Do you have what it takes to cheer in college, more specifically Division II College? Did you cheer in junior high/high school? Believe me there are some similarities but it is a completely different ballgame here in college. Oh, you cheered competitively? Yeah, not the same thing as College NCA Nationals. Interested to know more? Keep reading and I will tell you how to make this transition as smooth as possible. 
Here at Tarleton our cheerleaders are required to be in attendance at several events throughout the year not to mention all home athletic events and some out of town athletic events. You may have similar cheer experiences as far as cheering in pep rallies and at home football/basketball games but that’s probably the gist of it. As far as competitive, it’s pretty much just comps after comps, none of the political public meet and greets. The Tarleton State University Cheerleaders are role models, they are the face of Tarleton and all that it encompasses. We put on pep rallies for incoming freshmen, the Chancellor of the A&M System, Transition and Family Relations during Family Weekend to name a few. Not only do we put on pep rallies and perform for thousands we also create routines to show off at Midnight Madness in conjunction with the band, the dance team, the Purple Poo, the Plowboys and PANKUS. All of those are different spirit organizations here on campus. Tarleton is all about tradition and improving our game day experience one step at a time.
Home athletic events, let’s talk about that for a minute. Our football games are very similar to high school in the sense of cheering on the sidelines but we have such a huge impact on the game as far as creating that atmosphere that shows our support starting with Texan Alley, our tailgating. The cheerleaders make a spirit/parade rally welcoming the team off the busses and walk/march them through the middle of tailgating while yelling chants the entire way. This lets the team know we have their backs, we are there for them and no one else. We also are part of the pre-game ritual, we make a tunnel for the team to run through, we tumble out on the turf before them and run our flags that spell out T-E-X-A-N-S along with our Texan Rider flag which is our mascot. Moving on to volleyball, not many high school much less college teams cheer at volleyball but we do and we love it. Our volleyball team is so appreciative of our support, we cheer during the game and then we are the entertainment between the matches. We even travel to regionals when we aren’t hosting it, and give our team the feeling of home court. Last but not least, basketball, my favorite of all. Cheerleaders have the best seats in the house, sometimes I don’t think they realize that. We cheer on our teams during the game, perform routine medias that we plan out with band and dance so that we are coordinated and make the game day experience the best it can be. Call-outs are probably the most fun, we love coming up with different elements to showcase our talent, entertain the crowd, while the players are being announced. During basketball games we are also the ones that help with giveaways, we have things like the Truck Shuffle, we get to pick the participant of that game. Fan of the Game, that’s us too! It is so neat to be able to be in control of situations that affect the crowd. 
So I have only touched on athletic events but there is much more to cheering in college. When in college you typically don’t have mom and dad to make sure that you are eating right, much less eating at all. Your teachers aren’t going to call home when you skip class. Your mom isn’t going to write you an absent note to your professor when you are sick. It is all on you, you are an adult now whether you are ready to be or not. You are in charge of what you do, when you do it and how you do it. In this article they discuss the importance of being on your own, not having a teacher that will always give you extra credit to help ensure you are successfull. http://www.nebhe.org/thejournal/the-high-school-to-college-transition-minding-the-gap/
