In fact, there is nothing easy about being a cheerleader at Half Moon Bay High School.
Every week, the squad needs to learn new dances and routines. They have to choreograph the dances, taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of each teammate.
 The squad is all smiles while they do their dance during halftime of football games. |
“We are not princesses,” said senior Callie White. “We have to think while we are dancing and doing our stunts.”
It’s not for everyone. About 50 girls tried out for the squad; a dozen girls made the team. The work is endless.
For a good part of the summer and at least 10 weeks in the fall, the squad practices at least two hours after school, going over dance routines to be performed at halftime of the football games. Tryouts take place in May and once the team is picked, work begins in the summer for the fall season. In addition to summer practice, there are also summer camps to attend. All the work leads to Friday night football games.
There are two days to learn the week’s routine, one day to go over it and one day to perfect it.
Co-captains Olivia Cozzolino and Shannon Sterling admit that they get a little more nervous for home games.
“Our friends are in the stands,” Cozzolino said.
The recent Homecoming game brought out even more friends, neighbors and family. In addition to the normal preparation for halftime, the squad had to prepare for dance during Friday morning’s assembly. The night before the game, the squad also made up signs for the football players.
Add to that the normal pressure of school work and keeping up the grades, and that was one long week.
Cheerleading is not recognized as a sport by the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for all high school sports. But the squad still has to adhere to all the basic rules of high school sports, including maintaining a minimum grade point average of 2.0. Four days a week, the squad practices stunts and other routines under the watchful eye of coach Allie Mendonca.
Mendonca knows all about the life of a Half Moon Bay cheerleader. She was one, having graduated from the high school three years ago. When she’s not coaching the team, she’s attending San Francisco State, closing in on her degree in child development.
She watches the team do its routines with a mother hen’s kind eyes.
“Every time they do a stunt, I hold my breath,” Mendonca said. “I am confident that the girls will catch the fliers. But I still get nervous.”
High-flying stunts have been a part of the cheerleading scene for about the last 15 years. As the stunts have increased, so has the danger. According to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, injuries due to cheerleading have gone up from about 5,000 nationwide in 1980 to about 27,000 each of the last few years.
No serious injuries have befallen Half Moon Bay cheerleaders, though a cheerleader at San Mateo High School was hurt several years ago doing a stunt. The district banned stunts for the year.
Cozzolino dropped a flier during practice once. Her friend was a little sore, but OK. “It’s a bad feeling,” Cozzolino said. “I almost cried.”
Sterling is one of the fliers for the squad. There was one time when she landed hard.
“That’s my biggest fear, falling,” Sterling said.
The senior has been involved in cheerleading since her days as a Coastside Pop Warner cheerleader, eight years ago. “We didn’t do any stunts back then,” she said.
Despite the obvious danger, the stunts have raised the level of the cheerleading, and football fans have noticed the athletic skill of the squad.
“They are better,” said Dwayne Dinucci, a longtime shop teacher at Half Moon Bay. “They do so much more. The girls that cheer now are definite athletes.”
There is always pressure on being a cheerleader, even if stunts weren’t part of the program. There can be some drama – but that goes with the territory of being a high school student.
“We have to hide our problems and keep on smiling,” said senior Nicole Macapinlac. “We are representing our school. If we bring our personal lives in, it will show.”
Some of the cheerleaders participate in other sports at Half Moon Bay. The fall cheerleading season ends whenever the football team plays its final game. A dance team will be formed for winter. The memories of being on the team will last for a long time.
“I have gotten closer to the people on the team,” Cozzolino said. “I have learned a lot about my teammates. They are very nice girls.”
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