Pep squad is the combination of the Cheerleading team and the Song team that come together to cheer on football games. They stand on the sidelines, usually on boxes that they carry with them. They can stand on the boxes to see over the football players on the sidelines to know what is happening during the football game and what cheer to use.
The pep squad has around 25 cheers that they do throughout the football game and even have cheers for specific situations. The captains, Charli Jotblad, Erii Yonemoto, Taylor Millikan, Avery Anderson, call out the cheers to signal the rest of the team to follow. They cheer for touchdowns where they chant “touchdown touchdown do it again.” Another cheer they have is for the marching band where they do a special dance.
The squad will also have stunts and dances that they do throughout the game to keep the student section engaged and motivate them to cheer on their team. Usually the coach will assign people a certain time where they will do tumbles throughout the game.
There are usually 2 people that tumble at the same time, someone will have the same time as someone else and they will go together. For instance, someone will start on the right and another on the left, they will both signal each other and make sure the other one is ready. On their count they will both run and do the same tumble, like a flip. They will then face the crowd and wave with smiles on their faces.
It can be very difficult to memorize, so many cheers and tumbles so the coach will do the motions and teach them how to do the specific choreography. Cheerleaders practice for competition and choreography and learn new dances for games. They practice three times a week for two hours each time.
They work on competition choreography because that is the highlight of cheerleading season. The competition season, which takes place at the end of the year, is where different cheer teams compete against each other. However, in the pre-season, they will just practice and cheer at sports games like football.
Song also competes in competition, but their choreography is more dance-based and they do not do stunts. Song has a zero period class where they practice for competition and rehearse cheers for games.
Stunts are unique because they include getting tossed in the air which is a highlight event that happens at football games. Cheerleaders will perform stunts to entertain the crowd during games.
There are two positions in stunts: a base and a flyer. Being a base is difficult because they get hit by girls a lot, and usually fall to the ground first. It is an important position because they have to make sure that the flyer does not hit the ground and stays safe. If they do not hold up the flyer correctly, everyone involved could get seriously injured.
A base on the team, Sydney Graham (11) exclaimed, “I love cheer because you have to work together in order for the cheers to look good and for the stunts to work out. I also get to support other Aliso athletes and go to football games.”
Delaney Bennett (11), a flyer, said that “being a flyer is scary because you get dropped a lot.”
It can also be tiring because the team has to do the same stunts over and over until they get it perfectly with the right corrections. Then they will do them at football games. It is hard because the responsibility is on flyers to have straight arms and legs so they don’t get dropped. If they are flimsy, they will fall because it feels heavier for bases when they are not tight.
However, Bennett also announced, “I love cheerleading because I get to do stunts and cheer at football games. Also being able to participate in more things in school to meet new people.”
Although pep squads can be frightening sometimes to get the cheers and routines right, it is overall very enjoyable for the members and they love being a part of the squad.
