right now in Texas you can do both, but there have been rumors that could change. Since they have to pick in your state, do most girls there pick all star or try for school cheer? What usually ends up being the first choice? (Sorry for hijacking the thread a little, but I am really curious about this).

 

[Just-a-Mom]

Right now in Texas you can do both, but there have been rumors that could change. Since they have to pick in your state, do most girls there pick all star or try for school cheer? What usually ends up being the first choice?

It's really hard to tell - because I want to say that the majority chose allstar, but then I look at cp's senior 5 team, and only a small handful of them were high school age. The majority were middle school/junior high age. Yet on her senior 3 team, the majority were high school age. This sounds horrible to say, but if I had to guess, I'd say the ones who don't make their school teams come over and do allstar. I wouldn't say this is always the case, or a proven fact in any way - solely basing it on the fact that there seemed to be a lack of level 5 athletes in the high school age range that were doing allstar at our gym.

It probably also depends a lot on the caliber of their specific school team (and the allstar gyms near them). Our allstar gym, while we loooooooved our time there, wasn't "top dog" around the area by any means - but it was in an area with a lot of really talented, high caliber high school teams. So, in our case, lots of the kids chose school. But further north, in UA territory, I'd say the likelihood of kids choosing allstar over school is higher, because UA is "big name" gym. Not sure if this makes sense, or if I'm just rambling?

A lot of them do high school and then half year teams in all star (designed to start when the high school competition season ends), so they get to do both.

 

[Keep_Believing]

It's really hard to tell - because I want to say that the majority chose allstar, but then I look at cp's senior 5 team, and only a small handful of them were high school age. The majority were middle school/junior high age. Yet on her senior 3 team, the majority were high school age. This sounds horrible to say, but if I had to guess, I'd say the ones who don't make their school teams come over and do allstar. I wouldn't say this is always the case, or a proven fact in any way - solely basing it on the fact that there seemed to be a lack of level 5 athletes in the high school age range that were doing allstar at our gym.

It probably also depends a lot on the caliber of their specific school team (and the allstar gyms near them). Our allstar gym, while we loooooooved our time there, wasn't "top dog" around the area by any means - but it was in an area with a lot of really talented, high caliber high school teams. So, in our case, lots of the kids chose school. But further north, in UA territory, I'd say the likelihood of kids choosing allstar over school is higher, because UA is "big name" gym. Not sure if this makes sense, or if I'm just rambling?

A lot of them do high school and then half year teams in all star (designed to start when the high school competition season ends), so they get to do both.

What level do the half year teams go up to? Are there level 5 half year teams?

 

[Just-a-Mom]

What level do the half year teams go up to? Are there level 5 half year teams?

Yes - they are all ages and all levels. Not every gym has them, but there are plenty to choose from. My cp has been on half year teams that were Senior 2, 3, and 5. Even my younger one has been on 2 half year teams (a youth 1 and a youth 2). I'm not sure of the point of half year youth teams, other than maybe they are good for people who don't want a full 12 month commitment?

 

[JMW]

Right now in Texas you can do both, but there have been rumors that could change. Since they have to pick in your state, do most girls there pick all star or try for school cheer? What usually ends up being the first choice? (Sorry for hijacking the thread a little, but I am really curious about this).

Cost is a factor too. For us at least, HS cheer is significantly less expensive. And our rec league is about 1/10th the cost of the local all-star gyms... And if a kid has grown up in rec league, they're more likely to choose school cheer.

 

[JMW]

Yes - they are all ages and all levels. Not every gym has them, but there are plenty to choose from. My cp has been on half year teams that were Senior 2, 3, and 5. Even my younger one has been on 2 half year teams (a youth 1 and a youth 2). I'm not sure of the point of half year youth teams, other than maybe they are good for people who don't want a full 12 month commitment?

The point of half year teams is to give school and rec cheerleaders a place to cheer when their season is over. At least that's the point in my area. Since kids can't do both simultaneously, it gives them the best of both worlds.

 

[Just-a-Mom]

The point of half year teams is to give school and rec cheerleaders a place to cheer when their season is over. At least that's the point in my area. Since kids can't do both simultaneously, it gives them the best of both worlds.

Right - I get that. I don't get the point of youth ones. The kids are like 7-9 years old. My cp's whole half year youth team was the full year youth team crossing over. I understand junior and senior half year teams, just not youth and minis. I guess some of them must get rec kids - we never did though (because most of the kids here that do rec do it either because they don't like allstar or they don't want to cheer all year).

 

[JMW]

Right - I get that. I don't get the point of youth ones. The kids are like 7-9 years old. My cp's whole half year youth team was the full year youth team crossing over. I understand junior and senior half year teams, just not youth and minis. I guess some of them must get rec kids - we never did though (because most of the kids here that do rec do it either because they don't like allstar or they don't want to cheer all year).

I run a rec program, and we get girls who start out as rec to try it. They fall in love with it... they want to cheer all year, but they don't want to leave our program, their friends, or cheering for football games. Half year teams give them the chance to do both.

It's also cheaper to do rec and a half year all star team vs. full season all stars.

Half year teams also give kids at all ages the chance to try all stars with less of a monetary and time commitment...and then they may sign up for full season the following year.

If your youth half season teams consisted only of crossovers from full season, I would suggest that your gym isn't using the program to its full advantage, or marketing it as well as they could be.

 

[KikiD22]

What level do the half year teams go up to? Are there level 5 half year teams?

Yes. UA last season fielded 3 half season senior teams, one of which was a coed 5 that got a worlds bid (at large they declined because it was about 3 weeks before worlds). We do have a few of the state high school powerhouse teams in our area though, so I don't think we have a higher percentage going to UA in relation to other gyms.