Held on one foot, Caroline Andrews stands approximately seven feet above the wood floor below her. Surrounded by other cheerleaders in the center of the gym, Students, staff, the band and athletes all watch Andrews. Suddenly, she is tossed up, and three girls below brace to catch her. The second her feet hit the ground she moves on to more stunts in her routine.
Andrews, junior, has been cheering for five years, and is a part of the 20-member varsity cheerleading team. Andrews, however, stands out from the rest being the only cheerleader on a national cheer team.
Cheer Legendz, the national team Andrews competes with, is a traveling squad consisting of girls from Missouri and Illinois. The team competes around the United States, performing routines in front of judges and other teams.
According to Andrews, the biggest difference between KHS and Cheer Legendz is that Cheer Legendz involves more stunting, jumping and tumbling, and Kirkwood is primarily sideline cheering at football and basketball games. Also, Cheer Legendz does not cheer for a specific team.
“They are hard to compare because they are so different,” Andrews said. “I love them both because they are not the same at all, and I get to do what I enjoy twice as much.”
According to KHS varsity cheerleading head coach Jessica Williams, Andrews’ position on a national team is no surprise because of her talent and devotion. She works hard and is dedicated to both her teams, Williams said.
“There’s something different about her,” Williams said. “She has a natural talent for cheerleading that makes choosing her to be a member of the team easy.”
Andrews has a good handle on keeping track of both teams. While she misses some varsity practices for Cheer Legendz, she always comes back with helpful tips and ideas, according to teammate Elise Bullmer, sophomore.
“It’s awesome that she manages to do both [varsity and national cheer],” Bullmer said. “She’s dedicated to helping and improving both squads.”
Andrews contributes to both teams as a tumbler and a flyer. She can do many stunts including a scale, scorpion, heel stretch and an arabesque. She also tumbles a back handspring. According to Bullmer, Andrews’ teammates look up to her as a role model and seek her advice on cheer techniques and stretches.
“She is so flexible, and she can sit in the splits with practically no pain,” Bullmer said. “I want to be more flexible, so she helps me by showing me stretches that will help me become a better cheerleader.”
Andrews brings more to the team than just her talent and ideas. She also brings her attitude and dedication, Williams said.
“Caroline is a breath of fresh air we all need sometimes,” Williams said. “It can be a bit overwhelming trying to perfect so many routines at once. Caroline never lets the stress get to her and that influences a lot of the girls.”
According to Andrews, cheerleading is much harder than people realize. The varsity team practices 2-3 times a week for two hours.
“A lot of people take cheerleading for granted,” Williams said. “They think it is a lot easier than it is, but that’s our job: to make stunts look easy when, in reality, they are some of the most difficult in the world to execute. Caroline does an amazing job of making it all look effortless.”
