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Cheer and Song have 'morphed'; Squads depend on strong leadership

In the cheer world of the 21st century it is not only the jumps and cartwheels that entertain, it is now high kicks, clever dance moves and the swish of pom-poms, which are reminiscent of the days when schools boasted both cheerleaders and songleaders.

The first songleader squad at Fallbrook High performed during the 1947-1948 school year. It consisted of three members, one of whom was Marion Pearson McLean, who recalls wearing her uniform to school on game days, a tradition that has continued to this day. However, the 2005 cheerleaders wear matching skirts and shirts to school and save their performance uniforms for games.

Sometime after 1981 songleader photos disappeared from the Fallbrook High School yearbooks, and photos of cheerleaders with pom-poms began to appear. Katie Kopitzke, a cheer captain for the current junior varsity squad, explains this melding of squads concisely: “They morphed into one.”

However, this metamorphosis isn’t as seamless as it sounds. Traditionally, the cheerleader has been more athletic and adept at performing gymnastic feats. The songleaders were a dance team performing during halftime shows and at rallies. They usually kept at least one foot on the ground as opposed to the flying acrobatics of the cheerleaders. Since the “morph” occurred, cheer squad members must be comprehensively trained and able to perform gymnastic feats as well as skilled dance moves.

These high-energy squads need high-energy leaders — youth who possess leadership skills as well as excellent dance and gymnastic skills. The cheer captains at FHS are chosen by the cheer coaches, Amanda Thompson (varsity) and Chris Steffler (JV). During tryouts the coaches look for girls who exhibit leadership potential as well as those who are skillful standouts while learning routines.

The varsity cheer squad has three captains for the squad of fifteen. Amanda Puetz is the varsity cheer captain with emphasis on dance, and the other two, Katie Julian and Alyssa Williams, focus more on cheers and stunts. All three girls won cheerleader awards this summer. Both Katie and Amanda earned the title of “All American” cheerleader from the National Cheerleaders Association, and Alyssa and Katie were chosen “All-Star” cheerleader by the Universal Cheerleaders Association. The girls were awarded medals as well as patches to wear on their uniforms.

“It is the responsibility of the captain to orchestrate the cheers for the pep rallies, but the games are the biggest tasks,” said Alyssa who has been a cheerleader for eight years.

Amanda, a dancer, has been a cheerleader in practice since she was in preschool. “There’s nothing like it,” she said. She was inspired by her cheerleader sister, who is ten years older. “I grew up watching her,” said Amanda, “and I loved her pretty, sparkly uniform.”

Choreographing the group’s dances is the most rewarding aspect of being a cheer captain, Amanda shared. She also mentioned there is a great deal of pressure to be an example of excellence. “It’s a challenge and harder than people think,” she said. Amanda has been on the FHS varsity cheer squad for three years and also cheered for Tri-City Christian for one year.

The fifteen varsity cheerleaders have perfected a dance routine to the fight song as well as to other cheer mixes. The job of a varsity squad captain includes choreographing dances and cheers as well as working to ensure that team members arrive on time for events and adhere to safety precautions. Both squads have a repertoire of approximately fifty cheers and begin practicing in April, continue throughout the summer, and are polished and prepared by fall.

“Synchronization” is an important term to a cheerleading squad. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “to occur or cause to occur at the same instant.” The cheer captains push their teams to practice every day during football season and three times a week thereafter in order to keep their teams in synchronization. Practice also includes weight training — something unheard of in cheer practice twenty years ago. The captains encourage their team members to maintain high GPAs, and cheerleaders are often seen studying on the buses en route to “away” games.

The two junior varsity captains, Katie Kopitzke and Tiffany Knippelbeg, supervise a squad of thirteen. Katie and Tiffany are responsible for selecting music and developing the dance routines performed at rallies and on the sidelines. The special Homecoming rally routine is a dance/cheer mix with integrated stunts.

Experienced even as a freshman, Katie cheered for three years at Sullivan Middle School and served as squad captain in her sixth and eighth grade years. She is passionate about cheerleading and has wanted to be a cheerleader since she was a child. Her mother, Sandra, a former songleader, greatly inspired her daughter, who says she “loves everything about it.” “I am honored to represent the school,” said Katie.

Because a cheerleader must keep her eye on the game and be ready to respond to the captain’s cheer direction, the captain must be diligent in keeping her squad’s chatter to a minimum. That is one of Katie’s greatest challenges. “I hate to be the mean one to tell them to quit talking, because I like to talk a lot myself,” she admitted. But Katie obviously does a good job at focusing her squad’s attention on the game, as the members pay strict attention to the repertoire of cheers and are able to perform precise movements with swishes of their gold metallic pom-poms.

In 2005, the duties of a cheerleader captain are a bit different than when I was a head songleader (captain) in the seventies. My most stressful time came before the school year even began, when I searched for just the right uniform pattern, the material to complement it and a seamstress to sew the dresses and coats. The shoes, chenille letters and pom-poms were catalog-ordered. We also had to perfect one dance routine before NCA (National Cheerleaders Association) camp, which was held in August. The current cheerleaders don’t wear their performance uniforms to camp, so there isn’t that summer uniform rush. Also, the captain no longer chooses and orders uniforms, because that responsibility has been assumed by the cheer coaches.

The NCA camp is no longer a destination. We hopped a Greyhound Bus to Santa Barbara and spent a week learning dances and cheers, but now the NCA “camp” comes to the schools while the squads get individualized training in the comfort of their own turf.

Both the junior varsity and varsity cheer squads attended a stunt clinic at FHS taught by the Palomar College cheerleaders. They also attended a camp hosted by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, which was held at Murrieta High School. In Murrieta, the squads came away with several awards, including First Place/Superior for the Xtreme Routine and First Place/Superior for Overall Camp Champs.

Next time you are invigorated by sparks of energy from these cheer champs or are amazed at the accomplished stunt flyers, realize that behind all of that is a team of cheer captains who encourage, direct and sometimes even admonish.

 

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