Trusting someone with your life is one of the challenges cheerleaders have to face. But it all starts with getting your head in the game.

“We spend a lot of time on trust,” Coach Emily Kelly said.

The Cheer team spends a very large amount of time practicing trust. The individuals are not encouraged to do a stunt if they are not comfortable or ready. This is one way the team and the coaches build trust within each other. This also ensures safety for the cheerleaders.

“Cheerleading is the number one sport for catastrophic injuries,” Kelly said.

When a person is in the air doing a stunt, they have to trust everyone around them, above them and under them. They are putting their life in someone’s hands. If something were to happen, the dangers would be catastrophic.

Many changes have been made to the team the last few years. Typically tryouts would be held everyday for a week. Coaches Emily Kelly, and Aleigha Anderson meet with the group trying out and tell them what they are required to do.

The individuals are given a breakdown of the cheer they need to perform, and a dance of three eight counts. They are also required to do two jumps. Individuals trying out need to come with an application. If there are two people and one spot left, they two are given an application and are expected to fill it out to the best of their ability. Whatever application is the best will get the spot.

“It’s hard to figure out what you’re doing and how to do things but sooner or later you catch on and it becomes fun,” Freshman Abigail Bourque said.

Senior Michael Lajoie is joining the cheer team for this upcoming winter season. He will be Sparty at the sporting events.

“We have had people that want to be Sparty for a game or borrow the Sparty costume, but we haven’t had a consistent Sparty since ever,” Kelly said.

Despite the difficulties, changes and dangers, cheerleading is like a second family to some of the students, such as sophomore Chassidy Wilkins.

“A lot of these other cheerleaders even in these last short months have been so supporting it’s like a second family,” Bourque said.