Dance and cheer are two very different sports, but the line between the two gets blurred when it comes to implementing them into school.

“The dance thing is more about being clean and precise, cheer is more about being very spirited. I mean dance is also very spirited, it’s very hard to pick apart the two if you don’t do both” Sophomore Tigerette Ava Saylors said.

The amount of time that you put into these sports is very important to how you will perform.

“My whole life, literally every single day is dedicated to tigerettes. We have practice three days a week for two hours, and I do it on my own.”  Saylors said.

Dedication is key for game season.

“I dedicate two days a week sometimes more if we have games for like football or basketball but right now we are off until competition season” Junior cheerleader Micah Mitchell said. 

Throughout different seasons the cheerleaders have some off time to be able to focus more on school work.

“It depends on what season in the fall, probably 10 hours a week, maybe more, maybe 15. But in the winter eight hours a week three to five days a week.” Junior cheerleader Jessica Brennan said.

Practicing routines is one thing but the most important is always cleaning up what you’ve learned.

“We start from the top and start cleaning. Like going through counts so that we’re all together so we’re not popcorn dancing.” Junior Tigerette Emery Lee said

Stress is a common factor between both sports, coming from a love of the sport and a drive to win, which also brings each team to be able to work together. 

“Sometimes working together can be stressful sometimes but I think we do a good job keeping it stress-free.” Freshman cheerleader Lily Rose said.

Stress and anxiety can really get to them when competing in front of a big crowd. Getting hyped and competitive really dulls that down for the girls.

“It depends, sometimes it’s really stressful because we’re very competitive and we want to win.” Lee said

Both cheerleaders and tigerettes go to competitions to compete with other teams. The competition layout is mostly the same, it’s the content of what they’re performing that really sets them apart. 

“It’s off technique, and difficulty, and energy, your cheer counts for points, how loud you are, crowd involvement, stunts, jumps, pyramids, baskets, and tumbling.” Brennan said

The cheerleading team works very hard before competitions, to make sure they have the best performance possible.

“But it’s really fun because it’s a stage and you just cheer and the whole crowd is looking at you. Yeah, it’s fun and gives you an adrenaline rush for sure.” Brennan said.

At the end of the day, the girls love what they do and it’s a part of who they are.

“One year I was a tigerette for Halloween and I’ve just really wanted to do that since I was little.” Tigerette Kerrigan Blankenship said