By Lydia Schouten
The Concordia Cheer Team is always very involved in homecoming however this year their participation was even more crucial. Co-coach of the team Georgia Wachtler says, “the cheerleaders being involved in homecoming is really important because we want to be established as a sport.”
Becoming recognized and funded as a sport by the athletics department has been a huge aspiration for the team.
Currently, there isn’t a clear definition for what category the team falls under. “We’re stuck in this space where we’re not recognized as a sport but also no longer recognized as a club” says captain Katelynn Marquadt.
Captains used to be able to promote the team at events like Cobber-Expo like other clubs, but they couldn’t this year. So most of their promotion has been through social media.
Part of the reason why this year’s homecoming had specifically high stakes for the team was because of the re-emergence of a halftime show. The team hasn’t performed a halftime show at any game in a long time and its athleticism can demonstrate the need for the team to be recognized as a sport.
The whole team and especially the captains put a lot of effort into the development of the halftime routine.
Marquadt choreographed most of the routine herself and was very willing to do so, “coming from a dance background, this is something that I’m really passionate about and I love.”
Meanwhile captain Elsa Houge learned the whole new skill of audio editing for the benefit of the halftime performance. “I made the music mix because I knew I couldn’t do as much with the choreography” Houge said.
She also mentions, “it was a big learning curve for sure, but I wanted to help out where I could.”
After the captains worked to create the halftime show, they needed a time to rehearse as a team and since everyone is so busy, the only time was 5:30am-7am on Friday mornings.
Houge says, “we trauma bonded over those morning practices with the feeling of we’re all in this together.”
They also worked to add a larger amount of cheer stunting in both the halftime show and in general. Wachtler mentioned that all three stunt groups learned a cradle throw for the flyerswhich is when they essentially fall with a spin.
They did this new throw at the end of the halftime performance and it was very in sync.
On top of the pressure of the halftime routine, as a coach, Wachtler had high expectations for the team’s performance during homecoming. “My expectation is for them to be engaged with the crowd but in a professional manner” Wachtler says.
She values the energy that the cheerleaders need to have but also wants them to remember that everything they do reflects the whole team. Wachtler says, “You’re here to perform and do a job.”
The key to achieving this is practice and confidence. “I just want them to have fun and be confident in the material because if they’re not, it shows, there’s cameras all over and in their faces all day during homecoming” Wachtler says.
The media attention is part of why their performance is crucial during homecoming when it comes to athletic recognition. Wachtler says, “to us, this is our Super Bowl, this is our biggest show of the year because more people show up to homecoming than any other game.”
Part of being in cheer is being uniform and in sync in everything they do, but coach Wachtler also loves the individuality that comes with it too, “it’s really fun to see their personalities shine through” she says.
Wachtler also mentions that their job as coaches is to work with the athletic director, Rachel Bergeson, to talk about what it would look like to recognize and fund the team like other sports. It takes strategizing and budgeting work which is part of why the process can take a while.
Until more funding is secured for the team, members still must raise money to buy things like their cheer shoes and pom poms on their own.
Houge says, “we had a T-shirt fundraiser where we designed shirts for people to buy, and they could also donate addition additional money.”
The team has also greatly improved in size compared to when captain Marquadt joined the team in her first year. “There were only six girls including me” she says.
Now, there are 24 cheerleaders on the team.
With the new surge in members, Wachtler has some goals in mind for the team. “I would love to have six stunt groups going at once during a basketball game” she says.
Another unique aspect to the team’s culture is that there is no required previous experience to participate. “I have a background in dance, but I had never cheered before coming to Concordia” Marquardt says.
According to Wachtler, “all you need is a can-do attitude and passion for cheer.”
Marquardt also expresses that the team is there for everyone when it comes to homecoming. She says, “we remind everyone that we aren’t just here for the football game, we are here and we are excited to see everyone that’s coming out and showing up, even if it’s just the community.”
The efforts that the team has put in so far this year have not been in vain; progress has been made on their journey to becoming recognized as an official sport.
Wachtler announced, “we will be getting new uniforms, and it will be paid for by the athletics department.”
This will be a huge step and improvement for the team since they currently don’t have enough uniforms for everyone to match.
