We Talkin' About Practice - Connor, Cheer Co-Captain

A couple of years ago, Allen Iverson was just as popular with his “practice” press conference as Charlie Sheen is today with his “winning” interview. Both cheer and dance have something in common with Iverson, lately we have had practice about as many times as Iverson said it in the video.

However, contrary to what Iverson said, for us practice is everything. We don’t have games every week. We have one game each year, nationals. People may think we push ourselves when we are performing down in Daytona. False, Daytona is a breeze. Rather, practices are where we push ourselves. We practice hard four times a week so that nationals is easier for us. Especially now, practice is getting more intense. People have been injured. People have quit. People have gotten angry. Still, we keep going and we keep pushing. We push to the point of exhaustion and frustration, yet we come back the next day ready to do what is required and then some.

Practices are rough, and the only thing that hasn’t made us go crazy or quit by now is our bond as a team. Regardless of how we feel in practice, we are still good friends. We can joke around with each other. More importantly, we can turn our pain and soreness into points of laughter and fun among us. Our shared aches bring us closer together. Each practice brings new bruises, cuts, and sore muscles, but it also brings a stronger bond. And that’s something we’re all willing to sacrifice for.

Looks like I’m almost as bad as Iverson. I said practice 10 times. But then again we talkin’ about practice.