Dear editor:

My name is Sue Youngblood and I am one of the cheer coaches at Colquitt County High School.  It is my pleasure to announce that this Wednesday, Feb. 7, the cheer program will host a breakfast honoring some 193 female athletes who play/participate in team sports at CCHS.  This event is our way of joining the celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

 While I readily admit that sports are not the be-all and end-all to society’s ills, and that playing a sport is not essential to success in life, I do believe that participation in team sports has a measurable and positive impact on high school students. At a time that we as parents are united in our efforts to save our children from the numerous negative influences that work to derail their progress and negate our efforts, sports stands firmly as an entity meant to aid us in that effort.     

Research shows that student athletes make better grades, miss less school, develop important time management skills, and are less likely to participate in risky behaviors than their counterparts that do not participate in sports.  Research shows that playing a sport results in higher scores for core subjects like math, social studies, and language arts. Student athletes learn the value of the 3 P’s:  practice, patience, and persistence.  They learn important leadership skills, and establish close friendships that last a life time. Student athletes come in contact with coaches who often serve as mentors that teach valuable lessons through on-field experiences. They learn the meaning of true sportsmanship, the value of community and team work, the result of personal effort and dedication. As you can tell, I am an advocate for the value and positive impact of playing sports for young people, especially girls who seem to battle the negative effects of social media on a daily basis.

Twenty-five years ago when the Georgia High School Association established competitive cheerleading as a varsity sport (by the way, I voted no to that proposal in my region meeting), within a very few years I saw the impact of that decision on the cheerleaders I coached. What exactly did I learn?  I learned that competition validated those girls as athletes, and provided them an avenue to skills development, personal commitment, and team success that did not exist for them up to that point.  I learned that competition cheerleaders are as determined, passionate, and zealous as athletes in more traditional sports, and that the need to be physically fit, strong, and mentally tough is as essential in competition cheer as it is in any sport with a ball.

I learned that competition cheerleaders put more pressure on themselves than any pressure I could apply as their coach. I learned that as stressful as stunting is for the coach, competition cheerleaders rarely opt for something easier if given the choice.

 I learned that I was totally wrong about what competition cheerleading could be, and that I should not have voted no at that region meeting. Am I glad I was proven wrong?  You bet!

If you are a female who played a sport at any level – recreation, middle school, high school, college, or even the pros, good for you!  If you are a parent who is thinking about your daughter participating in sports, I encourage you to make that happen! I often tell parents asking about cheerleading that when your child is at cheer practice, you know where she is, what she is doing, and who she is with.  How’s that for offering peace of mind? My girls, Taylor and Logan, were not competition cheerleaders; they played high school and college basketball. I am certain that playing basketball helped them to become the responsible young adults they are today. In my years as an educator and coach, I have seen that impact over and over in girls playing on a team, regardless of the sport. I wish that same positive result for your child.  

Sue Youngblood

Moultrie