Cheerleading was not a sport that I was remotely interested in when I was in high school. In fact, I had the mistaken impression that cheerleaders were giggly, shallow, and silly, as well as conceited. The fact that I was never the most graceful teenager did not help my perception, and I almost always preferred to have my nose in a book rather than become involved with a sport of any kind.

So when Kira started cheerleading 6^th grade, I had somewhat of a bad attitude about it. The thought returned again and again: “My daughter, more worried about her image and extracurricular activities than her grades.” However, David and I have always tried to be supportive of our children’s interests; so when the Vince Lombardi League was holding sign-ups for their Bath Rams cheerleading squads, we gave Kira our blessing to sign up. When they told us there would be nightly 2-hour practices plus games on Sundays, I groaned inwardly but supported Kira.

We knew cheerleading was consuming our life when Parker, at age two, started performing cheers in our living room. If you have never seen a young boy singing “Yo baby yo baby yo baby yo…You’ve got to be a Ram or you’ve got to go” while making all the moves his big sister made—well, you just haven’t hit all the highlights yet.

We went to every game, and watched as the girls’ cheers and stamina improved. I even went to a cheer competition less than 48 hours after the c-section that brought Anika into the world. The girls placed well, and despite my reservations about Kira becoming involved with cheerleading at the beginning, I was impressed and proud. The girls on her team practiced though all kinds of weather, gave up a lot of their free time, and really put forth effort to do well in the competition.

Kira went on to be a phenomenal cheerleader, earning awards and accolades at the national level. She proved that cheering is a highly demanding and physical sport. When she was forced to take her senior year off because of the stress fractures she’d developed in her wrists, her doctor told her she’d damage her body less if she played football.

Cheer is a sport, and it is physically demanding. I have a ton of respect for my now-20 year old daughter who has worked hard for the last year to get back into shape to try out for the college cheer squad. She made the team, and will be heading to Buffalo State to cheer the Bengals on to victory. I’ll be the proud mom who might cringe at the risks she takes with her body but who will never again question the validity of the sport.