Woodson Cheer Welcomes Freshmen, Preps for Competition

Cavalier cheerleaders had a good reason to be proud last season.

The Cavaliers finished second in the Patriot District semifinals, third in the District finals and sixth in the Regional semifinals last year. 

“A lot of times people don’t consider cheering a sport,” said head coach Betsy Nerdahl. “You don’t know how many times I’ve had people come out to tryouts and go ‘Really? This is hard!’” 

Both of Nerdahl’s daughters are products of Woodson cheer. One went on to cheer in college while the other currently coaches in competitive cheer. 

“They practice three hours every night of the week and then four hours on Saturday,” said Nerdahl. “The last 30 minutes of every practice is heavy conditioning. My kids can run, they are in great shape and we go over nutirition.” 

A few athletes have come out for the team from other sports and left due to the strenuous activity they had to perform. 

“It’s a very physical contact sport,” said Nerdahl. “What you see on the sidelines is not what we do at the competition level.” 

Nerdahl went on to explain that the performances on the sidelines are not about competition, they are about getting the fans enthusiasm levels up for the football games. 

Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the girls no longer get to cheer at winter sporting events. 

“Fairfax County no longer has basketball season for its cheerleaders,” said Nerdahl. “It was a budget issue and it is what it is in this crunch. We do understand that numbers need to be crunched here and there.”

Nerdahl and the team are sad to not be participating in basketball season, needless to say and are actually losing more than that. 

“We also used to cheer for the wrestling team and help coach gymnastics.”

The squad lost several experienced seniors to graduation this year.

“We have a younger team, but a lot of returnees,” said Nerdahl. “We’re hoping that as the season progresses we are going to kick up our game for competition.”

The few veteran members will carry more responsibilities.

“I give my seniors leadership positions, while other [older members] have jobs teaching cheers and chants," said Nerdahl.

“It adds a lot of pressure, especially since this is an extremely young team,” said senior captain Christine Khong, who also sings in chorus and manages lacrosse in the Spring. “It makes me become a role model and a representative of the team.”