A Look into Centenary Cheerleading
The Centenary Cheerleading squad is a very important part of Centenary’s athletics program, not only with competing but, performing at other sport events as well. The program this past year had two seniors who performed and competed for the ladies. Today I interviewed senior Avery Cauley to get a look into cheerleading while at Centenary. Avery has been a part of the Cheer program for all 4 years of her college career. She is a Political Science major with minors in both History and Business, and graduated this spring as part of the Class of 2025:
NT: How is it being a senior at Centenary?
AC: It's good! Senioritis definitely kicks in sometimes, but it went by so fast and it it also very stressful because you have to figure out what you are going to do when you get out.
NT: What was it like being a cheerleader in college?
AC: Originally I didn't come to Centenary for cheer, I initially came for gymnastics but it wasn't the right fit. But I loved Centenary so I stayed and got introduced to cheer and they loved me because I was able to tumble and do flips. At first it was a lot and it took awhile to adjust, because at first they wanted to throw me up in the air and I definitely wasn't used to that. I eventually ended up getting used to it and it became second nature.
NT: What is it like for you as a student athlete?
AC: Its definitely hard because of how much we travel. Additionally we start early and end late because we have to cheer for fall sports, spring sports, and do our own competitions. So we go all year long and there really isn't a whole lot of breaks. I think the biggest thing you have to get early is definitely time management, and once you get that down you will be set.
NT: How is competitive cheer scored?
AC: We compete for game day, which is the traditional cheer style you see on the sidelines at football games or at a basketball game. So we go to the competition and the judges judge based on the amount of tumbling, flips, presentation, and how crisp our formations are, additionally we could get a higher score from doing a more difficult formation or stunt.
Thank you Avery for the interview.
