Most of us have been to a high school football game, we’ve seen the game, and we’ve seen what it takes to be on the field to play. Anyone can figure out the basic facts, like how there are points, there is another team competing against Lake Mary, and a bunch of guys wearing protective padding.

Cheerleading consists of physical activity, trust/teamwork, purpose, an athlete, and healthy lifestyle. The only difference between named sports and cheer is the dance and spirit combined with the blood and sweat. As well as all the injuries that go along with it like broken bones, concussions, and over worked muscles. The statistics show that cheerleading is a dangerous sport. It reads, “

Strains/sprains: 52.4 percent, Soft tissue injuries: 18.4 percent, Fractures/dislocations: 16.4 percent, Lacerations/avulsions: 3.8 percent, Concussions/closed head injuries: 3.5 percent, other: 5.5 percent. “ To make matters worse, cheerleaders, unlike football players, don’t have the luxury of wearing protective headgear and padding the players up like an Amazon delivery box.

At competition, cheerleading also includes scores, competing against other teams, and having teammates to work out with. Sounds a lot like what I just explained about football, huh?  For example a freshman Lake Mary football player, Blake Martin, said it himself, “cheer is a sport because you compete against other teams to get a score and it requires skill.”