Bloomington Highschool Cheerleading is a competitive sport, (Yes, it is a sport) through BHS. It consists of a Freshmen level team, a JV level team and a Varsity level team. The skill levels vary for each team and each requires different things. Each level consists of about 20 girls, varsity currently has 1 boy on their team. They cheer on the boys at both football games and basketball games. Jv and Varsity compete in multiple competitions starting in December. The girls participate in various fundraisers and volunteer services. In the past, they volunteered their time to work the ISU football game concessions and they got together with intercity schools and created care packages for victims of the tornado in Washington. They also sell candy bars to students and parents to raise money for their Cheerleading fund. On Friday nights, the girls toss t-shirts and mini footballs into the stands, so make sure you go check them out!

Coaches

The 2015 Cheerleading coaches for JV is Sarah Nevius. This will be her 3rd year coaching JV. The varsity coaches consist of Lea Menning and Lisa Dawson. Lea started out as a freshman AND JV  coach in 2011. In 2012, she became the varsity coach and has stayed that way ever since. She works at state farm, and it a proud dog mom. Lea is very supportive of her team and pushes them to do well. Every team has their bad practices, and Lea never gives up on them. She believes they can do the impossible. Lisa Dawson came to Bloomington Cheerleading in 2012. She started as the coach for JV, and periodically helped Lea out with varsity. In 2013, Lisa joined Lea as a Varsity coach. Lisa brings spunk to the team and always manages to pep them up, no matter the mood they are in. Lisa is a 4th grade teacher and loves every minute of it. She is soon to be married next and is absolutely ecstatic! Like Lea, Lisa completely believes in their team and would do anything to see them succeed.

Football Cheerleading

The Freshmen cheerleaders cheer for their boys on Thursdays around 5:00. JV Cheers on Saturdays around 9:00, and varsity cheers on Fridays under the lights, at 7:00. The girls cheer no matter the weather, and no matter the circumstance. If the boys play, the girls cheer. The girls love to see their boys do well on the field, and cheer them on no matter what the scoreboard says. Only varsity cheerleaders travel to the away games. Recently, the football team has not been doing so well. Currently, they are 1-4. In 2014, they were the first time in 26 years to not make it to the playoffs. Many were dissapointed, but the cheerleaders always stuck to their side. The girls never gave up on them and always tried to cheer them up.

Basketball Cheerleading

Games for basketball vary each year. There is never a set day for the teams for games. Typically, JV plays right before Varsity. Varsity is required to come early to watch their JV cheerleaders and help cheer with them. Both JV and Varsity travel to away games together. The girls cheer at Intercity games, tournaments and regular season games. During time outs the girls take the floor and show off stunts they have been practicing all year round. The crowd doesn't always get into it, but that's not the cheerleaders fault. Basketball games are always fun to play at because the whole gym is always loud and it gets everyone's energy up. Basketball is such a fast paced sport and it will keep you on your toes. The girls really enjoy cheering for basketball games.

Competitions

Competitions are a very big deal for Varsity. They learn their routine in July, and practice until competitions start in December. The competition team usually has 14 girls and 6 alternates. The alternates are needed for help with music and they are too know the routine as well in case someone gets hurt and they need someone to take their place.   They practice 2-3 times a week for 2 hours each. They put in a lot of time and effort into perfecting their routine. The routine is 3 straight minutes, of dancing, cheering, tumbling and stunting. That is non stop fast paced movement for 14 girls ( and 1 boy ) on that blue mat. They compete at places all over the state and if they make it to the state competition, they also compete at IHSA. State this year is February 5-6, 2016.

Accomplishments

The Bloomington Highschool cheerleaders have been very successful in the past years. In the 2014-2015 season, they places 1st at 5 competitions and 5th at 1. They won sectionals in their division (medium) and also placed 1st at BIG 12, beating out their intercity schools.They made it to state and placed 19th at state. In previous years, they placed 7th at State. Which is a big deal because their are about 30 teams in each division from all over the state.

Pep Rallies

For any pep rally, or assembly, the cheerleaders almost always perform. The girls, usually the seniors, will make up a routine to teach the other girls. They practice for about 2 weeks, and then perform it for their student body. This is usually a little nerve racking for the girls, seeing as they are performing in front of their peers that they see everyday. The routine usually is about 1-2 minutes, including a cheer and stunts, sometimes a dance. The crowd usually reacts well to the girls on the floor, and they like to get involved.