0
0
For AHS Cheer, 2021-22 is a year of spirit, pride, and even pressure.
“We’ve learned so many great new cheers.” said high school senior and varsity cheer captain Lauren Binley about the progress of their season. “We’ve learned all of our cheers, all of our girls are hitting everything pretty confidently, we have two very solid pyramids down… Pretty much it’s if we can or can not hit the stunt, or, for instance, if a band dance looks like crap, and it doesn’t look that good, if we keep practicing, practicing, practicing.” said Binley. “…We finally hit it, and it’s up to where we want it to be and want it to look, that’s how we are able to tell.”
So how does cheerleading impact the school outside of the people involved? “What a cheerleader’s job on the sideline is to get the students involved,” said Athletic Director Andrea Patton. “It’s to get the fans involved. It’s to provide to the community. Pride with the school. For me, I’ve always been really passionate about how the cheerleaders act as female athletes.”
The pressure behind the spirit and pride is Homecoming, approaching on October 15th. “We are learning a brand new routine,” said Binley. “Our seniors have never done it, sophomores and freshmen have never done it before. It definitely does take some extra time.” 
Although the pressure is great and the work is hard, there is still more to come for the AHS cheerleaders. As said by Binley, “We are working on our homecoming prep rally routine, so that is something that we will be able to use in the future for other pep rallies or even during basketball season.”
