Ellie Kim

Jolie Baylon (12), Stella Phelan (12), Danica Reed (11), and Julianne Diaz (11) [left to right] stunt with clinic participants at halftime, Sept. 5. Sixty elementary- and middle-schoolers performed.

The cheerleaders came forward, leading a line of 60 young girls behind them. With everyone in position, the cheerleaders counted off, “Five, six, seven, eight!” The voices of young aspiring cheerleaders and their wolverine mentors rose in unison , echoing into the black hole. They cheered “Wolverines in the front” to kick off Westview’s post-first quarter cheer.

Cheer hosted the first day of its annual Cheer Clinic four days prior to the game, leading elementary and middle school students through two days of learning a halftime routine. The clinic was led by cheer captains Stella Phelan (12), Mia Ainekulu (12), Jade Becker (12) and Charlotte Long (12).

The cheerleaders started with teaching them the basic cheers before breaking the children into two groups based on age to ensure that everyone could learn and perform at a suitable pace. Kids in fourth grade and older were placed in one group while the younger kids were in another. The group of students in fourth grade or older were set to cheer for the whole first half of the game, while the younger kids cheered for only one quarter.

Although they performed at different points in the game, everyone at the clinic was taught the same cheer. 

“[We taught] all of them ‘Wolverines in the front’ to perform between 1st and 2nd quarter.” Long said. 

To make sure the kids felt prepared for the performance, the captains recorded videos in advance of the group rehearsals conducted at the clinic, which broke down steps of the routine for the children to follow. This allowed the kids to continue practicing the cheers outside of the few in-person practices.

Long said that helping the kids come out of their shell and feeling their love for the sport was the most rewarding moment of the entire experience.

“It was fun getting to know them all. They’re pretty timid at first, but they like it, and they look up to us so much.” she said. “Seeing the little kids and their passion when they’re saying those cheers with all their might, they just love it so much, it’s fun to see,” Long said. 

For the kids, stunting quickly became a highlight of the clinic for the kids. According to Long, the little girls were eager to fly. Due to the surplus of kids begging to be in the air, Long said the cheer team came up with a variety of different stunts for them to do. 

“We came up with an idea for a stunt that we could do at the game, [where a girl] would do a one-foot stunt,” Long said. “You tell them to wave and smile and they love it so much.” 

Becker said that in addition to teaching children the routines, the clinic also allowed the young girls to explore their passion for cheer and see if they want to continue it in the future.

“We’re promoting Westview Cheer for our next generation,” Becker said. “It’s really cool to see all these girls so passionate about cheerleading. This process really teaches empathy for little girls to know about cheering others on, and the importance of being a cheerleader and leading your school and school spirit.”

The clinic was especially heartwarming for Becker, who had the chance to mentor a few girls whom she had previously babysat and taught gymnastics to at YMCA. Becker said it was very meaningful for her to see the kids she’d known for so long grow into young cheerleaders right before her eyes. 

“A few of them went to the clinic because they already had gymnastic backgrounds, and they fell in love with it,” Becker said. “The girls that I’ve been babysitting since they were 3 years old did the clinic. I feel like they’re almost like my little sisters. They’d always ask me about cheer, they’d think it was so cool, and now that [they’re] old enough to do the clinics, it’s cute to see them do the cheer and just be so happy and confident in front of the Black Hole.”

As the girls left the track and the game pressed on, the sound of the crowd’s cheers still hung in the air. For many of the young girls, it was their first taste of Friday Night Lights. 

Becker explained the impact the clinic had on the kids. “I feel like they definitely want to cheer in the future now, and have that love for something that’s greater beyond yourself,” she said. “Cheering is not just about yourself, it’s about making other people’s night more lively and cheering on your team and cheering on the school.”