REVIEWS
SPORTS
By Taryn Stuart and Santi Rico
The Varsity Cheerleading team has had its ups and downs in the past, but they always overcome those obstacles and manage to wow the crowd.
Katharine Oweida, the assistant cheerleading coach at Providence Day School, has nothing but positive things to say about her team.
The cheerleaders have been working a lot on their skills to become great performers, but they’ve also been working on self-confidence. “They have really improved in a lot of ways. They’ve improved on their spirit as a whole.” Oweida said.
Without confidence, it would be hard to be a good cheerleader. Oweida mentioned that “performing is such a huge part of cheer. You really need to be outspoken. All eyes are on you, and you need to have the spirit, the drive, and the energy to get others involved.” But while working on their confidence, the girls have made huge improvements in their tumbling and acrobatic skills.
Kyra Swartz, one of the captains of the team, loves being a cheerleader. She said her “favorite part is the sense of family.” She mentioned how she has “cheered with most of these girls [my teammates] since I was in about seventh or eighth grade.” She says that they’ve “become sisters, so I love that. I have a younger sister already, but it’s also nice having some girls my own age to talk to.” Kyra and the other girls have built up a strong, close bond with one another over the years, and that helps to make cheerleading even more enjoyable than it already is for the girls.
When Cameron Jones and Kyra were asked more about the topic of cheerleading, Cameron jokingly described it not as a sport but as a "lifestyle." Cameron talked about how being part of the team influences her everyday life. When asked, Cameron gave her opinion on coed cheerleading, "I think that it would be nice to have boy cheerleaders, because they can do so many more stunts that girls just can't do.” Having some testosterone on the team might be helpful, especially when Homecoming week comes around. As Kyra says, "Normally, we practice pretty much the entire season [for Homecoming], perfecting the stunts and the tumbling skills. We try to figure out how to please the crowd and also push us at the same time.”
When asked about getting new cheerleaders, Cameron said "We lost a couple of good cheerleaders last year, but we gained good cheerleaders in the freshman class.” The team has also gained two new coaches. Cameron describes them as more strict and dedicated to cheerleading than past coaches. New changes in the team's leaders bring new energy. Overall, the year seems bright for our PDS Varsity Cheerleading Team as the cheerleaders enter a new stage in their careers, and hopefully succeed.
Go Chargers!
“Performing is such a huge part of cheer. You really need to be outspoken. All eyes are on you, and you need to have the spirit, the drive, and the energy to get others involved.” – Katharine Oweida
The cheerleaders perform at a pep rally.
Photo courtesy of Micke McCarn Photography