Varsity Cheer
Flyers get lifted up into the air and then fearlessly jump
back down into the awaiting arms of the bases and back-
spots. This is not possible without trust and the strong bond
of trust connects the cheerleaders to help them perform.
“During the practice, it is really dangerous so we have
to focus and cooperate,” said Jaclyn Kim, a flyer. “No matter
what position they are in, each member has to trust in one
another to pull risky stunts.”
The positions for stunts are flyers, backspots,
frontspots, and bases. The “flyer” is the person who is lifted
into the air, and the bases, backspots, and frontspots sup-
port and lift the flyer up.
“I’m a flyer so sometimes it is kind of scary
but then we learned to trust each other, I real-
ized that they [bases, backspot, and frontspot]
were not going to let me fall and they knew
that I would not do anything that is dangerous.
I think that this kind of trust is unique to cheer,”
said Esther Yoon, senior.
Trust is not something that the cheerleaders take light-
ly. For them, trusting in one another is about putting their
safety in each other’s arms and skills. This bond brought
the team closer together and drove them throughout the
season.
Although the cheer team got new coaches, members,
and had some injuries, they did not let that hinder the sea-
son and ultimately, the team’s core of trust helped them to
grow together as a new family.
“The trust that we have has to be really strong; the fly-
ers have to trust that the bases will catch them when they
fall and the bases have to trust that the flyers will go up
properly, and the bases even have to trust in each other to
pull up a stunt. Trust is one of the biggest factor for cheer,”
emphasized Stephanie Kim, senior, “because without
that trust you can’t bond and without that bond,
you can’t trust.”
“If we don’t have trust, I don’t think we can do any of
our stunts, it’s like the base of forming unity,” Jaclyn agreed.
The cheerleading team safely performed stunts demon-
strating their bond of trust paid off. They made stunts that
seemed impossible at first, possible.
1
124
Winter Sports and Activities