Badger cheerleaders holding up their banner for the football team to rip through at the beginning of the footbal game.

Hayde Blanco
SJHS Staff Writer

“G-O Lets Go! Springville, G-O Lets Go!!!!!” These words are very familiar to the Springville Junior High football players. Here at Springville Junior High we have cheerleaders supporting and gathering the crowd for the football players.

According to Cynthia Esklund, Springville Junior High cheerleader, cheerleaders help the football players. Cheering gets them “pumped up.” Alyssa Nance, another Springville Junior High cheerleader, said “Heck Yes!” cheerleading is a sport.

Some things that cheerleaders do at football games are dances during half time, tumble, and pump up the crowd. A unique thing that Cynthia Esklund and her team, the Badgers, do is make a banner and then hold it up while the football players run through it at the beginning of the game.

Max Schreiner, eight grade student and football player at Springville Junior High, likes having the cheerleaders at the games because they are “cute,” but when they do their dance during half time it is hard to hear his coach. Kaleni Neiufi, seventh grade football player, said, “It gets the crowd and a lot of people cheering for us.” But according to Kaleni, his team mates pay more attention to the cheerleaders than the game.

C-H-E-E-R! Cheer! Girls at SJHS have been practicing, perfecting, and waiting for their time. Cheer tryouts were held on Monday, March 30th through Friday, April 2nd. The tryouts were held at Springville High School in the main gym from 4-6pm every day that week.

The girls were to go to a clinic to be given the materials for their tryouts, and then perform their routines. For their tryouts, the girls had to showoff their tumbling, rallying, and jumps. They also had to learn different routines like a hip hop style dance, traditional cheer dance, and sideline cheer.

Fun was only the beginning for the new cheerleaders. Cheerleading is an awesome way to stay healthy and have fun with friends at the same time. Emma Black, a ninth grader at SJHS and a new cheerleader, said, “It’s fun to be with your friends and to show your school spirit.”

She’s not the only who loves to show her school spirit. McKenna Gleave, another ninth grader at SJHS and a new cheerleader, said, “I like the positive influence, and I love the way the girls become a family.” There are also other great things about cheerleading. “You get to be like a positive role model and set high standards,” said McKenna. Cheerleading is a great way to have fun. C-H-E-E-R! Cheer!