Gaby and Christina Sipe – Building Confidence Through Cheer!

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By Anne Larsen

There are certain things that I innately connect to cheerleading, cheer squads, and any sort of pom-pom activity.  My mind vacillates between Will Farrell and Cheri Oteri as the Spartan Cheerleaders on SNL to wacko stories of mean girls on Facebook…. being down right mean to other girls on Facebook. Really, there was nothing in the middle there for me.  I don’t even find little girls dressed up for Halloween as cheerleaders cute…….(crushing my daughters hopes for next year). I am one of those people that don’t consider activities with bows and pom-poms a sport, and seeing anyone in make-up under the age of 10 makes me instantly think “Toddlers and Tierra’s!”….but all of my blatant stereotypes came crashing down in front of me earlier this week when I was lucky enough to sit down with Christina and Gaby Sipe to “talk” cheer. I’m not saying I’m a good person for my evil cheer thoughts, but I thought it pertinent to the story because really, nothing is more pleasant that being pleasantly surprised. Which is what I am now!

I’ve always thought of Christina as an “athlete’s athlete”, she’s a runner  and therefore superior to any and everyone (in my opinion).  I’ve always known her to be an exceptional mom, but I never really envisioned her as a cheer coach until I started hearing rumors of how awesome her daughter Gaby’s cheer team was, and that low and behold, she was the coach. Now, Christina will confirm with you that she never cheered in high school or college. She was the kid running cross county, shooting hoops in the Winter, and hitting the track in the Spring. But, what is an exceptional mom to do when she has a “girlie” girl that wants to cheer, and no cheer coach to lead the charge? Well, if you’re Christina, you step up to the plate and take on the challenge. “It was good for me as a parent to be involved in my kids experiences.”

Gaby started cheering for the Thurston County Youth Football League (TCYFL) in the 4th grade. TCYFL provides football and cheerleading programs for youth between the ages of 7-13. Kids play or cheer for their school district (Olympia, Capital, Tumwater, River Ridge, etc) at games throughout the Fall. Gaby’s team cheers for Olympia. Go Bears! TCYFL is a recreation league and has a no-cut policy. Gaby had always been interested in cheerleading and her schedule finally allowed her to join the squad in the 4th grade. During her 6th grade year, her mom started co-coaching and covering practices to help out (yes, she’s that kind of mom…..not the one sitting in her car on her iPhone). For Gaby’s 7th and 8th grade seasons, Christina was the coach. So, what do you do and where do you go if you’re coaching a sport you’ve never participated in or even really have a personal interest? YouTube of course! Christina and Gaby watched hours of YouTube videos and then Christina would video tape the girls so they could see themselves and make corrections.

What does a typical cheer practice look like? The girls warm-up by running and stretching. They will then move into some strength and core conditioning – which Christina brought to the table when she became coach. Core is the key to everything (that is your one take away). Then the girls will start reviewing and practicing cheers, making up new moves and cheers….repeat. In August, they practice 3 times per week and once school starts they move down to 2 times per week. There is a competition at the end of the year which involves cheers, stunts and dance. This is an opportunity for all TCYFL league cheerleaders to compete against each other.  Steilacoom school district was added this year. In her 7th grade year, Gaby and her team placed 2nd in the competition, and last year they placed 3rd.

As a coach, Christina had high expectations of Gaby and really turned to her to help out the other girls and work with new girls. As with any experience you share with your child, you want them to do their best, and Christina is no exception to that rule. Gaby seems to have taken the role as mentor in stride and really lights up when she talks about creating choreography, music and cheers. All of the girls come with ideas, and create fun and new cheer routines.

There are certain traits that I never connect with cheerleading and being humble would be one of them. But, Gaby told me that is one of the most important aspects of cheer. “In cheerleading you want to be uniform and NOT stand out. Cheer really teaches teamwork, not being flashy, but being humble, uniform and professional.” Did you just hear that ‘pop’?  That was one of my stereotypes being deflated. The Olympia Bears cheer squad worked on doing simple and strong cheers correctly and cleanly. When the girls are on the field as a team, the crowd eye always goes to the person that is out of synch. The motto in cheer: “if you mess up, keep going! Don’t stop!” The girls gain enormous confidence performing in front of their peers and parents. The team works on showcasing all of the girls individual strengths and Christina and Gaby make sure that everyone is equally involved. Christina reminds the girls that they are representing the team at all times and really representing the community. The values they are learning will prepare them in the future and build confidence. There is no “squad drama” on this team, “we’ve got a really good group of girls.” There is a huge misconception (which I WAS guilty of) that cheerleaders are not disciplined athletes that put in the time. “Our girls learned 40 separate cheers this year and a cheer routine with two songs.”

Gaby is now the girl that “freaked out” at her first cheer in 4th grade to the incoming Freshman that will try out for drill team. Christina has seen what cheer has done to build confidence in Gaby. “This past summer Gaby and I traveled to India as part of a pilot student leadership program with the Tronie Foundation. We traveled with 7 other middle school students for two weeks to bring awareness to human trafficking and child labor.  My sister and I helped the students prepare a program combined with dancing and basketball skills program to entertain kids at orphanages, child labor rescue shelters, schools and villages in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kerala.  The students performed many times throughout their trip as well as doing a skit depicting bonded labor and how people are trapped in it.  Gaby even got up and sang “Baby Baby” by Justin Bieber- the girls there all know him.  Her years of cheer definitely contributed to her ability to perform with confidence as well as encourage the kids there to get involved in the dancing.”

Gaby and Christina Sipe certainly deserve a “go team”! shout out from all of us in Thurston County.

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