As the winter season of sports begins cheerleading moves inside to take the center of the court.

The indoor season is vastly different compared to the football season. During the football season the cheerleaders hype up the crowd, which is focused on the football team. In competition season, all attention is on the cheerleaders.

“On the sidelines we are just pumping up the crowd, indoor is much more hard core,” said cheer coach Brittani Sharp.

To the normal eye cheerleading may look easy, however, it is much more than that. The cheerleaders have to put effort into every little thing they do from the steps to the stunts all in order to give off the energy needed to succeed.

“It’s a lot harder than people imagine, it’s intense, the little things can make or break you,” senior team captain Addison Colescott said.

The cheerleaders routine is 3 minutes long and while that seems short, every second of it is filled with motion and energy. The cheerleaders routine requires a large amount of precision in order to receive points and to avoid injuries that could happen.

Even though competition cheer takes place after the football season is completed, the competition cheer team has been practicing their routine since September.

Before every practice the cheer team starts by running laps around the parking lot chanting the words they say from their drill. This gets them into the right mindset before they go into their actual routine.

“You have to have a lot of energy to keep going,” said junior cheerleader Emilie Castro.

The thing in the front of all the cheerleaders’ minds this year is nationals, which is being held at Disney World. The cheerleaders have made it to nationals before, however, this year they want to advance higher up in the ranks.

Sharp, in her first year as cheer coach, has impacted the program already, creating a positive space for the cheerleaders to perform and practice their drills while building bonds with their fellow teammates.

“She’s very positive towards the team, she encourages us,” junior Hayden Anderson said.

The cheerleaders have competed in two competitions this season, and last Saturday they received 2nd place in San Antonio securing them a spot at nationals in February.

The cheerleaders next competition is their state competition on Jan. 4-6 in Fort Worth, Dallas. Even throughout the Christmas break the cheerleaders will continue to practice their routine in order to be in shape and prepared for their future competitions.

Cheerleading takes time, effort, and commitment from the cheerleaders while requiring them to be mentally and physically prepared for anything that comes their way in order to make all the little things they put in worth it.

“It takes an athlete to be a cheerleader,” said Sharp.