Essay On Ms. Traska

"Let's go Blue Devils!", "Fire it up big blue!", "We're number one!", "Let's goooo!” All of those sayings are extremely familiar to just about anyone. You instantly are taken back to high school and being under those Friday night lights. You remember the smell of the grass, the sound of the band, and cheering along with everyone else in the stands. Then you see it, or her. The cheer captain. The "most perfect girl in school". You are either one of two things at this age: the guy wanting to be her boyfriend or the girl wanting to be her.

It was the moment I had been practicing for. I was finally going to try out for my middle school cheer team and hopefully make it. I was so excited I could barely focus on my classes that day. I had run through all of the steps at least 50 times that day.

I am a firm believer that strong leaders can either make or break an athlete’s career. Talented mentors have the rare ability to transform a stubborn and/or tired mind to one reborn with the hunger to continue. It is an amazing feat when thought about; how could one person make such a mammoth impact that he/she could completely change someone’s thoughts?

Being a cheerleader takes a positive attitude and the willingness to work hard! It takes commitment, self-discipline, and dedication. It takes energy and skill and it takes each of us working together to be our very best!

(Credibility) Throughout my career as a student, many professors have come and gone and have been loved and hated, but none has had a greater impact then Mrs. Tina Hearne, my Biology teacher.

Some of the fundamental qualities required to be a successful cheerleader counter the stereotypes constantly perpetuated in media. The mean-girl stereotype does not exactly fit this narrative of them working hard and supporting athletes to performing complexed stunting and tumbling, and the memorization of chants and routines. It is unfortunate that the majority of cheer-related representation does not reflect reality, and paints the athletes in an unfavorable light, because the millions of girls who cheer are unable to identify with positive role models or even multi-dimensional people. I feel that film and television should try to depict these characters in a more positive light. These characters should be more dynamic and we shouldn't generalize

As a student athlete, I have learned to use failure as an opportunity to learn. The moments in which I have "failed" have only helped me grow and reflect on the mistakes that not only I have made, but also those made by others. I was forced to do this multiple times throughout my final season of high school field hockey. Even though the team had players who were devoted and had a true desire to win, the season ended as a losing record in the books. As the primary goalie and captain, this was extremely difficult to accept. However, I began to see the game as more than just a win or a loss. Losing gave the team the opportunity to closely look at what we did well, and what we needed to improve on. We were then able to focus more precisely on what we needed to do in order to succeed. I was able to learn that being successful and winning were not necessarily the same thing. We had success in a smaller sense; we worked as a team, played clean games and were noted for our sportsmanship. Although our record did not improve much, the overall attitude and skill of the team began to rise. We began to play for each other, instead of just playing for ourselves. This change was astronomical for the overall well being of the team.

Have you ever grown to dislike something that you once loved? And I don’t mean something you liked that one day you just got bored of. I mean you loved this it was you whole life, then over time you just built up a hatred for this once great thing. For me this would be football. I still love to watch and talk about football, but I could never play the sport again. Keep in mind I finished out high school football, but I stopped liking it years ago. I think that is because during football I have built friendships and connections that will last a lifetime.

List all leadership roles you have held that pertain to cheerleading captain. (Example: teaching/leading others, choreography, years of experience, etc.)

I tried to avoid looking at the other teams practicing as I walked to the arena, I needed to focus on my routine. When I entered the HP Field House filled with 11,000 cheerleaders and spectators, my stomach sank and nerves hit me instantly. I started running through our routine and warming up stunts and tumbling. Before we stepped on the mat, we huddled together and my coach said, “You’ve got two minutes and thirty seconds to leave your mark. That’s all you need. Embrace it. Cherish it. Conquer it. Make it count.” The host of the event lead us up to the stage area where we waited to perform. This is the most stressful part of competing: waiting behind the curtain, hearing the music of the other teams performing, listening to the crowd screaming,

During my years at Peoria Notre Dame HS, cheerleading has been a big part of my life, and something I hope to continue at the University of Dayton. I am an outgoing and social person and it’s easy for me to learn routines quickly. As captain for both the JV and varsity squads, I have put together multiple award winning routines, selecting the music, choreographing and teaching the routine to the squad. Besides the actual cheer routines, I have used my communication skills to keep squad members and their parents informed. I try to set a good example with my own behavior, I love helping to create enthusiasm for cheerleading in young kids, and I have learned a lot from mediating issues within the team. I think I could put all these things together

While participating in athletics at Batavia I believe my greatest contributions to the team were my work ethic and positivity. I may not have always been been the best athlete, but my teammates could always count on me to work as hard as I possibly could. No matter how hard a practice or game was, I always tried to inspire and motivate my teammates by working hard myself and encouraging them to keep pushing themselves.

“I have to work.” Four words. But they flipped my world upside down. My baseball coach looked at me, annoyed and slightly shocked. He responded and said, “If you choose work, don’t bother coming back to baseball again.” That response left me with a difficult decision, since Chris, my boss, needed me to work. I’ve worked under Chris as a caddie at a golf course. Over the years we have built a strong relationship. Chris is writing my letter of recommendation and endorsing me for scholarships. Do I go to practice and blow off Chris and a job that I’ve had for more than four years or do I go to work and give up the sport that I’ve played for twelve?

They taught fifth and sixth grade. All three of these teachers came from the same school and regularly combined their classes for lessons. They shared their free periods and came outside to play with us every day at recess. Of course, some kids were better at physical activity than others, but these teachers made sure no one was felt inferior. It was the only time I ever enjoyed school recess.

A time in my life that I have had to come together with other people to solve differences would be in cheerleading. There were thirteen girls, all with very different personalities and opinions. Like most cases, our personalities clashed at times, resulting in conflict. Most of the time we were able to resolve our conflicts, but when it came down to our homecoming routine, there was a lot of tension between us all. It is difficult to balance school and cheer at the same time, especially around the time of homecoming. We often had long, stressful practices that left us feeling weak and drained. Our muscles had no time to recuperate from the constant lifting and stretching, since we would practice every day. We all brought many different talents and strengths to the team, as well as weaknesses.