A bright smile, a few flips here and there, a small wave–that’s what the students of Allen see of cheerleaders.  However, there’s much more to the faces who get the crowds pumping.

“There’s a lot of time of thoroughly thinking things out,” cheer co-captain and senior Blake Vilven said. “ That alone shows our dedication to what we do.”

According to senior co-captain Skylar Tallal, cheerleaders usually start out in gymnastics at a young age. Eventually, one way or another, they find the sport of cheerleading and fall in love with it. Cheering involves many skills including tumbling, stunting and being able to get a crowd pumped, but according to Vilvan, it’s a lot more than doing a back walkover.

“A lot of it is judged on your presence, your spirit, your motions [and] your ability to be loud and lead a crowd,” Vilvan said. “I think that a lot of people think that when trying out it’s based off of the skills that you have, like tumbling and jumps. But it’s really not, it’s much more heavily weighted on how well you can get a section excited.”

Yes, a person has to have the ability to “strut their stuff,” but with that, one needs confidence and the ability to get excited about what their performing. In order to be on the team, someone has to be committed to cheerleading. It’s not a pastime; it’s a lifestyle.

“My schedule revolves around cheer,” Tallal said. “It has a lot to do with crowd involvement and being happy, smiling all the time. If you have that, you can pretty much do anything.”

The girls on the cheer team are all close with one another and share many memories that won’t be forgotten in the long run. Even when they split off into smaller groups, they’re all united as one within the team, Tallal said.

“Being a part of the team is just something we all enjoy,” Vilvan said. “When we come together on the field, that’s the best part of it all.”

Being a cheerleader involves a lot of work and dedication, “but it’s all worth it,” Vilvan said.

It’s a cheerleader’s duty to get the crowds roaring with excitement, with that comes effort and having a good attitude 24/7.

“[Work hard.] Getting certain skills, like taking tumbling classes and stunting, but it has a lot to do with crowd involvement and being happy, smiling all the time,” Tallal said. “You’ve got to have these things…it’s what it takes to be on the team.”