How team bonds, ‘nonstop’ practice drive SU cheerleaders’ year-round pep
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In the Women’s Building Gym B, a lone speaker blasts music loud enough to shake the foam mats rolled out on the linoleum floor. Following the beats of the cheer leading music, cheerleaders count “two, four, six, eight” while a tumbling group passes by in near-perfect synchronization.
Every move is sharp and precise. Snaps, claps and cleans echo across the gym as injured teammates and alternates cheer on the 20-person competition team from the edge of the mat.
Almost none of the fans who watch the Syracuse University cheerleading squad in the JMA Wireless Dome will ever see this routine. Most of them don’t even know it exists.
What spectators don’t see are the three-hour practices, lift sessions, tumbling sessions and weekends the 31-person all girls team spends learning their competition choreography.
“I don’t think a lot of people see that we are putting all of that extra time in besides doing gameday things,” SU senior and cheerleader Hailey Gifford said.
Each April, the National Cheerleaders Association hosts a college dance and cheer nationals competition at the Daytona Beach Bandshell in Florida. While SU Cheer trains for nationals, its sideline work doesn’t let up. The team cheers for the SU football and basketball teams alongside preparing for the NCA competition. Their varying responsibilities to different commitments make their season year-round, Gifford said.
A member of the Syracuse University cheer team practices a back handspring at the Women’s Building. Team members practice throughout the week while balancing their academic responsibilities. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor
SU’s cheerleading team originated around the turn of the 20th century and have since been beloved by students and fans alike. The cheerleaders spend their weekends on the sideline of football and basketball home games, making appearances at community events and of course, practicing.
SU senior and cheerleader Paisley Olenik loves the experience of cheering at major sporting events, as the game day energy is one of her favorite parts of cheering, she said.
“When the team runs out, we shake our poms and cheer,” Olenik said. “We can take it all in right there in the middle of the field.”
Olenik’s teammate and fellow SU senior Chelsea Morton agrees. Morton initially didn’t intend to cheer at the collegiate level. After attending an event in the Dome on a campus tour, Morton’s college goals changed.
“I took one step inside, and I looked at my mom and said ‘I have to be on these sidelines,’” Morton said. “It was amazing. I knew I would love to see this place full.”
Hannah Peterson (left), Hailey Gifford (fourth from left) and other members of the Syracuse University cheer team practice their routine for an upcoming competition in Daytona Beach, Florida. In addition to preparing for competitions, the team cheers at game days and makes appearances at community events. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor
Fans know this version of the team, leading the school spirit from the sidelines, shouting loudly when the Orange get a first down and always keeping a smile on their faces.
The cheer season starts before classes do. As a freshman, Morton arrived in early August for preseason. Not only did this help the team get a head start on practices, but also created a deeper bond between teammates, Morton said. The team has three weeks of six-hour practices every day to prepare for the season, she added.
No matter the work the team puts in, SU sophomore and cheerleader Hannah Peterson said many people still hold misconceptions about the cheer team and the sport as a whole. The work ethic and time that goes into cheerleading is equal to that of any other Division I sport, especially as they travel to away games, Peterson said.
“Yes, we are doing it for fun because we like it, we get to look all cute and curl our hair and go to events and go to games,” Peterson said. “But then we’re also practicing nonstop for multiple hours a day. I think there’s a disconnect between how much work we put into it versus what others see.”
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After the team’s weekend of choreography, Gifford went to the SU athletics treatment room for recovery. While she was there, Gifford saw her friend, who was surprised to learn the amount of hours the team put in that day.
“We’re much more than just pretty faces — there’s a lot to it,” Gifford said.
As a team, the cheerleaders’ main focus is to build connections between each other. During preseason, many make bonds that last a lifetime. For Olenik, finding friends from the team weeks before her first day of class was reassuring, she said.
This year’s team is the “closest and most fun” team Gifford has seen in her three seasons with SU cheer, she said. Spending time together outside of practice, getting ready for games and appearing at community service events creates deeper bonds within their team, Olenik said.
At the end of practice, the team has a tradition where they share shoutouts for their fellow cheerleaders. Whether it be a full layout in the end zone after a touchdown or a stunt that they executed successfully, sharing shoutouts motivates the team to work harder, Gifford said.
“It’s nice to feel like ‘Oh, wow. Someone saw that I did something really cool today,’” Gifford said. “It makes you smile that your teammates are looking out for each other and recognizing the hard work that all of us are putting in.”
Game days have their own rituals in the cheer team. Before home football games, the cheerleaders welcome players during the Quad Walk and cheer with the band, a tradition that started when SU football head coach Fran Brown was hired in 2023, Olenik said.
Cheerleading is an athlete-led sport, Peterson said. Coaches listen to team members on how to improve their routines, and it informs the coaches on what to work on next. Everyone is expected to pull their own weight, Peterson said.
“We all know that we are working for ourselves, for our team and for the school, which is really nice because it feels so collective, supportive, and is such a tight knit community,” Peterson said.
Members of the Syracuse University cheer team practice roundoff back handsprings during a Tuesday night practice. For many of the cheerleaders, the connections they form with teammates are an integral part of being on the team. Tara Deluca | Photo Editor
Although it doesn’t feel like the cheer team receives much recognition by the public, Olenik said, it makes the support inside the squad stronger. Being a cheerleader means putting others above yourself, so the SU Cheer team likes to hype each other up with “mat talk,” Olenik said.
The team’s connection boosts the Orange spirit too. Peterson said longtime fans and older alumni often stop the cheerleaders at sporting and SU events.
“They get so excited to see us, and it’s usually like, ‘Oh, I went to Syracuse back in the day,’ or ‘I know someone that went to Syracuse,’” Peterson said. “Older fans are my favorite.”
For Morton, who graduates in December, this fall is her last on the sideline. At camps and clinics, young girls want to hold her pompoms or learn a cheer and often ask the cheerleaders if they’re famous, Morton said.
“We’re always told that we are the face of the university, we play such a pivotal role,” Morton said. “To be able to actually experience that through our community has been so rewarding.”
