Despite only joining cheer during this ‘23 school year, Breniah Richardson ‘26 has managed to be a clinical part of the Cheer Team, usually being in almost every stunt as one of the back spots. She started gaining interest in cheerleading during her freshman year, but it was too late to join.
“I think I’m really good at using my voice and helping out in stunts, and so far it’s really fun. I felt welcomed almost immediately and everyone’s always trying new things and pushing each other to better ourselves. Another plus are the cute uniforms,” Richardson said.
Richardson believes that cheerleading has changed her perspective for the best.
“I never knew I could push myself this much and actually enjoy it, therefore it made me much more proud and confident within myself. It [has] also made me realize for myself that cheer is not as easy as people make it [seem] to be. We really do give it our all,” she said.
With confidence and pride surging through the young cheer team, they’ve started creating new stunts that have had a great impact on the team’s overall performance.
“We don’t actually have a name for this stunt right now, but it’s currently called ‘Dayshia’s Flippy Kick’. We put a lot of effort into this stunt, [and] seeing the outcome just makes me smile inside out,” Richardson said.
On top of that, Cheer recently started getting more recognition this year, including a feature in the fall pep rally displaying their first hype video this year and a new gym to practice in. However with all these positives, there always comes a negative. The Cheer Team is an extremely undervalued program at City that often gets looked down upon. Many students at City High tend to forget that cheer is still a significant program at City, and lack respect towards many cheerleaders, especially during football season. Students will usually throw items, yell at, and clearly disrespect cheerleaders.
“We are athletes too and I feel like a lot of people don’t see that, which is sickening, we put just as much effort in just as other sports do, probably even more. We deserve to be treated equally,” Richardson says.
And on top of that, cheerleaders have to pay hundreds of dollars towards equipment which almost no other sports teams at City High experience. But despite these struggles, Richardson tries to promote positivity towards her teammates and focus on the strong future the young team has.
“Staying out of drama, no matter how tempting it may be, is always beneficial in the end since it always circles back. It’s not worth it and our team is a family, we should be treated as such. We all trust and love each other so there’s no real reason for drama anyway,” Richardson says. “We just try to stay happy and be true to ourselves.”
