School spirit is one of the most crucial yet overlooked qualities for bringing an academic community together. It lets students have a sense of identity and take pride in their school.
One primary way to increase school spirit is through cheerleading. Cheerleading can be defined as showing “vocal support in an organized manner.” In most cases, this happens at sporting events. While the concept of cheer is widely known, the question remains as to why cheerleading is so important, aside from the obvious energy cheer adds to games.
Mrs. Cassie Joines, the coach of Judah’s cheer team, gave us perspective on the impact and importance of cheer. She said, “Cheer requires a different type of skill. Unlike most sports, there is no ball. So cheer centers mostly on the energy of the game.” This sets cheerleading apart from most sports because it’s not about winning or records. It’s about what cheer can give to the school.
These differences make cheer a unique sport at Judah — one that centers on cultivating the overall spirit of Judah. For that reason, said Mrs. Joines, “If enough girls want to participate, it’s important to me that we have a coach.”
Right now, Judah’s cheer team is flourishing in every sense of the word. It’s starting to recall the pre-COVID days, when cheer was a tremendous success and the team never lacked members. The student sections overflowed with spirit for the school, and cheer was renowned as an important output of that energy.
During the COVID years, and for some time after, Judah’s cheer team fell through and lacked enough members to create a feasible team. While this affected the overall spirit of the school, it only encouraged Coach Joines to further promote the importance of cheer at, and outside of, Judah games.
In 2023, cheer became available as a sport for high school students once again. Although the cheer team was small, just 6 members, their impact on the spirit of the Judah community at athletic events was immense. As Coach Joines put it, “The goal of cheerleading is to provide energy, get the crowd involved, and be a sort of sixth man in a basketball game.” With cheer back, game energy increased.
People remarked on how cheer affected the overall atmosphere. Junior Ella Yeackley said, “Having cheer back at games gave people more incentive to show up and support the school. Student sections can be fun in their own right, but with cheerleaders there, it helps fans gain energy and momentum when cheering on the team. People feel more connected.”
This year, the cheer team has multiplied from only 6 members to an astounding 15 members, providing even more energy. While the increased numbers are astonishing, they beg the question of what exactly has inspired so many students to participate in cheer?
Ella Yeackley gave her view as a non-participant. She said, “The first year cheer was made available again to high schoolers, people were skeptical and didn’t know what to expect. But I’d say that with the team having 15 cheerleaders now, it shows the students’ desire to be more active and involved with their school.”
Coach Joines said, “A major part of it is due to the three returning members from last season. They are the type of people who want others to be involved, and they take the initiative of recruiting among their peers.”
When we asked the novice cheer team members why they had decided to join cheer this season, one variable emerged: community. Junior Avoni Kelly put it best: “I joined cheer because I saw the community that they had built the previous year, even though the team was small.”
Avoni saw the fellowship, joy, and energy that cheer brings to Judah sports. She said, “I really admired the spirit and happiness I saw cheer giving back to the crowd. It made me realize that I wanted the family relationship that they had created with each other through their sport.”
Over these past two years, cheerleading has become what it is supposed to be: a major output of the very thing that Judah prides itself on — community. Cheer isn’t just another sport the school offers. It’s the spirit of Judah.
But spirit can’t be built on cheer alone. It needs the fans, the students, and the community to come together to create something with impact expanding past sporting events. “Hey Tribe, calling all the Tribe.” Judah’s cheerleaders want you to bring your school spirit.
—Liza Carder, class of ’26
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