Madisyn Hanson

When attending a Springfield High School football or basketball game, you may see two groups of girls getting the crowd pumped by cheering, dancing or chanting. While they may look similar, these two groups of girls are very different, but both equally as important to SHS. Let’s take a closer look inside the SHS Scarlet Line and the SHS Cheerleaders!

The SHS Scarlet Line is our very own group of dancers that represent SHS at home football games and basketball games. This group of dedicated girls practice every Monday and Wednesday for three hours in preparation for the game of the week. At practice, you’ll find the girls stretching and holding their splits for one minute on each side. I don’t know about you, but that is some intense stretching! Their main focus at each practice is to prepare for the game of the week. They prepare for the game of the week by working on two dances. A lot goes into preparing these dances such as running dances over and over until they’re clean, practicing the dance in groups and making corrections. Of course a lot of work goes into preparing for the game of the week, but these girls say that game day makes it all worth the while! Each game day starts with a game day ritual created by the girls; making a game day tiktok! Following the game day, the girls head to the field to get ready for the game! To prepare for the game, they practice their spacing on the field, their formations and the dance itself. As the first half of the game goes on, the girls practice the dance and work on stretching leading up until halftime when they perform. When asked what their favorite sport to perform for is, the girls said that football was their favorite because of the fall weather and the student section. The girls were then asked to choose between CITY and Homecoming and the girls said that CITY was their favorite. They said that CITY is their favorite because they get to incorporate all dance styles into their performances. Aside from spending time together at practice and at games, the girls hangout in groups outside of school and have team sleepovers. One of the girls’ favorite traditions is that each time before they perform, they get in a circle and get hype together. The girls agreed that one of their favorite things about being on the team is going to camp and doing all the fun things included such as making music videos at camp and growing friendships.

The SHS Cheerleaders are our very own group of girls who cheer on our boys basketball and football and get the crowd hype! These girls practice every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for two hours to prepare for the game of the week. To begin the practice, the girls start by stretching and warming up as a team. Their main focus at each practice is to review the past games and focus on what they can improve on for the following week. The girls also work on stunts, routines and formations during practice. As for game day, the best day of the week, the girls are busy preparing for the game! The cheerleaders prepare for the game by arriving at the field early to practice and put up senior signs. Before the game starts, the cheerleaders perform their “hello cheer” to the opposing team. Throughout the game, the girls perform sideline cheers and even include the student section in some of their cheers. When asked what their favorite sport to cheer for was, they agreed that football was their favorite. They said that football was their favorite because they enjoy looking up at the bleachers and seeing the fans dressed up, along with seeing the players on the field. When asked whether they enjoyed cheering for Homecoming or CITY more, the girls agreed that CITY was their favorite. They said that CITY was their favorite because they get to decorate signs, practice new routines and that the amount of fans that show up to CITY help them get hype! These girls spend a lot of time together at practice and at games, but they also enjoy spending time together outside of school. The girls plan team hangouts, sleepovers and even fun things like Secret Santa to connect outside of school. The girls agreed that some of their favorite things about being on the cheer team are going to camp and their end of the year banquet. 

Two great sets of girls and one goal. The SHS Scarlet Line and the SHS Cheerleaders are the best when it comes to rooting for SHS! We appreciate all of the time and effort these girls put in so that we as fans can enjoy their routines and performances at games. While these girls have one goal, they are unique in their own way!