High School Vintage Cheer Stories/photos/memories!

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Hi old cheerleaders,

Thought I’d start a thread about vintage cheer love. Any high school photos (nineties are my fave), uniforms, or stories about the way things used to be and how much better/worse it was.

My story is from elementary school when a bunch of us taught ourselves cheerleading at recess because we thought it’d be a good idea. We did preps, extensions, and basket tosses all without adult supervision or any kind of certified instruction. Or at least we did until our flyer broke her arm and then we had to stop. But in hindsight, I now realize that some adult had to have seen us — a bunch of preteen girls tossing each other around at recess — and nobody said a word.

How times have changed. Nowadays the school district would get sued about eight different ways for allowing something like that to happen.

What about you?

 

[CheerItFullOut]

This was us! Top Row all the way to the right (ME)
Year: 1999
I remember back when I was in high school bows were actually TIED on top of your hair... because they were ribbons... my skirts were pleated and half of the “ailments” kids come up with these days just didn’t exsist. (??? Coach, I think I “broke a vocal chord from too cheering loudly?!?? Or I can’t base anymore because I’ve discovered one arm is longer than the other, my chiro says I am now limited to what I can do)
I remember coming excited to talk to my cheer friends about my school day, maybe complain about how I didn’t get a great score on a math exam, how a friend of mine was nervous about a school dance or what new cute foreign exchange student was transferred into my class... but now all kids talk about these days are their panic attacks, their social anxiety disorders, how they’re terrified they won’t be married at a certain age and earning a specific income because they’re going to have to live “independently”... I also often get “I hate my friends”- which to me, would be an easy fix- get new friends.
Kids seem way more “clinically miserable” these days...
I remember having to rely on a single “paper calendar” I got once a month and we didn’t get “text reminders” or “group me” messagages about what to wear and all managed to show up in and with what EXACTLY was required yet now a Days there’s tons of communication and you can pretty much count on at least a handful of kids showing up with the wrong bow, forgetting warm ups or a set of poms.
*Note: this post isn’t intended to downplay or discredit the severity or seriousness of actual anxiety disorders or those who have panic disorders ... in implying many kids Self diagnose and asses themselves as a means to communicate their stress level.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

YOU LOOK HOT.

 

[Official OWECheer]

This was us! Top Row all the way to the right (ME)
Year: 1999
I remember back when I was in high school bows were actually TIED on top of your hair... because they were ribbons... my skirts were pleated and half of the “ailments” kids come up with these days just didn’t exsist. (??? Coach, I think I “broke a vocal chord from too cheering loudly?!?? Or I can’t base anymore because I’ve discovered one arm is longer than the other, my chiro says I am now limited to what I can do)
I remember coming excited to talk to my cheer friends about my school day, maybe complain about how I didn’t get a great score on a math exam, how a friend of mine was nervous about a school dance or what new cute foreign exchange student was transferred into my class... but now all kids talk about these days are their panic attacks, their social anxiety disorders, how they’re terrified they won’t be married at a certain age and earning a specific income because they’re going to have to live “independently”... I also often get “I hate my friends”- which to me, would be an easy fix- get new friends.
Kids seem way more “clinically miserable” these days...
I remember having to rely on a single “paper calendar” I got once a month and we didn’t get “text reminders” or “group me” messagages about what to wear and all managed to show up in and with what EXACTLY was required yet now a Days there’s tons of communication and you can pretty much count on at least a handful of kids showing up with the wrong bow, forgetting warm ups or a set of poms.
*Note: this post isn’t intended to downplay or discredit the severity or seriousness of actual anxiety disorders or those who have panic disorders ... in implying many kids Self diagnose and asses themselves as a means to communicate their stress level.

That paper calendar comment made me chuckle. I don't get how people have to constantly be reminded via texts to wear the right thing... and still don't.

 

[TealShades]

This was us! Top Row all the way to the right (ME)
Year: 1999
I remember back when I was in high school bows were actually TIED on top of your hair... because they were ribbons... my skirts were pleated and half of the “ailments” kids come up with these days just didn’t exsist. (??? Coach, I think I “broke a vocal chord from too cheering loudly?!?? Or I can’t base anymore because I’ve discovered one arm is longer than the other, my chiro says I am now limited to what I can do)
I remember coming excited to talk to my cheer friends about my school day, maybe complain about how I didn’t get a great score on a math exam, how a friend of mine was nervous about a school dance or what new cute foreign exchange student was transferred into my class... but now all kids talk about these days are their panic attacks, their social anxiety disorders, how they’re terrified they won’t be married at a certain age and earning a specific income because they’re going to have to live “independently”... I also often get “I hate my friends”- which to me, would be an easy fix- get new friends.
Kids seem way more “clinically miserable” these days...
I remember having to rely on a single “paper calendar” I got once a month and we didn’t get “text reminders” or “group me” messagages about what to wear and all managed to show up in and with what EXACTLY was required yet now a Days there’s tons of communication and you can pretty much count on at least a handful of kids showing up with the wrong bow, forgetting warm ups or a set of poms.
*Note: this post isn’t intended to downplay or discredit the severity or seriousness of actual anxiety disorders or those who have panic disorders ... in implying many kids Self diagnose and asses themselves as a means to communicate their stress level.

I pictured you with black hair lol. But cute picture.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Laugh all you want but PAPER CALENDAR = BIBLE.

ALSO remember PHONE TREE FOR CHANGE OF VENUE/GAME DELAYS/CHANGES IN PRACTICE SCHEDULE OR OUTFIT?

With LANDLINES because no cells in middle school, or even when some of us had phones in HS, they did not text (my first one did not.) Or if you did have texting it was $x.99 per text and OMG MY PARENTS ARE GONNA KILL ME.

SEE ALSO: Spray glitter on my uniform and my AIM name being CHScheergirl1208. Because if your AIM name and profile did not have your name or sport in it, DID YOU EVEN CHEER?

 

[CheerItFullOut]

Laugh all you want but PAPER CALENDAR = BIBLE.

ALSO remember PHONE TREE FOR CHANGE OF VENUE/GAME DELAYS/CHANGES IN PRACTICE SCHEDULE OR OUTFIT?

With LANDLINES because no cells in middle school, or even when some of us had phones in HS, they did not text (my first one did not.) Or if you did have texting it was $x.99 per text and OMG MY PARENTS ARE GONNA KILL ME.

SEE ALSO: Spray glitter on my uniform and my AIM name being CHScheergirl1208. Because if your AIM name and profile did not have your name or sport in it, DID YOU EVEN CHEER?

Spray Glitter!!!!!

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

From a high school cheer standpoint, one of the things I miss most for my athletes is the crowds at the games. In Kentucky, high school basketball used to rank right behind UK basketball in terms of fandom. My high school's gymnasium had a capacity of right at 5,000, only slightly smaller than the nearest college. There were three or four local teams who could come into town and play us in a capacity, standing room only, crowd. I remember my senior year, our away game at one of those schools had to be moved to the local college because they refused to play us in our home gym, and their gym had no hope of holding all of the spectators.

Fast forward 20 years (My reunion is this year), and in the four years I've coached in my current position, I've seen see the 2,100 seat facility we have at capacity once. In that particular game, we were playing a cross-town rival, our team had 3 division 1 college prospects and our opponents had 2 division 1 college prospects. The people came to watch those five athletes go at it, but absent a situation like that, we've not even been close to capacity.

My kids have very little idea of the "rush" you can get when you've got half of a loaded gymnasium on your side, and the other half screaming obscenities at you.

 

[dat.jpp]

(Not really that vintage) But my older sis who cheered for my old gym used to have a ribbon on her cheer shoe. (This was about 00-06-ish)... My middle school did this when I cheered for it 3 years ago.
Is this still common to do?

 

[CheerItFullOut]

From a high school cheer standpoint, one of the things I miss most for my athletes is the crowds at the games. In Kentucky, high school basketball used to rank right behind UK basketball in terms of fandom. My high school's gymnasium had a capacity of right at 5,000, only slightly smaller than the nearest college. There were three or four local teams who could come into town and play us in a capacity, standing room only, crowd. I remember my senior year, our away game at one of those schools had to be moved to the local college because they refused to play us in our home gym, and their gym had no hope of holding all of the spectators.

Fast forward 20 years (My reunion is this year), and in the four years I've coached in my current position, I've seen see the 2,100 seat facility we have at capacity once. In that particular game, we were playing a cross-town rival, our team had 3 division 1 college prospects and our opponents had 2 division 1 college prospects. The people came to watch those five athletes go at it, but absent a situation like that, we've not even been close to capacity.

My kids have very little idea of the "rush" you can get when you've got half of a loaded gymnasium on your side, and the other half screaming obscenities at you.

I TOTALY sympathize with this... game crowds are NOT what they used to be... for us Football as well and our school is consistently good at football and basketball but people just don’t come out to watch like they used to...
I notice a lot of kids don’t participate in traditional high school events like they used to. Formals and proms have been one upped by “party busses” and far off trips to a different city or the mountains to go eat... championship games and cross town rivalries are tempered- kind sad

 

[ScottyB]

I TOTALY sympathize with this... game crowds are NOT what they used to be... for us Football as well and our school is consistently good at football and basketball but people just don’t come out to watch like they used to...
I notice a lot of kids don’t participate in traditional high school events like they used to. Formals and proms have been one upped by “party busses” and far off trips to a different city or the mountains to go eat... championship games and cross town rivalries are tempered- kind sad

Too many distractions and outside sources of fun and entertainment. Not to mention the entire digital landscape they can escape to. Very different friday night lights/game day than I am used to having

 

[OldskoolKYcheercoach]

Too many distractions and outside sources of fun and entertainment. Not to mention the entire digital landscape they can escape to. Very different friday night lights/game day than I am used to having

Too many parents who have decided it's ok for them to get drunk at the house...

 

[CheerItFullOut]

Too many parents who have decided it's ok for them to get drunk at the house...

This is SO accurate

 

[ScottyB]

Too many parents who have decided it's ok for them to get drunk at the house...

You ain't wrong.

 

[CheerItFullOut]

I pictured you with black hair lol. But cute picture.

Really why black hair