So for competitive cheer, Nationals is 2 days… so if you make it to Finals, the second day, we all sit in a room with our coaches. The lights are off and, uh, our coaches, they prerecord just their voices.. so there will be like a themed song throughout and then with that, each of our main coaches will give a speech they recorded on there.

I cry like a baby,  like I am heaving and everyone cries and it’s supposed to inspire you for the next day… they talk about the year and I bawl like a little, little baby and just sit on the bed and they cry, too.

But also, sometimes they put funny jokes in there. My senior year  “Inspirationals” one was really rough.

How long has this been a tradition on your team?

Uh…probably like 20 years?

Are the people on the team the same every year…like you’re all really close?

Typically, yeah… I’ve stayed with my coaches for 8 years and we’ve switched companies, like our entire cheer gym completely ended and a new one started, but most of the people were the same.

Why do you think they’ve carried this on?

I guess…it’s meant to reflect on the whole year and to inspire you for the next day and just doing it for the family that’s around you. They have Worlds this week! Ahhhh!!!

Context:

The informant, my roommate, told me this one-on-one in our room. This is the first time she ever described this tradition to me, but I have heard a lot about her cheer team over the course of living with her.

Thoughts:

Obviously, based on the emphasis my informant places on all her crying, this ritual means a lot to the cheerleaders. And Nationals is a high stakes situation, so reflecting on the year and preparation makes a lot of sense.