You got it, boo. Push through. Push through.
Five, six, seven, eight. One.
Three, four, five, seven.
- Let's move it. - Ouch.
I can see you're nervous.
Just take it, like... sec-- like,
s-- like, section by section.
'Cause what I do, I literally, like, push out my legs to spin.
Like, push, push, spin.
- Let's just do it. - She's going for it.
- Yes. We're going for it. - Do you want another spot?
- No. - There's a lot of stereotypes
that go on with cheerleading.
People think that we're... dumb blondes.
People think that we just do, like...
cheers like "Go, team!" Stuff like that.
But we actually put our bodies in a lot of... pain.
Sorry.
Are you okay, Morgan?
God.
- Come on, you got it. - Push! Lift! Hold!
There are some times, like, I'll accidentally, like, land wrong,
and it's just... it's terrible pain.
But it's worth it.
I mean, I was saved by cheer.
Honestly, like, if I wouldn't have came here,
I'd probably be sitting in a jail cell right now.
I was a very bad kid.
I got in trouble for just doing stupid stuff.
I used to not care about authority.
I just didn't have a heart.
I just didn't care about anything or anyone.
And without cheerleading, I would have not made it.
It'd've been over for me.
I would not be sitting here telling this story.
We always have kids that come from
either a broken home or a troubled past.
Sometimes, someone has introduced them to me specifically for that reason.
They know me, and they think that I could be a good role model
and someone that could kind of guide them
to get back on the right path.
I'm gonna let go. I want you to hold it, okay?
One, two...
If you come from those types of homes,
and you get involved in cheerleading,
that's your happy place. You can go to the gym,
and all your problems kind of go away.
Get up!
I'm looking to the front the whole time. I'm like this...
It really is a place I can go and be whatever I want.
Cheer's, like, very open to, like, anybody coming.
- Good. - Growing up, I was bullied.
So, if I didn't have cheer, I would probably be...
upset at the world, and...
I'd be hurting others because I would be hurt myself.
Come on, Gabi!
We have so many different kinds of people,
but we all want the same thing.
The feeling of going out on the floor
and performing that two and a half minute routine.
It's like this adrenaline rush that you get
that you're just like, "Wow!"
It's scary, but you just have to trust your teammates.
Trust, 100% trust.
I need to make sure that you're catching me when I fall.
And that's what bonds people,
'cause you didn't let me get hurt.
From then on, you and I are gonna have this bond
that I know you protect me, and I feel secure.
When you become that close, it becomes a family,
and I think that that makes that bond even stronger,
and it's like, that's what makes this program so awesome.
But if the chemistry of the team is not there
and the trust and the bond,
that's when things fall apart.
- Is everybody okay? - What happened?
You okay?
I told you to angle.
You gotta be checked in.
That's how you get hurt. That's how things mess up.
The age-old vision that people have of cheerleaders is...
on the sideline at the sport.
They're not the sport.
They are the sideline attraction
that's there to lead the crowd and look pretty,
but cheerleading has evolved tremendously since its inception.
Lawrence Herkimer was the father of cheerleading.
He started offering some camps for cheerleading training,
and eventually decided that this is gonna--
going to be his business.
He starts the National Cheerleaders Association,
the NCA.
Then, as NCA grew, it started going coast-to-coast.
And that's when it became competitive.
Instead of just doing the same cheers on the sideline
they started to entertain the crowd more, throwing people up, throwing baskets.
When you see one team throwing baskets, you see another team, "Okay,
we can throw baskets too. We'll throw 'em better than them.
We'll do something that they didn't do."
Like, "Wow, this could actually be a thing."
Competitions would start to happen.
This is not just cheerleading,
this is a sport.
These really are athletes out here,
and they look good doin' it.
Competitive cheerleading today is so much different than what most people
see on the sidelines at a game.
The skills that we do now are just crazy.
You know, I don't know how much more we can push.
It is a display of athleticism.
It's like the best of gymnastics with the best of circus
with the best of dance. It's an incredible sport.
This is the place collegiate cheerleaders think about
all year, but now, the spotlight and the sunlight is all on them on this,
it's the most famous stage in all of cheerleading.
The only competition for college cheerleading
is in Daytona Beach, Florida.
That's the big competition of the year.
Every cheerleader thinks of this moment,
this incredible stage.
This is why they work hard,
to have their special moment right here on the mat.
We only compete once for two minutes and 15 seconds.
That's it.
Everything that we work for comes down to two minutes and 15 seconds.
You have one chance to do that one routine.
One little mistake can just cost it all for us.
If you mess up, that was your only chance.
You just wasted your whole year.
It is gut-wrenching.
Let's go!
Once you get out there in front of a crowd, it is scary.
You have nerves, you have adrenaline.
Not everybody handles that well.
The hype...
is insane walking out
in front of thousands of people, that energy.
We freakin' won!
And our Cheer Collegiate National Champions...
Navarro College!
Well, our champs again: Navarro College.
You just won your fourth National Championships.
Sixth time for Navarro College.
Twelve-time National Champion, Navarro.
Navarro, they are the best of the best of the best.
We've won 13 national titles.
2012, that was the first time
that a junior college actually got the Grand National title,
the highest score of the competition.
That was a big shock.
A lot of people think because we're a junior college,
we're less than others.
But we won the Grand National title
in 2012, '13, '14, '15, and last year.
They've won the Grand Championship several times. They could beat anybody.
Navarro College,
out of Corsicana, Texas. It's about 50 miles south of Dallas.
And now we have so much talent from everywhere,
and they want to come to this little old town of Corsicana,
which I probably would've never heard of unless I've, like,
"Navarro, okay, where's it located? Zoom it. Where?
I guess I'm going there!"
You know, I-I've been here
since 1987.
We're roughly 24,000 people.
We're located about 50 miles outside of Dallas.
You see the sign here, "Historic Corsicana,"
which I absolutely love this sign, with our brick streets and all.
Corsicana has a certain unique charm about it.
A lot of people never heard of Corsicana if it wasn't for the bakery,
Collin Street Bakery, home of the fruitcake.
We sell just shy of a million cakes a year,
so we like to say that Collin Street Bakery
is the end-all and be-all of fruitcake.
Corsicana is a wonderful town.
The pace is slow, you hear the crickets
and the birds chirping
and the train whistles. It's really a romantic...
small town.
The cheer team seems to add a little bit of excitement.
I mean, the program at Navarro
has become a legend throughout the entire nation.
They come here to Corsicana. I mean, people from all over the country
to cheer for Monica.
She really put Navarro College on the map.
Most of these college teams are coached by male coaches,
so it takes a type A personality to reach the top of this industry.
You've gotta be somebody who is super driven, super meticulous,
and very passionate.
- No! Do it again. - Monica is all of those things.
She knows how to produce. She is a beast.
class.
She has that class. She got poise.
I want to be her.
She's a quiet person, but she's, like, stuck in your head
and, like, with you for the rest of your life.
- Do you want it to look good? - Yes.
I mean, I would hope so,
'cause there's times we've won, and I'm like...
"...I don't really wanna watch that again
'cause I didn't feel like we did our best."
The way that we prepare,
you keep going until you get it right,
and then you keep going till you can't get it wrong.
Y'all, breathe for a minute. We're doing it again right now.
Stunts need to hit. That was not the last time.
It's not the last time till you do it right.
They call her "the Queen."
She's been doing it so long,
so I think she knows exactly what she's lookin' for
and how to make the perfect team.
Dang it!
Now it's tied, and I told y'all, we have to win this game
to go to the playoffs!
So, we need to cheer, and let's make the best of it, all right?
Monica has a incredibly hard job.
She has to have them doing great at the games,
cheering on the team, leading on the sidelines,
but then they need to flip the switch
and go kill it at the National Championship.
That two minutes and 15 seconds in Daytona,
that may be your last time that you do cheerleading.
The last time in your career.
After college cheer,
there is no professional, like, cheerleader,
where you have this type of cheerleading.
You know, the Dallas Cowboys kind of cheerleaders,
those are more so like dancers.
What we did at Navarro requires a way higher skill level.
If you're lucky enough to cheer at the collegiate level
and you graduate,
there's no professional team waiting for you.
You're done. You're done as a cheerleader.
You work so hard your entire life for a moment.
I just got emotional right there.
Um...
The last event that I put my uniform on at Texas Tech,
I can tell you, I cried so hard.
Because that moment, I knew was the last game
when I got to represent my team.
The heart that you feel toward these kids
because their opportunity's over...
Daytona is special,
and I think you want to say, "My legacy is as big as I can make it.
How big can I be before I have to get out?"
I actually need to get a new student ID. I lost mine.
Well, that's why you got fined that $25.
No, that was for, um, a moving-out fee
because I didn't leave a certain paper on my desk.
- Okay. - Know the mailing address?
Um, could I have another slip?
I always forget.
- She also needs-- - A new ID.
- I think they take the picture over there. - Yes, they'll take it down there.
Can you scoot over a little bit? Ready?
I honestly didn't even see myself...
being in college.
I didn't have much going for me.
I was a high school dropout,
and I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel
until Monica gave me this chance.
This is one of, like, the best cheerleading schools in the nation, like.
And the fact that I got to go here...
is just...
It's almost like it's a dream.
The talent that we have is crazy, like...
never have I seen a team like this...
in my whole 12 years of cheerleading.
- Grandma, that's your phone. - I'm sorry.
- That's fine. - I am so sorry.
- No, that's okay. - Um...
I very much feel a lot of passion for this sport.
It's... this sport is something that I'm very--
- Jesus Christ. I'm so sorry. - We can restart.
Are these the salt rocks to your salt lamp?
I feel the pressure.
I've felt it since I made the team in the summer.
You got a-- You guys got a big story line you gotta back up, though.
- Yeah. - You know, Navarro cheerleading.
I always, like, would watch the videos,
and I was like, "I'm gonna be there one day"
like, "I'm gonna win all those competitions," and...
now I'm finally here, and it's just... it's insane.
It's a lot of pressure,
'cause on the team, we have about 40 members,
but at Daytona, I think only 20 of us compete.
So, that's the biggest competition, is just against our own teammates.
When you get here,
your main, main goal is to be one of those 20 on the mat.
There's 40 of us.
All 40 of us can't be on the mat.
So, it's making mat is the main goal.
Us competing against each other pushes us to be like,
"Okay, if I'm gonna get good, you have to get as good as me
because I'm gonna make getting on mat as hard for you
as you're gonna make it for me."
Most people that come to Navarro, they really are
some of the best from where they come from.
So, when you come here,
you have a lot of different, strong mentalities, personalities...
I mean, I have a very strong personality
that you could mic if you wanted to. He's...
- Yeah. - He might be over-the-top, though.
- Perfect. - Okay. La'Darius Marshall.
God.
- What's La'Darius like? - Over-the-top. You'll see.
You'll probably... Well, there are several that are over-the-top,
but he's way over-the-top.
Hey!
Let's go, Dogs!
Hey!
B- U-L-L-D-O-G-S!
Go, Bulldogs!
I was actually really, really talented at football,
and the coaches always said
that I was better than both of my brothers.
But, like, me, I always said, "Who wants to go and play football?
First off, I'm tired.
Second off, that is not a sport that I want to keep playing with y'all."
But I'd never seen boy cheerleaders ever in my life.
So I didn't even think that was even a thing until I saw a video.
And it was like, "My God.
This is what cheerleading is?
They're really picking people up in the air?
People are really flipping their bodies over like this?
I've never seen stuff like this.
I've never seen something that looks so fun."
They looked like they were having fun.
And that's when I was like, "Okay, I'm trying out."
Literally got so much hate for it.
It was like, "La'Darius, you're not doing it.
You know how to play football."
I was like, "Okay. I'm gonna do this when I'm at practice."
Dude, I got in trouble at a game
because I did a round-off back,
two back handsprings when we got a touchdown.
They took our-- our-- our touchdown away, actually.
And I was like, "Okay, that was rude."
This was when everybody was, like, always calling me "fruity" and stuff.
Hustle, hustle!
So, I used to fight a lot.
If you said something,
I would literally walk to your classroom and fight you there.
Let's go, Bulldogs. And get it!
I have such quick comebacks because of where I'm from in Florida,
in that you gotta be on your p's and q's. Somebody try you, you gotta try them.
You gotta be-- You gotta be able to-- If they always got you,
you gotta go get them.
Because if they get you, and you ain't gotta get them back,
there gonna be an issue.
Push 'em back. Stomp on their neck!
Stomp on his neck!
Like, some people are just not as talented as other people,
and, like, that's life.
And, like, I mean, yes, some people want people to be humble,
but at some point, when are you gonna be confident?
Being cocky and being confident is two different things.
They run the same line,
but it's a thin line. And you gotta know the difference.
- You get... - No respect in here!
We see our moves in all your cheers!
Yee!
- Yeah! - That was cute! That was cute!
Very intimidating! Very intimidating!
If it starts hurting, just say stop.
That's good.
I need new legs and ankle and body.
Well, point your toe.
I'm trying here, kids.
In the past, like, game day cheers mostly is what I did.
Cheering at football games, basketball games,
volleyball games, stuff like that.
Didn't really do, like, the competitiveness that we have here.
That's, like, kind of, like, what I was, like, hungry for.
That's, like, what I wanted to do.
Morgan, stop resisting!
Dude, I'm not. My hamstring's just tightening up.
I wasn't on mat last year,
because I don't have as much experience as most of the people on our team.
So, for me now,
I'm, like, a little bit behind where everyone else is at.
So, I'm just trying to, like, double up on...
every single skill that I do in the routine
to make sure it's, like, up to par with everyone else.
But I'm probably the worst performer
in all of cheerleading history.
Like, when we're at practice, I always am, like,
smiling through the whole thing.
It's, like, a fake smile because I'm, like, so focused on what I'm doing.
But, for other people on the team, like Sherbs,
she just has, like, that natural, like, beauty
and she just, like, lights up when she does stuff.
So, every time she does a skill, it looks 15 million times better
just because she's, like, adding a chin pop here
and, like, doing this and doing that.
And I'm just, like, the awkward little, like, turtle
in the background that's, like...
Okay, grab a sip of water if you need to,
then let's go back to pyramid.
Hey, y'all, let's do the entire pyramid.
I wanna see that whole beginning part. I know Gabi's not here, so mark that part.
Okay, here we go.
Roll, one, two, three, four, five... seven.
And one, two, three, four, five... seven.
And, one, two, three, four, five... seven.
And, one, two, three, four... Y'all!
Tech did a double up. Why can't we do a full up?
- Like, two years ago. - Like, I'm pretty sure we're, like...
better than them, right?
All right, let's do it again.
A college routine has the variety
of skills and sections,
but the pyramid, it's the most important part of it all.
For most teams and most routines,
pyramids is what's going to make you or break you.
Okay, one... three.
A lot of teams, that's what made them lose in the past.
It's the most intricate part.
Five... seven, eight. One, two...
That pyramid takes a whole semester to put together.
It takes weeks to learn all the components of it
and put it together in one 30-second run.
Hold!
My God.
- Come on, Matrix. - Yes, Jerry!
Everyone needs to work together, be on the same page,
and make sure we're all doing it the right way at the same time,
because, really,
you're trusting each other with their lives.
...down, seven. And, one, two...
Get her up!
It's very important to all work together as a team.
This pyramid ugly. I said what I said.
Watch my hands and tell me if I'm not catching like this.
- You're not. - Okay.
Thank you for the negativity. Thank you.
So, the truth is negative, I guess.
Shh!
It needs a lot of time, a lot of repetitions.
And doing the pyramid 500 times over and over and over, it hurts.
- One, two, three, four. - Come on.
Good, good.
Cute! I really like that.
- Yeah? - Do it again.
Hey, we still need to catch in the flat-back position,
not in the cradle and then replace.
- Then dip right away in the-- - You're adding two extra counts
that I don't think are necessary. So, if we catch and dip and go.
Or, even if you caught... Are you catching here?
No, I'm catching here, and it's just going down and back up.
So, can you absorb through your legs and then dip?
Let's just go from here and just do the front flip.
Seven, eight, one. And then flip up.
Here we go. Ready?
Come on, you got this!
Bro, I wanna be out there.
One, two, three,
four, five... seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, and seven and...
- One, two, three... - Here we go.
- ...five, six, seven. - Hold it, Summer!
Hold it!
- Yes! - Five, six...
Let's go, y'all!
- Almost there! - Five, seven...
One, three... Come on! Back it up!
...seven, eight. One, three.
Five! Five! Get her up! Push this girl up!
Wait, no! No!
I thought I'd give them extra time...
Good enough. Good enough. Good enough.
- Good enough to go? - Yeah, they're tired.
Hey, y'all. Y'all get a lunch break.
When we come back, we're gonna do a lot of pyramid practice.
So, eat, get a lot of water, and be ready to go.
We gonna be dead.
It is very demanding.
I mean, we practice a lot because this is a junior college.
We get these kids for two years, so they don't have the experience
that some of these older kids have at university,
so we have to practice twice as much as a university cheerleader.
So, there will be times
when your whole day's committed to practice.
And it sounds very crazy,
but a lot of the kids do All-Star cheerleading,
so sometimes they cheer together on other teams
that are in the All-Star world.
Let's go!
One and three!
That's club cheerleading,
so you're not cheering for a school, you're cheering for a show team.
Five, seven, and one, two, three.
All-Star cheerleading is huge.
These kids are being trained sometimes from the time they can walk.
Stick! That was a great stick.
Give it to me here, breathe. Deep breath.
Big face. Big face. Let's go!
Face! Face!
Face! Come on, Caroline.
The industry has been growing and growing and growing.
Now, there's not just Cheer Athletics, there's other huge mega gyms.
Let's go!
And we are blessed to have the Navarro kids
that are on our teams here at Cheer Athletics.
The kids love them, look up to them, want to emulate them.
- You're so cool! - Thank you!
We want to go to Navarro because they're good.
And if we get into there, we get a scholarship for our college.
And then we can cheer at college after that.
And then we'd be famous.
So, we look up to them because they're queens, right?
Yeah, they're always queens.
Kings and queens, that's all there is here.
Yeah, but we take photos with them here,
and they're like celebrities. They're cheer-lebrities.
The top athletes at Navarro are huge,
um, social media influencers.
We've had a few that were, like, in that first "cheer-lebrity" movement
that have 500,000 followers on Instagram.
Do you know who Gabi Butler is?
- Yes! - She's really flexible.
She's the only person who, I think, is a tumbler, a flyer, and a base.
Everyone knows that.
Hey, guys. It's me, Gabi.
And I just want to say thank you to everyone for supporting me.
And today, we're here, about to do a photo shoot
for the cover of the Cheer Leader magazine.
I've known of Gabi since she was very, very young.
So, first start off with your heel stretch.
She's always had a huge following.
She's well-known in the cheerleading industry.
She is not here at the moment
because of all the traveling and stuff for work,
but she's a huge, huge part of the team.
Gabi's the all-round cheerleader.
I've never seen someone so talented like Gabi.
I used to watch her so much, like,
growing up, and you're watching her,
like, cheer or go to her competitions.
She's a rock star and, like,
she used to be on a YouTube series called Cheerleaders.
And she's done it all, and people just look up to her for, like,
how much, like, she's done and, like, how far she's gone.
When I was younger, like, I just looked up to her status
and, like, how people respected her.
To have her actually on the team, like, mind-blown.
It doesn't make me nervous,
but other people might think it's nerve-racking.
Like, she's still the Gabi Butler.
It's a lot of pressure too. I mean, to be in that limelight,
there comes an understanding that you have to be a strong role model
and you have to be the strongest athlete you can be,
because you have eyes watching you at all times.
One... three... four, five... seven, eight.
- One... three... five, seven, eight. - Come on, y'all.
- One... three... five, six, seven, eight. - I mean, I d-- I mean,
Yes. No, I mean, I'm...
I totally think a pep rally's fine,
but how about, like, for a send-off for the playoffs?
And, like, plan it, like, now,
and not the two days before.
That's ridiculous.
Got it. Okay, all right. Thank you. Bye.
The city of Corsicana, they're trying to raise money
to renovate our downtown.
So, our community leaders wanted
to organize a rally.
They're requesting that the cheerleaders come out
and be a part of this community rally.
We get asked to do a lot of things, a lot of different things.
And I love to go out in the community,
but a lot of people don't understand that we don't just show up
and do something. We actually prepare for it.
I don't think people realize that. You know, if they're not...
Especially if they don't really have a cheerleading background,
they just assume
that because you're cheerleaders, you can just come and entertain.
Originally, the plan was to come back and strictly work our Daytona routine.
You know, the biggest thing that I wanted to get done
is to try to finalize our pyramid.
We have not really gotten to work on that yet.
You know, as much as I love t-to say yes to everything that I possibly can,
um, you know, this is just not the best time of year for us.
As y'all know, we'll take the next week or two
to kind of see where we're at before we decide
who's gonna be on mat, off mat, so I know that's a stressor for y'all,
but the more stressing thing that we need to worry about at the moment
is a performance that we need to do this week on Thursday.
So, this is something that we were asked to come do
that's a little bit... a blip in our plan.
We'll start outside, welcoming people,
just kind of doing our normal, like, "cheerleader-type" thing, you know,
um, have our poms.
There's gonna be some people that speak and some stuff like that,
and then, this little performance that we're about to learn and work on
will be the last thing.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Soft, don't know what they're doing.
Look at them.
Like, y'all just look like y'all should be like...
Bam!
I know.
I be cute with it.
So, one, two, stop, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, hips, three, kick, four, down, five.
And you go straight down. Sorry, I didn't...
This is so hard.
Once you're here, back, forward, step, kick.
- Okay. - All right?
So, from here...
Y'all, only the people that take this serious
are gonna be considered for mat.
Can you please stretch?
You wanna do it from... which part?
From, three, four.
- Okay. Ready? - Okay.
Three, four.
- Other leg. - I did the wrong leg.
It's okay, we'll do it again.
Ready? And three down, four around, five,
- six. - Okay.
- I'm-- Okay, I can't. - It's okay.
Hey, girls. Face this way.
Y'all get in your formation and let me see it.
Hey, Lexi. Lexi! Come out.
- All the way out. No, just come out, out. - Okay, good.
Can I be one of the guys?
We gonna cut-- We gonna cut your hair.
I was, like, in the slow class.
Yeah, this is gonna be a process.
I haven't, like, drawn people in a long time.
I think...
I'm gonna add, like, a cat on a jet pack or something.
Why are you not going to Shannon's later?
Well, one of the reasons is because, um...
- What? - I get-- It seems like everyone
is in Shannon's birthday group chat except for me.
- So I'm not going. - You're not in it?
But me and Shannon don't talk at all.
Even if I was in the group chat, I probably wouldn't go.
I'm trying to think of who's not in it.
I'm pretty sure the whole team is on it.
Yeah, the whole team except for me.
I generally don't really get along with cheerleaders.
A lot of cheerleaders come from, like, a different lifestyle
than I came from.
Cheer's generally a sport for really wealthy people. Um...
You know, most of these, like, big-name gyms,
they charge a lot and a lot of money
for, um, you know, monthly tuition or competitions
and uniforms.
I've been in cheer for 12 years,
and I've never paid a single dime.
I've always just, I guess,
had that tumbling that they just want you
to go to the gym. You don't have to pay to go there.
But the girls were rude. They called me a show-off.
But I was really, like, just doing what I loved.
I don't like issues or drama or any of that.
So, yeah, in this sport, I've usually been to myself.
Hopefully I'll be skinny enough so in our uniforms,
you'll be able to, like, see, like, my, like, ribs.
I want to see how much I weigh.
We're gonna get weighed at practice anyway,
so I need to know how much food I need to not eat.
Yeah.
We get, like, our weight checked
just to make sure we're eating right and taking care of our bodies.
'Cause, you know, we get thrown in the air and do a lot of skills,
so we have to stay healthy and all that.
Why are you so light?
- I'm scared. - You're scared? You just did it!
- I know. - You weigh, like, less than this suitcase.
No. I weight 96.6.
Well, I'm not doing biceps, so I'll just kind of let you do this.
- Maybe I'mma rep out some triceps... - Okay.
- ...as I'm waiting. - Okay.
Us stunters that throw the girls,
we like to have that look that we're bigger, because...
one thing is, Monica loves her big boys.
So, the bigger you are,
the more of a chance you're gonna have on mat.
'Cause, I mean, if you're bigger, you're able to save a stunt more.
And then, the tumblers, they have more the physique.
Tumblers usually are, like, the smaller guys
that just really know how to jump, flip around,
control their bodies,
stuff that the bigger guys can't really do.
I'm trying to shoot for a stumbler, which is kind of in between,
where I could... stunt and tumble, so I have to be in that good middle.
Well, I work out typically every day.
Most of the time, it's twice a day.
My main goal is just to try to, like, burn fat, lose some weight.
That's all I really, like...
...like, care about at the moment.
Like, lifting weights is nice, but...
I prefer to, like, do, like, all cardio
to just try to be better and healthier so I can live longer.
Throughout my life, I was always on the heavy side.
I even got as big as being 350 pounds.
Even though I was a cheerleader at the time,
those workouts weren't, like, good enough with the food that I was, um, eating.
It was a whole bunch of, like, fast food
because that was all that, like, we could, like, basically afford
at the time, so,
that's all I was really eating was fast food.
But then, going into my first year at Navarro,
I had, like, the opportunity to eat better and work out as much as I could.
Throughout that time, I ended up losing 40 pounds.
And then, throughout this year,
I've ended up losing, like, almost 30 pounds now.
Get her up!
I was far away.
- Okay, you're good. - Bad one. Let's do it again.
Jerry is probably
one of the hardest-working athletes that I know.
He had a lot to learn when he came into this program.
There was a lot of technique that we were just, like, missing.
Um, his grips, and he worked on that all year long.
For a lot of athletes, it's really, like, heartbreaking to make Navarro
- and then not make mat. - Let's try it again.
But I think he took everything that he learned from last year
and he applied it to his work ethics this year.
Yes, Jerry!
Good. See? It should feel easier that way.
On the side of practices, he's constantly working on his skills,
constantly trying to put people up.
Come on, y'all!
And he loves this sport so much.
Jerry listens to cheer 24/7,
and he can show you each routine, every section,
you know, every word.
It's crazy how much Jerry loves cheerleading.
I don't know how you sit there and watch,
like, younger teams do... competitions.
- I love it. It's so much fun. - I know you do.
Jerry, you literally are on your phone watching...
- High school, level one. - People. You would--
- If there was a mini prep team out there-- - You'd know their routine--
You would know their whole routine, their music,
and the coaches that coached them, and their parents.
La'Darius!
That's right, I wanna see Cubs
because they need to redeem themselves from Houston.
Because they were just a mess in Houston.
Cubs is Mini Two.
Um...
But they were just not...
It wasn't it for them.
Those babies were not in a good state of mind that day,
that weekend.
- They were tired. - Ended up losing, of course.
- Can't relate. - I have the score sheet.
How do you have the score sheets on deck like that?
I saved it.
- It was-- I was ready, baby. - We're not into cheer like you.
Okay, you right. Okay, I-I-I get it.
Say no more.
I'm tired. Hopefully, I can go to sleep at a good time tonight.
Until Daytona season gets worse and Monica says more practices.
All right, so we are gonna jump into chapter one.
This is kind of an overarching, quick look at Texans.
Because I know I've got some basketball and cheerleaders in here,
sometimes you guys are, like, not from Texas,
not even close to Texas.
So, just a little bit of fun facts
to kind of get you guys interested in Texas.
We gave the world the Quaid brothers.
You probably don't even remember Randy Quaid,
um, but he was in Christmas Vacation.
He's the crazy uncle that's like, "Shitter's full," that one.
That's him.
So, we have NASA. They shut it down for a little while.
It is picking back up.
And, as you guys have probably heard, under President Trump,
he just kind of invented the what?
- Space Force. - Space Force! Right?
So, NASA, you gotta know,
is gonna probably become a big part of that.
Um, Tex-Mex, it's the best ever.
It is not real Mexican food.
It's a way better version of Mexican food.
All right.
Most other states do not require you take their state government,
but Texas makes you do Texas government and US government.
- So, we like ourselves... - Love that.
...a whole lot around here.
It's pretty interesting. All right.
We know.
I liked-- I like that we learned all the facts.
Tell me what you think Texans kind of believe politically.
Right to bear arms.
The right to bear arms, hell yeah.
I'm the biggest gun-totin' broad you ever did see.
I am packing heat almost all the time. What else?
Pro-life.
Pro-life, definitely in Texas.
You're gonna find out relatively quickly
that Texas is overwhelmingly a conservative state.
They generally support traditional values and lifestyles,
so a lot of them are, kind of looking at that,
a man and a woman is the traditional definition of marriage,
and you should get up and go to church on Sundays,
and you have the house with the 2.5 children,
and a white picket fence.
The old-school people.
The gray steer is a very attractive steer.
Probably the prettiest here in the class.
I wish we could just see this steer float a little better.
Gets a little high in his loin.
I'd like to change him as you watch him stand there,
a little base-wide. I'd like to change him off his front skeleton.
The gray steer is better structured than him.
I know what it felt like when I was in the top three
- with my goats. - Yeah.
If you look at all of them and you can see, like, they're short--
Well, not really short, but, like, stout, like, a good proportion.
But, like, when you looked at hers, he was kinda tall.
He just didn't look as proportional as all the other ones do.
Ethan's looks pretty good.
Yeah, his walks, but he don't-- I feel like there's not enough jiggle.
Y'all, look at that little boy's.
Come on, baby.
Mom, don't be extra. It's okay.
The very end is my niece.
- I'll see-- - She got the black Angus?
The solid black one that's gonna be acting crazy, yeah.
She's got on a, like, pinkish striped shirt
- with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. - Okay.
You know, it's kind of a small, conservative Texas town.
Most of my kids are from big cities,
so they come here and they're like, "This is a small town." You know?
But there's really something about a small town.
I grew up here.
I got married to my high school sweetheart.
I was a baseball player. I was a catcher.
And I'd hear this girl, "Chris! Chris!"
She'd be in the backstop, holding on to the fence,
callin' my name during games.
She was a cheerleader. Energetic,
popular, A-student, honor roll,
all that good stuff. And highly competitive.
Well, I was a nervous little kid, so when you get a girl
that wasn't shy calling my name, and we got to know each other, and...
the rest is history.
When I was young, I just had big goals.
I thought I was going to be the CEO of some big company
in New York, on Wall Street.
I have a finance degree from UT,
one of the best business schools in the country.
I have my MBA.
She wanted to work in a high-rise in New York and be a businesswoman.
But, you know, family being a priority,
that kind of shifted things a little bit.
As we had children, we wanted them to be raised
by their grandparents, their aunts and uncles, their cousins.
We're hometown folks, and home just called our name.
And then, she got an opportunity with, Navarro.
That was not obviously my plan, you know?
It was-- I had a business degree. I wasn't gonna coach cheerleading.
But I definitely took everything I learned in business school
and used it to build a program.
It was at that point I realized,
"Okay, she's gonna put all her energy into it."
In the beginning, Navarro Cheer was nothing.
And then you win, and you win again.
And win again, and win, and win again,
and then you win a Grand National championship,
where you just beat all their butts.
And then, not only at that competition do people know your name,
but gyms in other states know your name.
So, you can just see over time how the desire to win
has just grown and grown.
Once I started, it was hard to stop doing it.
It just pulls you in.
It is... It...
It's, like, it's addicting.
It really is.
I can't do hair. I can do makeup really good, though.
- We have to be there at four, right? - Yeah.
I'm kind of happy that I'm not, like, in the dance part.
It's a cute dance, though.
The thing that really, like, brings it together is the outfits.
I know. I'm so glad that Monica found, like, boots for us.
- The jean shorts and everything. - Yeah.
I want to cut my shorts, but I don't know.
- Cut your shorts? - Yeah, because they, like...
They kinda, like, flare. Like, they're...
Yeah, Monica was talking about that.
She's like, "If her shorts were just a little shorter."
- She did say that? - Yeah.
Like, maybe that much, probably.
Yeah.
- I've never done this before. - You've never done it before?
- No. - Crap.
I'll try to go like...
Almost there.
Does it look awkward?
It may.
And, my gosh, those boots, though.
I've already had two blisters.
I know. Is that why there's blood on your... on the tape?
- Yeah. - From your ankle?
There still is.
There it is. These two.
Yee-haw!
Out here in the good city of Corsicana.
We need our downtown remodeled.
What do you know about the Navarro cheerleaders?
That's a really hard question to answer.
The only way I deal with cheerleading is
when they come in for tattoos.
Friday night football games and stuff like that.
I've never been to any of the competitions or anything like that.
I've watched Bring It On, like, once.
I know Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.
I don't know about the college cheerleaders.
You hear about the Bulldogs, but that's--
- That's about it. - Yeah.
You don't hear much about them.
Cheerleading is, in many ways, very insular.
So, if you're outside of cheerleading,
you just sometimes just totally don't get it.
I remember discovering competitive cheerleading
and realizing, "My gosh, this is a legitimate sport."
And nothing like what most of America still thinks cheerleading is.
Many people put cheerleaders in the same category
as beauty pageant contestants and Playboy Bunnies.
Traditionally, they were to be pretty and popular,
pleasant, high character.
They're good, wholesome folks.
We love how they represent Corsicana
when they go out and they're seen publicly.
And so, cheerleaders came to represent
this idea of local patriotism.
They help out the schools and help out whatever.
They're a great bunch of gals.
We-- We get to meet--
I shouldn't say "gals." There's guys too.
When cheerleading became feminized in the 1950s,
the rules for who could be a cheerleader were very much wrapped up in this idea
of who was seen
as this kind of all-American girl next door.
But gender roles are changing.
Whereas in the 1950s, the all-American girl
knew that her place was on the sidelines,
that's no longer the case now.
She's super confident, tough, athletic.
There's less emphasis on looks
and more emphasis on the sport itself.
The disparity is, is that people still see these athletes
standing on the sideline,
but they don't see them also competing on the other side.
Did you know
that Navarro is one of the top collegiate cheer teams in the USA?
We did not know that.
No.
- No, I didn't know that. - Wow. That is awesome to know that, but...
I did not know it.
The problem is that cheerleading is both an extracurricular activity
and a sport.
So, there's a constant tension between being the spirit leader
for your community
but also being an unbelievable athlete.
Are we ready to start?
Every successful pep rally
is for the purpose of firing up the team, right?
Yeah.
Getting the team ready to compete!
And here to introduce those outstanding,
high-energy team members
is the 13-time...
National Cheer,
five-time...
Grand National Cheer...
...champion coach...
Monica Aldama!
Wow! Dr. Fegan, I don't know if you realize it or not,
but you have just secured your spot
at our next pep rally as the leader.
One of the best cheerleaders I've ever seen, so thank you.
Okay.
My husband and I both grew up here,
went to Corsicana High School,
raised our children here.
Okay.
...worked with a lot of kids, and we've done a lot of performances
in the community over the years.
But today, we thought it would be fun
to kind of touch on the pride that we have
from being from Texas.
So, here they go.
Come on, y'all.
Obviously, I'm very competitive.
My goal was to be the best cheer program in the country.
I did that,
but every year, the standard gets higher and higher
in what you have to do.
If you want to be one of the top teams at the competition,
then you have to step it up.
She always studies and she always looks at routines.
She always looks at other teams and what's our next step
to, like, go even further
because cheerleading evolves every year.
In the beginning,
pyramids were getting on all fours and people stacking each other up.
And they used to build a pyramid and hold it.
Well, now it's you hit
and transition and transition and transition.
And that's the way the scores work.
You know, you're gonna score more if it's a harder skill.
I don't think we've had a pyramid this hard ever before.
That's what we're reaching for,
and that's what we're probably going to achieve.
It's... It's insane.
There's a constant push for it to create that kind of moment of
"Wow! Can't believe they just did that."
And, of course, many people would argue it's why,
um, there's been such an increase in injuries as well.
Because, right now, of women's athletic activities,
cheerleading accounts for the highest number
of catastrophic injuries.
Sometimes, when you see them flying so high,
you know, I am just alway praying that they have somebody to catch them
because they are up there.
And I have been here one time when one was flying and got hurt.
And I remember exactly how it sounded when that person screamed.
How're you feeling?
Great.
Are you?
- Are you lying? - No.
- Do you have a headache? - Right now?
- Yes. - No.
Okay, I want you to put your feet together.
I want you to close your eyes.
I want you to take the tip of your finger, the very tip,
and I want you to touch the tip of your nose just like this.
We were working on pyramid,
and we were trying something new for the first time,
and it, like, kind of went wrong, and I flipped off the side of the pyramid
and hit my head on someone else's head,
and I felt nauseous,
and I, like, ran to the bathroom and threw up.
- Don't move your head. - But Cameron's been testing me,
and he says I have, like, the symptoms from a concussion.
Yeah.
Sit down, guys!
Um, just sit out for the rest of the day.
And then, I wanna see you again tomorrow morning,
and I wanna review your symptoms again, okay?
Okay.
All right, here we go.
You have two minutes to be ready for pyramid.
We got it, guys.
- Ready all? - Yes.
- Ready? - Come on, keep her up.
- And one, two, three, four, five, - Keep her up.
six, seven. Good. One--
Are you all right, Jerry?
Hey, Sherbs.
Make it fluid, but control it a little slower to where they can see it.
Okay, this is gonna be weird, but it's fine.
You can cut quite a bit off right there
- if you want, you know. - Looks good.
You're doing great, sweetheart.
If you want to get a tissue so you can, like, hold it
and, like, of course, the blood will get on your hands,
- so just take it off when it does. - Okay.
And one, two, three, four, five...
Seven, eight. One, two, three.
My God.
Somebody else's knee won.
Hey, Sherbs, is your face close to her leg?
Yeah, it looked really close to her leg.
I don't know, but that scared me.
Watch your-- Watch your knee in her face, Brooke.
All right, here we go.
Hit this.
One, two, three, four, five...
Seven, eight. One, two, three.
She got kicked in the head, man.
- I love pyramid practice. - Boo-boo.
Pyramids are the best.
Is your head throbbing right now?
Try to look up.
Did that hurt?
It hurts?
I want you to stand on your left foot.
Hands on your hips. Close your eyes.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, up, four, easy... Seven, and...
One two, three, four...
We're trying to get this part down.
That way, we can put the rest together.
But we're still working on something we already worked on earlier today.
So, let's keep the talking to a minimum.
Stop freaking out. Just-- I'm gonna catch you.
Open your eyes. Follow my finger.
Okay, hey! Let's-- Let's just do the walking--
Or we could always bump this two counts and then bump it back
after we know it's safe.
- Like, bump it faster? - Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah. This is the slow version. - Yeah, I know.
- Okay. I think two counts would be fine. - Yeah.
- That's gonna... - Be tight?
I mean... We have to see it because the counts will be different.
We're gonna bump it two counts to make it safer, you think that even--
No. If we bump it to make it safer, then it'll be fine.
Just stay in a dark room,
don't look at your phone, bright light, okay?
- Okay. - That's all.
Just sit out the rest of the day.
Y'all, get set. Let's go.
Here we go! Listen!
Catch her no matter what.
You guys are there, so don't freak out.
You're a Navarro cheerleader, you can do it!
- Gonna be tight. - Ready?
Hey! Focus, please.
Quiet!
And one...
One, two, three, four, lean. Seven, and...
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Easy, one, three, five...
seven. And one, two--
Wow.
We're knocking 'em out left and right.
That was fun.
You gotta love pyramids.
- Push-ups. - Fifty push-ups.
She put her butt on my head. Or her foot, I... I don't know.
I just-- Whatever started coming down and stuff started hitting me, so I just...
What's with the push-ups?
50. 'Cause, um, she hit the ground. 'Cause no one caught her.
I thought my head caught her, though.
I think this is a sign that we need a break from pyramids.
I love you.
- All right, we'll call it a day. - Let's go, circle up.
I hope everyone got, like, the goofing off out of your system,
because just everyone needs to be more focused
and more checked in to Daytona season
because it's already here
and we all need to take it a little bit more seriously.
Like, going into this next week, it's gonna be, like, a dogfight, really.
Everyone wants to be on the mat. Everyone's gonna be trying their hardest.
But make sure you're taking care of your body
and, like, you're having the best attitude you can,
whether or not you're about to be in the 20 or not.
Most people would love to be one of the 20 on mat,
so they will do anything it takes to make that happen.
Okay. Lift your arms.
Close your eyes.
There are gonna be injuries. That's how the sport goes.
This is serious. This isn't something that...
This isn't Bring It On. As much as we love the movies, it's not.
- God, grant us the serenity. - God, grant us the serenity.
But whatever Monica needs to get done, they will do it.
...and the wisdom to know the difference.
- Amen! - Amen.
One, two, three.
- Dogs, stiff where? - Yeah!
Y'all, sets of ten burpees for all the talkin'.
Five, six, seven, and, one.
- Two! - All three top girls are out.
- I know. - Come on, Jerry.
Monica's gonna love me when I hold out three of her girls.
That's the pyramid, right there.