For many high schoolers, the school day during football home games usually means a typical day without any extra work or stress involved. The only extra work high school students do on those days is going all out with their outfits for the student section theme in support of Chelsea’s football players. Cheerleaders on the other hand have many things they have to do before the football game starts. These days can be very tiring but do end up being worth it in the end. From the very beginning to the end of the day, Cheerleaders’ very busy schedules lead to a daily routine for every Football game day.
“On game days I wake up at 5:00 AM,” junior Maddie Braun said. “I have to curl my hair and put on a full face of makeup. After school, we have to be right at the team meal which is at the community center.”
After school finishes, cheerleaders really begin to feel excitement for the game. Their schedule becomes a lot more intense later in the day, due to the large amount of preparation before events.
“We go straight to our gym after school. Once we’re there, we get changed, put our tape and cheer shoes on, and stretch,” junior Avery Brooks said. “Depending on the day, we start by either running through stunts or our pregame routine. Then, we move on to working through our cheers, ending with either stunts or conditioning.”
Without any breaks throughout the day, cheerleaders find Friday mornings on game day to be a little stressful and tiring; it’s the only chance they get during the day to make sure they have everything they need. Throughout the day, as they get more excited about the evening’s events, they begin to feel more motivated and awake in time for the game.
“I feel like everyone would probably agree that it’s tiring, but, overall, it’s fun at night,” Braun said. “Some days it might affect my performance more than others — depending on how late I stay up for homework — but usually I wake up more throughout the day.”
While the day’s schedule can be draining and stressful for cheerleaders, many of them still love it. Being a part of the football games is what they look forward to during practices, resulting in their unique routine every game day.
“I’ve been a part of cheer since I was a little kid. Sometimes the schedule can be a little tiring, but overall it’s worth it because I love cheering with my friends,” Braun said.
