Cheerleading is an intense sport where the dancers put in massive amounts of dedication into everything they do. Regardless, though, most people only think of it as glitz and glam.

“I know it takes a lot of hard training to become a cheerleader. I mean if you look at one of my favorite teachers in this whole school, Mr. Snow, he is an ex-gymnast, and I know they had to be strong to put up with him,” said junior Taylor Davis.

Freshman Tristan Slack said it takes a lot of exercise to be able to do all the jumps and cheers.

“Cheerleaders they do the same thing as basketball players and football players and like in P.E excercicse and stuff,” said freshman Race Perry.

Junior Taylor Davis isn’t sure cheerleaders qualify as a sport like football or soccer.

“I’m sure some of the girls in our school are gonna hate me for this one but, they don’t go through the same amount of training and harder training that we do and I know that they’re not the ones sitting out there during the summer doing what were having to do,” said Davis.

Student teacher Mike Gwen, who has worked with cheerleader said he thinks cheerleading is a sport

“I think it is very intense,” said Gwen. “I think it’s a great workout it takes a lot of skill and ability to be able to do it. They are very intense they work out very hard,”

As fun as cheerleading may seem there are injuries involved with it, approximately 25,000 cheerleaders end up in the emergency room per season for broken bones, sprains, and fractures.

“I think cheerleading has maybe more accidents and injuries than football, combined, because of the stunts we do and stuff, and it definitely should be considered a sport,” said coach Stacy Cramblett.

Despite the risk of injury, it doesn’t stop the girls from doing there very best with everything they do.

“The girls are just such great kids I mean their just some of the best girls in school and they make good grades, and we have such high standards in our cheerleading program, I just really get a good count of kids. Really I don’t have to encourage them that much, I think they know its such an honor to be a Searcy high school cheerleader that they try their best all the time,” said Cramblett.

These girls are super hard workers and do what they do very well; dancing is even contagious just ask the band.