Human beings are not birds.

We don’t have hollow bones, or wings covered in feathers. We are not aerodynamically designed.

Still, throughout history, we have tried–from Leonardo DaVinci’s glider designs to the numerous attempts at aircraft invention that led to the Wright brothers’ success in the 20th century, there have been those that chase the exhilarating feel of wind whipping through their eyes and hair as gravity releases its hold on them. The adrenaline rush of flight, however momentary, is undeniable.

In cheerleading, there is another side to that adrenaline rush. While aptly named fliers do indeed soar through the air, there is an entire team behind that mechanism. City College’s bases and backs say that it’s just as rewarding to know that you are able to facilitate that flight as it is to be up in the air. Unanimously, the entire team declares stunting to be the best part of their sport.

“You have to have every single part of your body working to get the person up and then catch them safely,” Captain Acelyn Sutton said.

The team captain was tossed up and then caught in cradles and baskets throughout the practice by Charlie Hess, Amneryz Ramirez, and fellow captain Jem Sarmiento.

Sarmiento nodded in agreement with Sutton’s analysis of the importance of stunting, but quickly added on, “and the team dynamic.”

“Yes,” Sutton confirmed. “You have to work as a team. As soon as you get the perfect group, you can feel it. It’s like you feel nothing.”

Between stunts, during which the cheerleaders count aloud to maintain synchronicity, the members of each group discuss their techniques and offer possible corrections. Coach Julia Hand is called from group to group to answer questions, give advice, and analyze technique.

“Wherever your flier goes, you go,” she says. Backspots and bases who drop their fliers are penalized with extra laps.

Only five weeks into the season, Hand is still trying to create the most efficient groupings of her athletes. Everything is new–the groupings for stunts, the choreography for dances, and even the tumbling the team practices after warming up and stretching.

“Tuesday was the first time we did [our] non-dominant [leg],” she confided after her athletes finished performing cartwheels.

After three years without a cheerleading team, Hand acknowledged the difficulty in rebuilding City College’s award-winning program. While the team does not plan to return to competition this upcoming spring, they are still excited for their future prospects and furthermore, are enjoying the present.

“Just being a part of a group that brought cheer back to CC is a huge honor,” said Jenna Hagedorn.

Hagedorn was among the team members who lobbied to resurrect cheerleading at City College, along with captains Sarmiento and Sutton, Kira Hatch, and Amneryz Gonzalez.

Gonzalez began cheering at age 5, and continues despite the numerous interruptions to her career. Between the Montecito mudslides, the Thomas Fire, and COVID-19, Gonzales was only able to attend Santa Barbara High School in-person for about a year and a half. She reflected on the process of registering cheerleading as a City College sport.

“We were really pushing for it,” she said of the program. “I had a mini panic attack when they said that we found a coach.”

Ramirez expressed her excitement for the team’s success in finding a coach and being able to function within the school as a sport, rather than a club.

“It’s not a group of friends meeting on the beach and just hanging out,” she said. “[Before,] we were not allowed on campus at all because we were a club, because we didn’t have a coach.”

Now, cheerleaders perform at home football games, and will continue to support teams throughout the football and basketball season. They participate in school functions, and have had the opportunity to bring a young cancer survivor to act as their captain for the day. Five weeks into a new beginning, a new program is being built slowly but steadily.

Coach Julia Hand invites any students who wish to join the cheerleading program for the Spring 2023 semester to contact her at [email protected] on or before Oct. 11 to participate in a winter training camp.