BY MADDI RIVERS, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD- Crowds yelling, loud music playing, suddenly it all goes quiet, the only thing heard is: “next up is Blythewood Bengals.” The pressure is on now. Time to show everyone.
The 2015 Varsity Cheer team at Blythewood High School is full of leaders and very talented athletes. There are five main positions on the team, head coach, two captains, and two co-captains.
Every year, in early June, when the team has already been selected, the team is asked to vote their top three choices to help lead the team.
Being captain takes many of responsibility and maturity, senior Cicely Ford was lucky enough to be elected Head Captain this year to help the team succeed as best it can.
IMPROVEMENTS MADE THIS YEAR
“I think I have improved the cheer team by adding some flavor to the team. I have offered my heart and soul into everything I do so that we can achieve our goals as a team,” Ford said.
To many of the girls, being captain means many different things, it could be a test to see how some girls can handle power, or a test of people’s maturity levels with having to deal with everyone's different personalities.
“Being a captain means to me that I am the one that my teammates look up to and that i have to be the example for a lot of things. Being captain is something that I cherish and will love to tell my kids about,” Ford said
Many of the girls feel Cicely is a good friend and a good leader.
“I think Cicely is very good as a captain,” junior Mallory Durig said. “She is understanding and helpful. She is also a good friend therefore making it easier for some of the teammates to confront her about issues they have with the team or anyone specifically on the team. She is very demanding however she is not mean to the extent where people are scared of her,” Durig said.
NOT ONLY A TITLE
Being captain is not just a title, being captain comes with many responsibilities.
“My main responsibilities are to make sure that nobody feels left out or nobody is feeling like one is better than the other because we are all learning” Ford said.
On the cheer team the topic of how will the captains and co captains maintain not stepping over the head coach or the other captains.
“I handle not stepping over my coach by asking her for the answer and her opinion before telling the team to do something,” Ford said.
Many of the cheerleaders feel having Ford as a captain improved the cheer team this year.
“The biggest impact Cicely has made is by increasing the moral of the team. She always knows how to boost someone's confidence and I think this helps bring us closer as a team,” freshman Perrin Niilend said.
Worries that captains would cross boundaries was a topic of discussion at the beginning of the season.
“I am capable of wanting my team to do well and be successful without having to worry about crossing boundaries because you can never have too much hope for success,” Ford says.
Ford has wanted to be captain all years of her high school cheer career. Now that she has been chosen as captain she can see the responsibilities and hard work needed.
Many people would think having the job of making sure everyone thinks positively of the captains would be difficult but if anyone ask Ford that is not the hardest part.
“Making sure everyone thinks positive of me is important but it is my main job to lead this team to victory while trying to help build up everyone’s confidence,” Ford said.
This year's cheer team has improved so much with the captain’s help.
Having a team full of leaders has helped the 2015 varsity cheer team work together and progress as a team and reach new heights.
