Giving Up

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Giving Up

For years I've been a cheerleader. Cheerleading had gotten so important to me that it was the only thing I lived for. I remember the time 2 wisdom teeth pulled out and still went to practice. I remember the time that my mama was in a car wreck during one of my games and I selfishly stayed at the game to cheer. Cheerleading was always my life and I couldn't wait til my senior year in high school to be considered captain.

I basically had the captain spot in the bag for my senior year. Captain was chosen by your score during tryouts. Well, my junior year we moved to a new state and I had to start from scratch. They did cheerleading completly different and it was very hard for me. I ended up making the squad, but when it came to picking captain I was out of luck. I scored the 2nd highest of over 100 girls, but the coaches let the squad choose their captain. It was basically a popularity contest and I only knew a handful of girls. So I watched my dream get handed to someone else. Someone that was chosen because of who she knew. I had waited years for that moment and it just went up in smoke. I cried for days. My years of hard work was useless just because I didn't grow up with these people. I wanted to quit so bad, but I just couldn't let myself leave my squad to hang dry (even if I really didn't know them).

Now that it all has passed, I'm glad that I didn't get captain. It taught me that everything won't always go your way. And that's okay as long as the whole squad is happy. It taught me that being the best wasn't everything. Having the respect from you squad is so much more important. About 2 weeks ago I tried out for the college I'll be attending squad. I'll be a freshman in the fall and also a cheerleader. So I guess the moral to this article would have to be never give up. Things won't always go your way, but that's okay. As long as your squad is happy you should be too. So whenever you fill discouraged just think there's always something better that you can achieve.

Average Grade: C+

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	katie	22-Jun-07

it isn't an award to win.

	Em =]	11-Jun-07

I was a co-captain last year and now I'm captain. It's certainly something to work for, and if you achieve it, that's great. No need to put other captains down with you.

	katie	05-Jun-07

for someone whose profile says reading is one of their hobbies, you sure have bad spelling. it's "captain" and "responsibility." sorry if i sound harsh for pointing it out, but you know cheerleaders have a bad reputation for being stupid, so it bugs me when a cheerleader on here actually does come off as stupid...

	kylie	30-May-07

Being caption is overrated because you have so much responably and get all the blame when things go wrong .Just forget about it and do you thing girl!!!!

	katie	29-May-07

winning is awesome. but you win with your team. being captain isn't an award you win.

	Road-Roamer	22-May-07

Winning isn't everything...it makes you do things better the next time, yes. But losing also gives u a big drive to look forward and put more effort to actually win...

	Kay	21-May-07

I wanted to cheer when I was little but I never did; however, your message extends to things besides cheerleading. Very article =)

	. alex .	20-May-07

I was never into cheerleading, but I like how you pointed out that winning isn't everything.

	katie	15-May-07

you're right. being best isn't everything - it's the only thing. haha just kidding... being captain also doesn't mean you're the best. the coach picked captains on my squad based on how mature the person was and how much time they're willing to spend outside of practice ing him. it also depends on how well the squad listens to the person, so we usually had at least one guy captain because they can usually keep everyone under control better than a girl. considering the fact that you "cried for hours" because you didn't get captain makes me think you probably weren't mature enough to be the captain anyway. being captain doesn't mean your the best, it doesn't mean you're the most popular, it isn't an award. it simply means you your coach keep things in order. i'm guessing the squad you cheered for wasn't a competitive squad, or at least a very good competitive squad. on the very competitive squads there isn't so much drama as to who gets captain. we understand it's not an award and it doesn't mean that person is the best on the squad. they don't get special treatment because everyone is there to work hard toward one goal - being their best at competition. i was a captain for my all-star squad as a senior in high school. i was one of the best, but probably not THE best on the squad. but i was one of the hardest working people on the squad. our coach did his job well and kept things together at practice, so all we really did as captains was keep the morale up at practice when things get stressful before competitions, keep people round up during a competition, etc. and mainly we just lead by example. we didn't boss people around or get onto them if they were slacking. that's the coach's job. but it s for younger girls to see someone doing what they're supposed to do at practice and working hard. it encourages others to do so as well. then i got to college and was still one of the best on the squad. probably even more than in all-star. but UCO has a very competitive program and has won many NCA National titles, so no one's mind is even on who gets captain. i cheered 3 years at UCO and never was captain and never cared. everyone on our squad was too concerned with the big picture - competition - to even worry about petty things like who gets to be captain. being captain is not an award. i wish people, especially high school cheerleaders because that seems to be where it's most prominent, would realize this.