With an abundance of extra curricular activities to participate in, some choose art, others enjoy music but senior Kimberly Ward, loves cheer. Since the young age of five, Ward has never wavered in her love for it.

Ward recalls admiring the high school cheerleaders and hoping to someday be just like them.

“I was five years old when I started cheering. I wanted to start cheering when I saw some high school cheerleaders and I really wanted to be one of them,” Ward said. “I decided to stick with it all these years because it was just something really fun and I knew I was pretty good at it, so gradually I just came to love it more and more.”

Not only does is Ward a member of the FC cheer team, but also a member of the CenCal All-Star competition cheer team. She is a member of their ‘Inferno’ team which consists of cheerleaders in level 4.2.

Balancing cheer and social life seems difficult, but in reality it isn’t all that hard. I know when cheer practices are and I know when the games are, so I base my social life around those times and do schoolwork sometime after everything else. I’d rather have fun with friends and make memories than have sleep.–Kim Ward, ’15

Ward began competition cheer at five years of age and continued with it for two or three years, however, she quit and re-joined last year in 2013. Ward identifies the differences between the FC team and CenCal.

“At CenCal they require more dancing and it’s much less conservative, here at FC we can’t even move our hips,” Ward says. “It’s much more fast paced, while with FC we take the time to really teach the girls how to do something, or we work on things other than stunting.”

Flyer for Ward’s stunt group at FC and best friend, Callista Fries, ’15, has immense trust in Ward and is unable to imagine cheer without her.

“I trust Kim so much because she is my best friend and she has been my base for the past two years and she has not dropped me once so I know she will be there if I fall,” Fries said. “I love cheering with Kim, being as close as we are it’s good for us and we’re the only seniors on our team so it’s easier to lead. I can’t imagine cheer without her because having to lead alone would be terrible and she just helps with absolutely everything.”

High school is the time to make unforgettable memories with friends, and participating in two cheer teams will not stop Ward from spending time with her friends.

“Balancing cheer and social life seems difficult, but in reality it isn’t all that hard,” Ward said. “I know when cheer practices are and I know when the games are, so I base my social life around those times and do schoolwork sometime after everything else. I’d rather have fun with friends and make memories than have sleep.”

Despite cheer being that most dangerous female sport and number two in catastrophic when compared to all spots, Ward has not suffered from any cheer related injuries. However, she is able to recall her scariest cheer moment.

“One time last year we were trying to do a back tuck x, it’s like she [Callista] does a back tuck and she x’s out and falls,” Ward said. “So we tried that and Callista almost fell on her face and I caught her by her neck hoping she wouldn’t smack her head into the ground.”

Ward also will never forget the memories and accomplishments that cheer has brought, including her top cheer moment to date at the Jamz Nationals.

“Last year at the Jamz Nationals we were in a level five stunt group competition, which is crazy hard. We were supposed to be placed in level three but we ended up getting second place out of five or six teams.”

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @gaby_siqueiros. Follow The Feather via Twitter: @thefeather.

For more sports, read the Oct. 17 article, Volleyball sport short: Minarets.