“Go Rhinos!” echo across the basketball court after CVHS cinches a victory in their playoff against DeBakey on Feb. 15. Smiles plaster the faces of the cheer team, white and red bows tied in their hair, as they ruffle their blue and red pom-poms, jumping up and down. Just two days earlier, the cheer team was dancing to “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan at the Valentine’s Day pep rally.
Four captains lead the CVHS Cheer Team — senior Sapphire Adams, junior Nia Covington, junior Lillie Pham and junior Jazmin Garcia. These four captains work together to balance tasks that range from games to pep rallies to school dances.
“It helps that we have four captains on the team, so not everything falls on one person. We all give each other ideas,” Adams said.
They work together to uphold this team since the team is student-led. All the choreography is the work of the captains as they research online to find stunts for the team to perform at pep rallies. However, these feats do not preclude challenges from emerging among them.
“Sometimes, there might be some disagreements here and there, but eventually we work through them and we compromise,” Pham said.
The captains meet during lunch and advocacy to organize and plan for upcoming pep rallies or games, while also resolving any issues they may encounter. Nonetheless, these meetings cannot solve problems that occur during practice.
“We do try to keep it between the captains, but sometimes [the team] hears us arguing and choose one captain’s [side] and have more respect for one captain. When that happens, we try to sit them down and remind [the team] that we’re all captains, and [they] should all respect us the same,” Adams said.
There is more to do to in keeping up the team’s morale. Adams also mentions team bonding activities like going to the park or making friendship bracelets for random people on the team to create new connections. Yet, the captains still have many more challenges to face.
“A challenge [of being a captain] is balancing time with practice that we plan for cheer, and also [time for] tests and homework,” Pham commented.
She continued with how her packed schedule consists of finishing most of her homework during school to make time for after-school practices. She then studies and finishes up more work when she gets home. This dedication to being a part of the team has formed a passion.
During the club fair her freshman year, Pham was stopped by the welcoming cheer captains at the time. They had encouraged her to join the cheer team at Carnegie.
“At first, I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t dance or do any of that,’ but when I actually tried [being a flyer] for the first time, I really liked it,” Pham commented.
These feelings that Pham had were shared amongst other incoming cheerleaders, so the captains do a lot to help support the team. Not only do the exercises they do help the team with cheering, they can also relieve their stress.
“Before games, we teach them the cheers [first], then we split them into two groups and have them do a cheer battle,” Adams said.
Adams explained how there is stress in cheer not only with being in sync and keeping their movements sharp but also on having a loud volume.
“For pep rallies, stunts are really what we try to prioritize. They spend a lot of time making sure the team has it down so that they minimize injuries. Ms. Williams is there to make sure none of us get injured and manage our safety precautions,” Pham said.
According to Adams, the team has had no major injuries this year, which is a result of their hard work. The sheer number of challenges they have faced with perseverance are a result of their passion for the sport.
Pham’s passion for cheer led her to become more involved with the team during her sophomore year as a flyer. She worked alongside previous captains more directly to achieve her goal of becoming a captain in her junior year, which she achieved. As the only flyer captain, she had to teach the team members how to stunt correctly.
“At first, it definitely wasn’t easy. I was really scared and I couldn’t even do a basic stunt,” Pham said.
She continued by mentioning how her own experiences influenced how she leads the cheerleaders now, commenting on how she would never pressure them into doing stunts that they aren’t comfortable with.
“I think as long as you like what you’re doing, you can commit and find it in your heart to do it right,” Pham said.
