She steps out onto the sidelines under the bright lights of the football field. Her home team is about to make a touchdown, and it’s time to get the student section pumped. She can feel the energy from the crowd and hear the voices of her fellow cheerleaders as they encourage their team to win the game. 

Sophomore Bella Cash started cheer leading when she was in the seventh grade. From the very beginning, she loved being able to show off her school spirit every week.

“I think a cheerleader should have leadership qualities,” Cash said. “[They] need to be able to stand up for what they believe in.”

Cheer has become a family outlet for Cash throughout her years of cheering. She loves that she can count on her friends for encouragement and support.

“You can definitely rely on and trust your friends for a lot,” Cash said. “When you’re being thrown in the air for a stunt, you’re counting on those people to catch you.”

As a team, Cash believes everyone needs to work on listening to one another better.

“We all want to voice our opinions,” Cash said. “If we can learn to listen to how everyone feels, it would really help.”

Cash feels that cheerleaders have a standard they must meet.

“Being a cheerleader means you’re always being watched,” Cash said. “Anything you do leads people to create an opinion about you as a cheerleader and how other cheerleaders are looked at.”

She teaches kids outside of school about the fundamentals of her sport.

“I love being able to teach little kids how to be spirited leaders,” Cash said. “It’s good to start at a young age so that they can carry it on with them as they get older.”

Cash appreciates her loved ones coming out to cheer her on every week.

“My friends and family come out to support me at almost every game or pep rally,” Cash said. “They all shout my name on the sidelines and tell me to keep up the good work.”

She hopes to achieve in making sure more people have school spirit every day. She plans on doing so by making sure she herself has school spirit as a role model for her peers.

“Slacking off on spirit themes would be poor on my part,” Cash said. “I think that that’s one of the main points of being a cheerleader is to show spirit and be an inspiration to others.”

During busy weeks of cheer, Cash has practice every day. She, and all of the other cheerleaders, make spirit posters for the school to show support for other sports.

“It can be hectic at times,” Cash said. “We are especially busy when there’s a pep rally because we have to make sure that our routine is down and that we have everything ready to get everyone excited.”

When Cash graduates high school, she doesn’t plan on pursuing a career in cheer leading, but she does plan to keep coaching younger kids on the side.

“I’d love to keep some aspect of cheer apart of my life even when I’m older,” Cash said. “It’s had such a big impact on my life, and I don’t want to have to let it go.”