Personal Essay: Is Cheerleading A Sport?

Cheerleading is usually categorized as something that is not a sport because it does not look “intense” or “tough” enough to be labeled as one. I always wanted to give it a try which is why I agreed to join a cheerleading team with my friend during the time that I was in middle school. She was extremely flexible since she had been doing gymnastics for a long time. I on the other hand, did not participate in any activity as such that favored my flexibility which is why once I eventually started cheerleading, it became a struggle for me. A hobby does not necessarily have to be built around the foundations of competition, but can instead be viewed as something that can have the potential of being enjoyable which many people do not take in mind now a day. …show more content…
She was also the type to push me extremely hard. We had practice three times a week for about two and a half hours. The third time was mandatory for advanced members and optional for beginners, like myself. This sort of gave me a relief because of the simple fact that majority of the team were advanced members and going to practice on Sundays would have put me out of my comfort zone even more. Tuesdays and Thursdays were mandatory for beginners and intermediate level members. On these days, we focused on stretching to increase our flexibility and practiced basic cheer routines. Most practices were filled with a sense of hopelessness that only seemed to get