Wimps lift Weights, Cheerleaders lift People

[Andie Simone]

Andie made her way from Blue House and into the gymnasium. It was bitter winter days like that that made her oh so pleased that she had thrown a hissy all those years ago and demanded that the cheerleaders be given their own studio. The floor wasn't right in the main gymnasium - unless they were cheering for a game - and they couldn't use the field this time of the year. It was also great for the days when it was raining at other times of the year.

The year coach pulled her brunette hair up into a high pony tail as she walked over to the stereo and slipped a cassette into it, yes, people do still use cassette tapes. She was going to get the girls to work on a beep test that day. It started out slow so that they would progress from walking to sprinting over the ten minutes it lasted. The girls that didn't reach the line before the beep would have to sit out the rest of the test. Though sitting out actually meant that they would start their stretches by doing chin-ups.

Practice was being held a little later than normal today, due to the captain having choir. Andie would have been upset if Cortney had had another sports engagement (mounted games excluded), but she wouldn't hold choir against the girl.

Once the girls had arrived, Andie didn't waste any time getting down to business. "Congratulations to our newest members; Blythe, and Brooke. Remember that being part of the squad now means that you are a part of a team, something that should not be forgotten. We are going to start our warm up by doing a ten minute beep test." She pointed to the line at the front of the room and the other at the back. "If the stereo beeps before you get from one line to the other, you will be required to step out of the exercise and go and do chin-ups. Once you have done ten chin-ups, you can go onto stretching." She walked over to the stereo. "Lining up on the line at the front please, and start at a walk. And go!" She pushed play and went to set on one of the benches. As soon as the warm-up was over, she'd hand the floor over to the squad's captain.

Here:
Adonya van Rutherford
@running7
Cortney Smit

Not here:
@brookem

[Cortney Smit]

After choir finished, Cortney raced to the gymnasium and then skidded into the cheer studio. She arched her eyebrows to see that she was the first squad member to arrive - not that she was in any way late as Mr Everett had let them out earlier than she had arranged practice with Andie.

Leaving her shoes on, she sat down on the large padded floor and began to stretch out, stopping when their coach began to speak. The cheer captain released a groan at the idea of doing a beep test.

Rising to her feet, she walked to the line they were told to go to and as soon as Andie gave them the go, she started toward the other line. The test was easy to start off with, she just had to pick up her pace a bit each time she went from one end of the studio to the other. However, as she was sprinting from the back of the room to the front, her foot slipped and she lost her footing. Cortney was sure that she had managed to recover, but just as she was bending to touch the line, the beep sounded. With a shake of her head, disappointed with herself, she headed over to the bar on the wall for them to do chin-ups.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe had worked hard at her homework, just to finish it before cheer practice, but then, it had taken a bit longer than she had thought. Whirling through her changing into cheer clothes, she finished in less time she had thought, making up the time. After pulling her hair up into a high pony-tail, she locked the door, knowing that Cortney would probably already be in the studio, and made her way towards the gym.

Entering, she saw that she had been right. She brushed off her shoes, making sure that nothing had gotten on them that might dirty the mats, then made her way to a spot and started stretching. When the actual practice started, she listened to Andie, nodding at the mention of team. It seemed a strong part of cheer coaches, they loved reminding their cheerleaders of that fact.

However, the next news was not as nice. She hated beep-tests, but then, probably, who wouldn't? Of course, the coaches, but they didn't have to do it. She lined up on the line, though, and started slowly, giving herself some time to loosen up before she started sprinting. However, it was about two thirds of the way through when she heard the beep as she was just a stride away from the line. Biting her tongue to keep from cursing, she walked over to the bar and hoisted herself up, angrily working through a time and a half of chin ups, working out her frustration, then dropped and moved back to stretching.

[Deleted]

With being new to the academy Caroline had an interest in becoming part of the cheerleading squad. She was one in her last school and enjoyed every second of it. She had received a note from the coach that told her to come to the next practice and see how it went. Not arguing about it, Caroline slipped into her cheer shorts, an athletic shirt, her cheer shoes and a sweatshirt and was off to the gym. The cold air made her strongly regret not wearing sweatpants, but it was too late at that point.

She entered the gym and took her spot on the mat and began to stretch. Listening to Andie, the coach, Caroline tried to spot the three girls’ names who she had called out as new members of the squad. When she heard the warm -up she sort of chuckled internally, this stuff was fairly easy. She had little to no problem to a beep test. Chin-ups weren’t her favorite thing to do, but they weren’t that hard either.

Lining up on the line took a look at the girls who were there with her and as Andie told them to go Caroline did as was told. She walked the first one easily and then continued on until she was at full sprint. Her heart was beating quickly and she focused too much on breathing that she got a late start and didn’t reach the line in time. Moving over to the bar for her chin-ups she did her ten and went on to more stretching.

outfit

[Andie Simone]

Andie supervised from where she was sitting by the stereo, she knew that a beep test wasn't anyone's idea of fun, but it was good way to get the heart pumping. She mentally noted how many lengths each girl did before moving off to do the chin-ups and then stretching. She also paid close attention to the girl who had entered last, and, although she was the coach, she hoped that Cortney wouldn't be annoyed that she had invited the girl to come along without speaking with the captain first. Andie also noted the ones who hadn't shown up, yet.

She leisurely rose to her feet and walked to the front of the room again. "That was really good work." She said with a bright smile. "I'm now going to hand the floor over to your captain and she'll talk you through what she wants you to do next." Andie gestured for the junior to step forward and take charge. The coach decided that the best thing about being coach was the fact that she could hand the reins over to the captain any time she wanted. Her job was basically just to supervise the girls, making sure they didn't kill themselves - or each other on some days - and to offer advice if Cortney needed it when constructing new routines.

[Cortney Smit]

Cortney was really getting into her stretches, moving into straddle splits and reaching forward so that her torso was on the ground and her arms stretched along the mat above her head, when she heard their coach speak up. She sat up and pushing weight onto her hands, she lifted her legs off the floor, tucked her knees between her arms and stood up that way, wincing a little as her wrist moved in a direction it wasn't supposed to, and walked over to her bag where she removed a disk. "I've been working on a new routine." She said, sounding more confident than she felt as she walked over to the stereo and slipped the disk into the player. "I'll give you a run through of the dance and gymnastics, and then talk you through where all the lifts will be done." She walked up to the front centre and nodded her head toward their coach and waited, side on to the rest of the squad with her head down, silently counting herself in. As soon as the music started, she went straight into it.

About half way through the music, she stopped dancing. "This is where we all come together and really get our flyers, flying with some good lifts." She explained before she went back to dancing. The routine finally finished with her sitting on the ground. She rose to her feet with a shrug as she walked back over to her bag and pulled out her clip board and encouraged the others to come closer. "As you can see, not everyone will be dancing to start off with as we'll have supports and flyers before we all come in." As she knew that some of the girls weren't so great with their gymnastic skills.

---

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pkw9bFm96Ek

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe finished the stretch that she had been doing when she heard Andie's voice, then rolled over to sit, facing the coach. She wasn't really surprised to hear that they would be looking at a new routine, after all, it was hard not to know when her roommate kept listening to the same song over and over again. She rose as Cortney put a disk to the cd player and moved to where she'd be able to see the routine easier. She nodded slightly as she watched, trying to remember the main phases of the routine rather than every move, which would be impossible.

When Cortney had finished her routine and called them over, she approached, finding a spot where she could easily see the clipboard, before Cortney began to explain. She tried to visualize what they would look like as a team, before she nodded, seeing the sense in this routine, "Sounds like fun! When do we get to start, Cap?" Since their first meeting, which hadn't ended too well, Blythe was happy to stand behind Cortney, at least for these two years. There was no telling what would happen afterwards, but for now, she was happy not to have the extra work that Cortney had to deal with.

[Deleted]

As she finished stretching out Andie praised the girls and let the captain take over practice. Caroline listened as the girl told them about a new routine that she had been working on. The redhead always loved learning new things, especially for cheer. Her eyes were glued to the captain as she walked to the stereo and then began to dance.

The fifteen year old didn’t really have a specific position on her last cheer squad, with it being a small high school, the squad was small and she really went wherever they needed her, whether it was support, flyer, or something else.

Continuing to watch the girl standing in front of them, she tired her very hardness to remember all of the moves in the first time around. Caroline took note of where the fliers would be a big part of the routine.

The girl shyly walked towards the captain and the other squad member, she wasn’t a shy person to begin with but it didn’t help that she didn’t know anyone other than the message that she had received from the coach. At this point Caroline tried her best to remember if Andie had stated the captain’s name that way she didn’t feel completely stupid and just as the other girl asked of when they started it came to her, Cortney. She said internally as she pictured the note in her mind.

[Andie Simone]

Andie watched Cortney go through the dance sequence of the new routine. She had seen the girl go through it when the cheerleader had come to see her and get her opinion on the routine, but the girl seemed to transform when she was performing in front of other people - which told her why Sara had thought the junior was such a good choice for captaincy and like Andie herself Cortney would hold that title for two years.

The coach turned the stereo off when the song had finished and Cortney began to speak. She stood back, as she knew what was on the paper - she had helped the girl draw it up.

Once things had quietened down, and Andie was about to get the girls to do some strength training, she look at her watch. "Man, time does fly when you're having fun." She commented. "Unless you lot want to eat outside, you had better shower, change and head to the café." The squad had been in here for almost two hours, which was a pretty good day's practice even if they hadn't done much. "Next time we meet, you will be assigned your positions for the routine, now scram." Andie hardly wanted the other faculty members looking at her when thinking of the cheerleaders missing their meal times. After all she occupied enough of their lunchtimes.

[Cortney Smit]

The exhilaration the head cheerleader had felt when she was working through the routine seemed to evaporate now that it was over and she was the centre of attention with the clipboard she was holding. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her inner Myriam and gave the squad a bright smile. She wiggled her eyebrows at her room-mate's question. "Next practice." She promised the other girl. "That'll give us time to work out who would work best where." She added with a nod, knowing that Andie would have a better idea of that then she did.

Her eyebrows flew up at their coach's next words. "Already?" She exclaimed as she looked at her watch, though the grumbling in her stomach told her exactly how long it had been since lunchtime, and with choir before cheer, she hadn't managed to grab anything to snack on between classes and her after school activities. "Yes, next time we'll be able to start working through everything. I'm going to be mean though and everyone is going to learn the dance and tumbling before we get to incorporating the flyers." She grinned at the girls. "Laters lovelies" She took the clipboard back over to her bag and grabbed the drink bottle before taking a long drink, and pulling a face at the lukewarm water.