Wednesday, March 15, 2000
Cheerleaders go national
N.Ky. squad sees it as sport
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It's not all about pompoms, perkiness and pep anymore. No matter what anybody says, one group of 25 Northern Kentucky girls will tell you what they do is a sport.
This is the first year a squad from the Northern Kentucky Youth Football League — the Raiders — will compete in the AmeriCheer National Competition at Orlando, Fla.
When they head to Florida this month, they'll be expected to show off the jumps, flips and routines that once were the speciality of college cheerleaders.
“Today's cheerleaders, if they're not totally physically in shape, they're not going to have the stamina to keep up,” said Jerraine Dailey, one of two women who coach the Raiders cheering squad.
“It's no longer about standing there, clapping and yelling.”
The group — girls age 10 to 14 from about eight middle schools — won this year's AmeriCheer Regional Competition in their division. That secured a spot for the squad at the national competition March 22.
Two high school squads from the area — Ryle and Scott high schools — and all-star teams also will attend.
“We've worked hard for seven years, and we hope that all our hard work pays off,” said Amanda Steffan, whose mom is one of the squad's coaches. “We've really come together as a team this past month.”
The 14-year-old said what gives her squad an advantage is its cohesiveness. Some of them have been cheering together since they were very young. They even call themselves sisters.
“It would mean so much to not only beat everyone in Northern Kentucky but everyone in the nation,” she said.
These girls may be on the sidelines during other sporting events, but they will be center stage at the competition at Walt Disney World. They'll have to show as much strength and stamina as other athletes.
“They have to have a good vertical jump like a basketball player and good tumbling skills like a gymnast,” Coach Kim Steffan said. “They have to be like weight lifters because they have to lift their own body weight.”
The girls also have to learn to work as a team, just as in football or soccer.
“It's not at all what it used to be,” Ms. Steffan said.
Ms. Dailey said the tumbling and “building” — a technique where several girls hold another in the air — started at the college level.
“In particular because of the University of Kentucky,” she said, adding that the school's cheering squad is nationally known. “College coaches started teaching (techniques) at the high-school level, and it's just grown.”
Competitions have become tougher over the years. Squad members didn't used to have to bother with specialized moves, but it's becoming harder to make a squad without them. Many take dance or gymnastic lessons, and most run and lift weights.
“We do as much hard work as football players and basketball players, and we have as much sportsmanship as other teams,” said Liz Werner, a seven-year member of the Raiders squad.
“It's a sport like anything else. We spend as much time practicing. It's not all just about pompoms.”
Ms. Steffan said the girls want the title more, but they also like the idea of riding in a victory parade in Disney World.
Amanda said she and her teammates are a little nervous, but they'll remind one another of all the hard work they've done over the past several years.
“It'll all show if we're having fun,” she said.
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