By Matt Browning
Maize cheerleader Kaydence Venneman thinks every school’s cheer squads play a vital part in the gameday experience.
“I think having a quality cheer team is more important than most people realize,” Venneman said. “Filling up quiet space with cheers in between plays and keeping up the energy when something unexpected happens is so crucial to a good atmosphere. Cheering helps to bring everyone together to support and hype up the team, win or lose, home or away.”
Venneman is in her third season as a cheerleader at Maize. She has also been a gymnast for 13 years, with five of them being competitive.
“I wanted to continue something similar and cheer was the perfect opportunity,” Venneman said.
A typical cheer season goes far beyond fall and winter sports. There is the grind of the preseason in the summer and then trying out for the team all over again in the spring.
“To prepare for the cheer season over the summer we do different forms of conditioning like cardio, core, stretching, and different exercises for jumps,” Venneman said. “We will go over cheers, dances, stunts and different expectations for the year. At the beginning of the summer there’s also cheer camp. Typically it’s at a college campus where we learn new stunts, cheers, band chants, and dances. Most of the time it’s three or four days long. Towards the end of the summer we will have a few night practices on the field to prepare for when we do our routine during halftime.”
