Leadership through sports
Perhaps the most defining thing in my life is cheerleading. Cheerleading became so much more than a sport for me; it became an outlet for self expression, a safe space for communication, and a passion that could distract me from whatever stressors I was designated.
From the moment I took my first steps, I was flipped and tossed in the air by my older sister, who pioneered the cheer "gene" in our family (as we call it). By the time I was 5 years old, I had already mastered the back-handspring, and at 8 I was throwing layouts and working on twisting flips. My parents quickly realized I had a gift for flipping my body, and that I had far surpassed the talents of those in my beginner or intermediate tumbling classes. It was then that they decided to put me in a sport referred to as Power Tumbling and Trampoline. After just a few practices, I knew I had found a passion. I wanted nothing more than to be at practice, sharpening my technique and increasing my level of skill. It was here that I was introduced to values such as patience, persistence, determination, and discipline; all attributes that have followed me to this day. I continued power tumbling from my earlier childhood into middle school, by which time I had a serious level of skill in a body that stood no taller than 4 and a half feet. It was in middle school when I finally succumbed to the idea of being a cheerleader.
Truthfully, I resented cheerleading during my time as a power tumbler. I, like many others, felt it wasn't a legitimate sport and undermined similar ones. Though I now stand overly corrected. Towards the end of middle school, I tried out and made a level 5 competition cheerleading team. Though this team was far from technically perfect, or even decent difficulty-wise, I fell madly in love with competitive cheerleading. It was here that I was introduced to performing for large crowds, something that caused me major anxiety. Though, as I continued practicing and gaining confidence, I conquered my fears and became a top performer on the team. This was the beginning of one of the many positive lessons to be learned from the sport. After a few months, cheer had engulfed my life. I was absorbed in it and my only goal was to be the best athlete I could be. Tumbling was my specialty, and it made me a spectacle among the low level teams of my local gyms. I thrived off of the validation that cheer gave me, it drove me to achieve greatness within the sport and eventually make a very prestigious, globally recognized high-level team.
Among the many amazing goals I've reached within this sport, perhaps the greatest of the lessons I learned from cheerleading came from a gym located in Columbus, Georgia.
During my freshman year of high school, I decided to leave my previous gym and move over to United Cheerleading. A 25 minute drive into Columbus that would eventually have the most significant impact on my life thus far. I entered the gym with skills that very few of the other athletes had even seen firsthand. It was because of this, of my skillset, that I was able to become something that I never thought possible. I became a leader. My first few seasons at United, I led by example. Constantly executing my skills with good technique and confidence. It was during this time that I became more outspoken and comfortable around people, as my constant involvement with my teammates helped me to understand the importance of human relationships and trusting others. During these few seasons I also reached beyond tumbling and began to practice stunting. I quickly became enamored with stunting, basing in particular, and it became muscle memory. Eventually I had not only achieved a wild number of tumbling skills, but was able to execute high level stunts with perfect technique. Stunting instilled the value of trust in me, as I was trusting the other members of my stunt group to execute each skill to perfection, or good enough that we could avoid dropping the flyer.
After a few years in the program, I had grown into an outspoken and confident athlete who led his team not only by example, but with words. Outside of cheer, I was (and still am) extremely shy and quiet. Though, once practice started I became a motivated and encouraging teammate who understood the value of leading those around you to success. Being a team leader also helped me to improve my skills in areas outside of cheer. I have since indulged in professional activities that require speaking or presenting in front of peers or authority figures. I have done so with a confidence and ability gifted to me through my years as a cheerleader. I'd like to thank my determination, meticulous attention to detail, and self-discipline were derived from my time in the gym as well. It is safe to say that I would be a far different person without this sport, and I will use the skillset it has provided me in all professional and social endeavors ahead.