By: Alexis LeMieux

At any boys and girls basketball games, you’ll see cheerleaders supporting the court athletes with chants and stunts. The sideline cheerleaders are part of a team known as Game Day cheer.

There are a lot of different parts to Game Day cheer.

“Game Day is true cheer, designed to get crowd involvement, and uses a lot of different props for that to happen,” coach Debi Schwieterman said.

“There are four different Game Day cheer pieces,” senior Game Day cheerleader Katelyn Griffin said.

Game Day cheer is still a difficult sport to get down.

“The athleticism and mental toughness required of the cheerleaders for memorizing, learning and relearning multiple routines, jumps, tumbling, and stunting is much more impressive from when I first started, and even when I cheered many years ago,” Schwieterman said.

But that doesn’t mean it can be any less enjoyable.

“My season has been an interesting one,” Griffin said. “I’ve definitely have had a fun time with my senior teammates and competing in competitions.”

But what’s the second part to cheer? It’s putting it all together.

“I enjoy how the routine looks simple and clean, but a lot goes into making it look that way,” Schwieterman said.

A lot goes into making the perfect routine. “I love that they take feedback from the coaches and judges and self evaluate to find ways to improve the routine and their own performance throughout the season,” Schwieterman said.

But why do do Game Day cheer?

“I thought it would be a fun experience,” Griffin said. “And, I’ve done comp cheer before, so I knew I liked cheering, but it was also different because it is Game Day cheer.”

In addition to the enjoyment factor, it is a good teaching experience.

“I have learned patience and teamwork during Game Day,” Griffin said.

“There is always room for improvement; there are always ways to be better. One rough performance doesn’t define the team or the season,” Schwieterman said. “It’s been awesome to experience all the changes as it continues to evolve. One thing that has not changed is the girls’ dedication and determination to adjust and improve.”