Cheer (2020) s02e03 Episode Script
Dracut Girl
1
We're signing two people.
Maddy Brum and Dawson Nickelson.
- Uh-huh.
- Which one is Maddy? - You know who Maddy Brum is.
- She's on ECE Bombshells.
She's in the Which one? - The grey Spanx.
- Yeah.
You know who I'm talking about.
She's incredible.
Come on, James.
Watch that T.
Come on, Maddy! - Yeah! - Yeah! Let's go, Jordan! So, Madison I'm gonna start crying again.
Madison is signing today to come down to Navarro.
So this is a big day for her, big deal for the family.
Yeah.
Shipping her off to Texas.
Mom cries every time she talks about it.
T-tears of joy, just, you know We're from Massachusetts, so I didn't know much about a junior college in Texas.
She knew that this was right for her and now we're here.
She's taking a selfie.
I have to! She kept talking about Navarro.
You know, she grew up in Massachusetts.
She's a town girl.
I'm like, "She's gonna go to East-Bum-I-Don't-Even-Know-Where Texas to a junior college.
" We couldn't even find a pool table.
I was like, "Madison, uh, you're out of your mind.
" Okay.
Will you take some photos? Okay.
What's your Do you have a good side? Um, no.
Do you want me to get a particular side? I'll just Monica, right when I walked in, she was open arms.
She was like, "Hi, I'm Monica.
It's nice to meet you.
" She is amazing and I cannot wait to have her as my coach.
- Stop crying! - I'm not, I'm happy.
I did.
Yay! Yeah! Thank you, guys.
Thank you, Monica.
Yay! Everything about this is a dream come true.
I watched Navarro online when I was younger.
Every single time I watched, I was like, "I'm going to be on that team.
" "I want to be on that team.
" Because the way they execute, the way they look on the mat makes me want to be a Navarro cheerleader.
So I came to ask you about that pizza party that you promised us.
- We have still have yet to - I promised nothing of a pizza party.
- Vontae, you did, though.
- Jeron.
That's the only thing we If we hit 12 full-outs before we leave to go to Daytona, hit 12 We don't need a pizza at that point! Hit 12 full-outs, you'll get a pizza party.
So what if we hit it today? Ain't the same.
We ain't got the whole pyramid.
If y'all hit full-out on the first time, I'll give you a pizza party.
- I mean, that's, like, today - No.
It ain't.
No.
It's not.
No.
It's not.
I'm always gonna want more.
I'd like to be throwing full-out right now.
We got the routine two weeks ago, so it's definitely not feasible, but by this time, when I got any of my routines, I could go full-out by this time, individually.
But my routines were not nearly as hard as the routines that these kids are having now, so All right.
Welcome to Thursday.
Oh yeah.
Yeah! Well, you look good.
Let's perform good.
We're on this floor now.
Everything is gonna have a purpose.
Four, three, two We're trying something a bit different this year.
For us to get Brad Vaughan was a big step for the program.
I think this routine could be the best scoring routine that Trinity Valley's ever had since I took over.
Choreography is gonna be a little bit more flashier this year, which is going to make it more exhausting for the team.
This year's pyramid is gonna probably be one of our coolest-looking pyramids that's gonna have some difficulty as well, because we haven't done any of these skills before.
One, three, four, now, five.
Seven, eight, one.
Last year, you know, I just put a pyramid in there, did a nice transition off, a flipping transition, made it look pretty.
Seven, one, two, three, four, five Trinity Valley definitely want a little bit more of a style like ours.
And, you know, it's very hard to do a fast-paced, all-choreography-and-skill routine.
You don't have a second to breathe.
It's very fast-paced, I will say.
And I feel like their stamina is just not there.
Breathe! Breathe! This is a sprint for 2 minutes and 15 seconds, and it is using so many parts of your body all the time.
To score as high as we need to score, the type of conditioning that we have to have is so high for that 2 minutes and 15 seconds, because it's 2 minutes and 15 seconds of the hardest cardio you can imagine.
All right.
This time you're gonna do 40 jumping jacks as a squad, and then do the stunt.
38, 39, 40.
One, two, three Nobody likes conditioning.
They do it because they know it's going to help.
Five, seven, eight We just have to get used to endurance, gassing out performing.
The overall picture's a lot better, which is really That's good 'cause we're gonna see the bad stuff.
All I see is the bad.
- Bro, I told you that.
- That is so annoying.
Some people get a little bit more rest than others.
But the people that are good at everything? Those people get no rest.
Let's go, Connie! Good finish, boy! Hey.
Hell of a job, tumblers.
Hell of a job.
The dishwasher broke.
I don't know how.
Nuh-uh! It's probably just off the track.
- How do you put it back on? - I don't know.
Set it on it? Can we talk about how Vontae was in a pissy mood today? I mean, those 40 jumping jacks before the set? Wasn't expecting that It's definitely catching up to my body.
Okay.
It's taking a toll on me.
Let me breathe for a sec without my chest feeling like it's caving in.
Everything hurts.
I'm just, like I'm definitely doing a lot more than what I did in previous years.
Like, I am in every single section.
It's constant, high-level energy, I can never have a down point.
I don't know, but I die.
You guys see that every single time we go through a routine, I die.
Hey.
Listen, we could literally be like the people 45 minutes down the road, and I don't think I would like that either.
So, I'm just gonna stop complaining, 'cause it could be worse.
It really could.
- You feel like you're ready? - Yes.
Y'all, this is it.
This is the hardest full-out that you're gonna do for the rest of the year.
But this one right now that we're about to do, this one's the most important one.
So, let's make this a great one.
I'll tell you, there's one team that scored a 9.
933 in Navarro's history, and that's 2012, and they hit the first full-out.
So, let's be that team.
Be that team.
- We can, we will, we must.
- We can, we will, we must.
- We can, we will, we must.
- We can, we will, we must.
Let's get it.
Come on.
This year, we're planning on doing 51 full-outs, and that's a crazy amount of full-outs.
Last year, we did 41 because we were going for win number 14.
So, we had this crazy idea that since we were going for win number 15, we would flip it and try to do 51 full-outs.
You can't get the full taste of what competition feels like if we don't try to emulate it as much as possible.
So we go through the full-outs and when we get tired in the full-outs and we're fatigued, we see where our weak points are.
And the only way we can make that judgement is through those full-outs, which is why we do lots of 'em.
From Corsicana, Texas, Navarro College! NC! NC! NC! NC! NC! NC! - One, two, three, four! - Five, six, seven, eight! Dogs! Here we go! Let's go! Easy! Hold it! Right? Steady! Hold! Lord Jesus! Well, we knew that was gonna be hard.
We knew that was gonna be hard.
Everything she was in messed up.
- Who? - Maddy.
- She got hit in the beginning.
- Because she was acting crazy.
No, because she there, there Dillon needs to move up.
Well, she hit me.
She was doing a messy pyramid.
You know, I can't You know, my mind, how it thinks.
Okay, can can you just give it a moment? Um, I gave it a moment.
I went over there and drank some water.
I'm like I'm telling you.
That's not what I'm talking about.
It may need a few full-outs to work itself out.
- That's - Okay.
You got it.
Tap in.
- You got it.
Here you go.
You got it.
- No, you're right.
I've only won 14, but you show me what you got.
- You're right.
- Show me what you got.
And on three! Good! Five, seven, legs! Three! Is her stunt falling every time? - Hmm? - Is her stunt And the back handspring up.
We can't really finalize our routine until we get so many full-outs in to where we know what's working, what's not, what looks good, what doesn't, what we need to change.
It's This is kinda the tough part.
I didn't think it was that bad.
I'd collapse if I do it again.
Maybe it's 'cause - I am so out of shape, I'd collapse.
- I'm doing pretty good.
We always wanna push ourselves as far as we can, try to train it to where we can make it all work.
And if not, hopefully, we're smart enough coaches that we can make some decisions that are just gonna make it better.
Ooh.
Maddy.
Do we have to watch it again? Bye! James! James almost It's like putting a puzzle together when you're trying to find those people that can do a lot of different things and make it through the routine.
Maddy, what were you thinking? Monica's gonna put in the safest routine that pushes the envelope.
She's not gonna let it just all burst.
If it only hits one out of ten times, it is out.
Is that the guy that everyone wants to be with? Yeah.
I just don't I don't get The Bachelor.
We love it! - I love it! - No.
I get it.
Well, like, I don't get it, but I get why you would like it.
But, like He's, like, sitting there, he's like, "Which girl am I gonna take?" - Yeah.
- Yeah.
"I'm so good-looking.
I have the best personality.
Who's gonna be mine?" - I wanna be the girl! - I wanna be the bachelorette! I'd be a bachelorette.
- I'd pick my little boy.
- I would have 40 boyfriends.
- Does he flirt with all of them? - Yes.
Get their hopes up that they're the one, then he's like, "Nah! Not you!" Then he tries to fall in love with them.
Like, he's got such a sweet soul.
Cheerleading's very big in Texas.
You look at it, like, "I could never cheer there.
" "I live all the way in Massachusetts.
There's no way.
" We were never, like, known.
We had to make ourselves known.
If I didn't keep pushing myself as a cheerleader, I probably would have never left Massachusetts.
Sydney? That's not Hi, Dad.
What do you think? I already said We already me and your mom are on it, so So, you'll go down there and sign with the attorney.
You know what I mean, with Julia, who's gonna be your agent.
- An agent? - John Mello.
This is happening too fast.
Well, it'll will slow down.
You just sit back and relax, that's it.
- I got things lined up, so - Okay, Dad.
Get yourself get yourself a car, you know what I mean? Told you I already got your credit cards situated.
So - Okay.
- You know? This is not for me, Maddy.
This is your life.
This is your future, you know what I mean? I'm only here to help it, then I'm gone.
My dad can't leave the state of Massachusetts for legal reasons.
So he doesn't know what happens down here.
He can never come and see me.
He sees, like, how my social media is getting bigger.
So, he wants to, like get me my own clothing line, with my family and stuff, but, like, I don't wanna do that.
I have, like, 25,000 followers on Instagram, but there's girls on my team who have a million followers on Instagram, and 300,000 or, like, 800,000 on Instagram, like I'm here to do cheer.
I'm not here to, like, promote myself.
I'm not here to, like, make myself bigger.
I'm here to cheer and go to school, and that's what I've been doing.
He didn't even want me to come down here at first because he never really He didn't get to see me a lot of my life.
But in the end of the day, that's kinda his fault.
So, when he didn't get to see me, he, um, he got home and he was like, "Well, why don't you stay near here so I can see you?" And I'm like, "That's on you.
" I want to do this for myself.
I don't know.
He has a lot to make up for at the end of the day too.
Five, six, seven, eight - One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! - Four, six! East Celebrity Elite, can I help you? It depends, are you looking for something this evening or something in the future? Yes.
Maddy Brum is doing stretch privates as well as flyer privates.
She's not doing any tumbling privates.
All of the flyers that I coach, I always, like, threaten them, and I'm like, "If I see you in the gym and if you're not flying how I teach you how to fly, I'll call you out in front of your whole stunt group.
" And every single one of them that sees me that I do privates with, they all Like, Elisse, earlier, I walked over to her stunt group and she was like - I was like - This is like Maddy's second home.
She's really brought a lot of positivity to the gym.
She's also, you know, she's a great athlete, she's a great teammate.
We have a lot of kids from all walks of life, and we realized early on that Maddy didn't have a lot of parental supervision or care.
And, um, and she needed some.
On five, your chin goes up and you emphasize your shoulders going back, because those are the things that You're pointing yourself out and saying, "I'm confident.
I know what I'm doing.
" You'll go five, six, seven, sharp dip.
One, two, clean, three, four, five.
She spent the majority of her childhood in a cheer gym.
I don't even think she has a hobby besides cheer.
That's all she's done.
All her life is cheer and cheer, and then she cheered more.
Arms are straight, shoulders are back, chin is up.
You're smiling.
You're so happy to be here.
Cheerleading is the best sport in the world.
Three, high V, five, seven.
They dip, one, you lift, three, catch, four, chin, five.
When Maddy was young, her dad went into prison.
Growing up, I always wondered, like, "Where's my dad?" My family told me he was away for work because my mom didn't want me to live every day knowing that he was in prison.
We lived literally paycheck to paycheck just to eat and have a roof over our heads, so when she started wanting to go to the All Star gym, there was just no reasonable way that it would be okay, because I couldn't I couldn't provide that.
But, ECE, they saw in her this athlete that deserved to have an opportunity that shouldn't have been held back by funds.
Get out of your comfort zone.
Watch how you're doing it.
"Do I like the way I look when I'm doing it?" Because if anyone needs to like the way they look when they perform, it needs to be you.
Turn, three, grab, five, shoulder We moved from house to house to house.
I don't even know how many houses I've lived in in my life.
It was a tough time, you know.
My mom's gotten arrested in my school parking lot, like It's been crazy.
Crazy things have happened in my life, and Your mom got arrested at the school? Yeah, one time, but it was okay.
Um, she It wasn't anything bad.
She just stole the license plates off someone else's car.
And then they caught her.
Three, four, five.
Seven Things were never very graceful in my family, but cheer always provided me with consistency.
I always knew I was gonna go to ECE and go to cheerleading practice.
Today may be a chaotic day.
I-I don't know where I'm sleeping tonight, but tomorrow, six o'clock, I'm going to cheerleading practice.
I'd go to the gym and I'd get a new skill, and that'd be the best thing that happened all week.
- Oh.
You want me to do that again? - That got so good! You didn't even know how to do one when you first came here! And now you're grabbing your ankle! She loved being here, but her family was not going to be able to pay for it, or physically get her where she needed to be.
She is resourceful because she had to be.
She found something she loved.
She decided that she was going to be the absolute best at it that she could be.
And then she set goals, and she's by far the most decorated athlete that we've ever had in this gym.
And deservedly so.
When I'm cheerleading, I just know that I can be whoever I wanna be.
And no one thinks about my past life.
No one thinks about any of the hardships that I've gone through, because it's not any of their business.
When they watch me cheer, they're not watching me as the broke girl out of the friend group.
They look at me as the girl who's extremely talented at what she does.
When people come up to me, like, "It's just cheerleading.
" It's not just a little sideline sport to me.
It never has been and it never will be.
This is what I love.
This is what I do.
This is what I wanna do with my life.
I always wanna win, I always wanna be the best, because literally my whole entire insides is cheerleading.
It's everything to me.
I would be nothing without it.
Okay, y'all, listen.
Shh.
Eyes up here.
Brooke's gonna fill in for Gabi's part today, so We need to make sure she knows the formations and stuff.
- Come on, guys! - Let's go! - You can do this.
- Thank you.
Love you.
- I got you in the pyramid.
- One, two, three, four! Five, six, seven, eight! Dogs! There have been days where I just wanna give up, and say, "Well, I'm not on mat, so, you know, I don't really know what to do anymore.
" But I would never want anyone to think that I'm not 100% supportive of them, because I am.
I know none of these boys are better than me except for La'Darius.
And he's not even in Navarro shape, he's in cheer shape, but he ain't in Navarro shape, and it's showing.
- He's still doing shit.
- Right.
He's not in the shape to be doing this.
No.
And the same with Lexi.
Lexi ain't in the same shape she was last year.
A lot of people has to go.
A-a lot of 'em has to go.
I feel like I'm getting tired of the people that are off mat being so negative because they're mad that they're not on.
And I get that it's hard when you wish you were out there and feel like someone's not trying their best.
- You understand? - Yeah, I got you.
Some people are not on mat, they start thinking, "Oh, why did I even come here?" Or, "I've wasted my entire year.
" Or, "I should've done this.
I should've done that.
" Like, "Am I good enough?" "Why am I not good enough?" You guys have to fix your attitudes.
It's really frustrating being, like, in my position where, like, I've been trying to hold it together so much, and watching you guys, like, cry and complain, like, it's so frustrating.
Like, I would do anything to still be out there.
Like, I didn't even do anything wrong.
And it really sucks trying to watch you guys and mat talk you guys when you guys are all like, "I'm hurting.
Like, it hurts so bad.
" Like like, I can see it in your face, like, it sucks.
I bring a positive attitude to, like, everything I do.
That's something we've been lacking a little bit over the past, um, the past year.
And to me, that's the only challenging thing about the team currently.
God grant us serenity There's always competition with people off the mat and people on the mat.
They are very good supporters, but they are also your biggest haters sometimes.
There's always people that always have stuff to say throughout the whole entire practice.
And most of the time, it's just to talk to hear yourself talk, basically.
So, if it's not something that we actually need at that very moment or something that's gonna help people as a whole, just keep your mouth shut, so we can get done what we need to do.
I definitely think that negativity from, like, people that didn't make mat affects the people that are on mat.
It just kinda is stressful, but I mean, we all have to be team players and, like, do what's best for the team.
Let's go, Alex! You got it! Push! Y'all! Come and have a seat really quick.
I feel this anger coming up inside of me, so I wanna get it out before I leave today, so that I can then, like, leave it here and be done with it.
I appreciate the people that are not on mat wanting to make the team better.
But I feel like, almost every day, someone has some negative comment to make.
And if you're mad that you're not on mat and you can't be a team player, and you wanna cut people down every single day, then you don't need to be here.
I'm sorry, but that really pisses me off.
And, like, Tayler, your body language is just terrible today.
I don't know, like, if you're mad, but you having that pissy-ass look on your face every day is really pissing me off.
"It's so hard to mat talk y'all 'cause you're not smiling!" Really? Y-you know, maybe they're just trying to make it through without dying that day.
Like, why would we wanna tear our own team down because you're mad? And at the end of the day, we're gonna make a decision that's best for the routine.
And I'm sorry, but that's my job.
Don't question what we're doing.
You're on the team and you're here to support it, or you're pushing out.
So make a decision.
You come in tomorrow, you're on this team to make it the best it can be.
And if that's not what you want, don't come back in this gym.
You can make an appointment and talk to me about it and bring your uniforms.
That's fine.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Get over it.
People off mat are kinda used, like, as a way to, like, check people on mat in, because these are the people who wish they could be in your spot and maybe could do it if you're not doing your part.
It's stressful because you don't know if something will happen and you have to be ready, or if you're just working so hard and never get that chance.
There's been plenty of times in the past where someone on mat isn't holding up Monica's standards, and they get swapped out for someone that's off mat.
When I start doubting someone's ability, that's when I start making changes.
And I only do that when I feel like they don't believe in themselves.
Gill, can you do a straight full? I've never done it.
No.
- You got it, Gill! - Do a tuck, then let's try it.
And those few people that have that hope still in them, they keep practicing even though they're on the side.
Monica's watching.
And she sees who's doing nothing and who's still trying hard.
Gill! Gill.
Gill, that's really pretty! - Really? - Like, really, really pretty! We've had so many talented people that have went through the process of Navarro, two years, so talented, and never step foot on mat.
It's tough.
It's tough being on mat, and it's tough being off mat.
It's tough emotionally, always looking like, "I can do that.
" "I can Put me in.
I can do it.
I know I can do it.
" And you may never get that chance.
So, you go back to your room and you're like "She was messing up today, but I literally could've done that, I freaking could.
" You got it.
You have those emotions, you go back into practice, you put a smile on, and you encourage those 20.
- Hey, Monica.
Jean Claude.
Hi.
- I know who you are.
How's it? I wanted to get in touch with you at some point.
We would kind of like to have our opening when you're available.
Like, give me a time frame.
When are you thinking? Like, in the summer or Well, it'd probably be maybe in April or Yeah.
- Hey! - People are following you around.
I mean, you gonna have any privacy tonight or anything like that? Probably.
- They come in there - Just another day in the life.
I mean, I just can't You've just been a whirlwind.
- But it's so exciting.
- Yeah.
Do you wanna sit down, curl in a ball, and say, "I just want to rest"? I just never get home before ten o'clock at night because of our schedule right now, so - And then the weekends are are - Yeah.
I'm just tired.
So are you fixing to pull everybody in and say, "Okay.
No more travel.
We gotta get ready"? I said no more travel, but now they're bringing everybody to us.
Like Good Morning Texas, somebody from France Like, they're all trying to come here now because we said we wouldn't go.
- Yeah.
You just can't.
- No.
The show came out and when you get out in public, more eyes are looking, or seeing you out in the community, and that definitely caused more stress.
A different kind of stress.
- That's big! Yeah! - LA Times? Has all of this, like, made an effect on their practice and No.
- She's got a lot on her plate.
- Oh, yeah.
It's, you know, you step foot in that gym, it's a whole different mentality.
She's got it down, though.
It's a system now.
I don't like to disappoint people, and I feel like the college and the community, they kind of expect you to win.
Not that they don't think that we work hard, I think it's just they think it's easy because we win a lot, and it's really not easy at all.
We have so many people rooting for us that were fans of the show, so now we're talking a lot more people that I would be disappointing if we didn't come back with a win.
So definitely a lot more pressure.
- LA Times! Is that the LA Times? - Yeah.
LA Times.
- Don't put your glasses on.
- I'm not putting my glasses on.
LA Times.
That's unbelievable.
One of the things that makes her the best and makes her program the best is her level of expectation on a daily basis.
Even if we don't come back with a win, I wanna make sure that I feel like I put everything I had into it.
You know, I like to work so much and I like to work so hard because I want to at least not have any regret.
All right.
So we're gonna go through the list again.
- Uh - All right.
Cole, yes.
Blake, yes.
Marcus, broken.
Brooke, yes.
Leigh, yes.
Brooke did great yesterday.
- She did? - Yeah.
Molly, yes.
Caylee, yes.
Emily, yes.
- Still scared about her knee.
- Me too.
'Cause we don't really have an Emily replacement.
I know.
Unless Del gets better, and that's March.
We're struggling.
We don't have a lot of people, and so we don't have a lot of replacements.
We had two ankle surgeries over the break, and three knee issues as soon as school started back up.
So that's really my only worry right now, is staying healthy.
Okay, y'all! Come on, y'all! Three, five, seven.
- One, three, five - Move.
Good job, Taylor! Let's go, guys! Good, Maggie! Shit! That sounded like somebody died.
That's 100 push-ups worthy.
That's why we say "spot!" Don't go nowhere, Jada.
Go back out there with your team.
Back out there with your team.
I struggle with throwing skills sometimes because I used to have a mental block.
When my first fall occurred, I did a whip double.
But in my whip, I kept falling on my neck and my head.
You know, it almost completely took her out of the game.
Because when she was having these falls, when she was This was happening on tumbler passes.
She developed a tumble block after the fourth, fifth time of passing out in the middle of her passes.
And, you know, you've seen her tumble, she's full speed ahead.
She has a lot of power behind 'em, and she's falling out of the air on the back of her neck.
I've always loved tumbling.
It's like a thrill.
It's like a high.
That's what I would do when I was upset or something, like, loved it.
Jada was very, very physical.
From the time she was born, she was just always pushing the limits.
She was out there doing back handsprings when she was four or five years old.
But in high school, we were struggling in those times.
Like, my mom got laid off.
And my parents, they were struggling financially, and it was just that those moments where they didn't know what to do, and they couldn't agree on things, and instead of working with each other, they were working against each other.
I didn't really understand what was going on except just simply seeing all the pain.
And not understanding it was super frustrating.
They planned on divorcing a couple times.
Jada took it terribly.
She was crushed.
I ended up having to switch schools because I was getting in trouble, and that was kind of when all of the m-mental blocks started going on.
She was dead in the water, and with the program there, they didn't want to put the effort into her, it was just, "You can't tumble anymore, we'll replace you and that's it.
" "Y-you're done.
" I would try and try and try to get my tumbling back, but it just wasn't happening.
With her mental block, she was actually looking at doing other sports to get off of the cheer thing, and I knew it wasn't gonna work.
You know, that stuff was, you know, it's in her heart, it's in her blood.
So, I came here thinking, "I'm gonna do my job and I'm gonna leave.
" Very, like, closed in with myself.
But soon as we met Vontae? Instant.
Vontae was different because Vontae listens.
You look for a coach that is gonna be authoritative, but has some empathy.
And she found that.
Vontae knew what kind of person I was.
We're a lot alike, especially as athletes.
- All right! - That was good.
Jada.
Jada, come here.
What are you afraid of? This is a simple skill for you right now, and you're letting it It's just because the last time we ever worked on baskets, the last three I did of these, they were just I-I understand that.
I do.
But you're letting you're letting the skill beat you.
I believe in you, Jada.
You're Jada Wooten, remember? - Let's go, Jada! - Let's go, babes.
- Seven, eight, one, two, three, four - You got this! - You can do it! Yes, ma'am! - Come on.
- Better, Jada! Much better.
- There you go, Jada! - All right! - Pretty, Jada.
Vontae pushes you past your limits.
He's go always gonna tell you the truth and how it is, and what you need to do.
And, honestly, he's been a huge change in my life.
Whoo! It makes you feel like you're not just a number, not just an athlete that's waiting to go to another school or anything.
Like, you matter here.
Me too.
I took a shower.
- So TT's out till next Tuesday.
- He just told me.
Seems extreme.
Yeah.
He said he doesn't have any headaches or anything today, but So, I'm just gonna put Dawson in, and I should've spent time doing the pyramid last night with Dawson, and I didn't.
Okay.
Yes, but he's done the other side at least.
I know.
I'm just being pissy right now.
Okay? So, I'm just having a moment to myself.
I'm gonna walk outside and walk back in because I need a new attitude.
- Okay.
- I need a new attitude.
I'm gonna walk outside, leave it out there, and I'm gonna walk back in the door.
I'm just kind of over the top when it comes to wanting to be prepared.
I'm always an optimist.
I-I feel like, you know, even if someone if someone gets hurt, we can we can push through.
We're strong enough to have someone come in and learn the routine if Whatever happens, we can always move past it.
You know? We tried to strategize just the organization of the routine to make it where we could do a full-out sooner if someone had to go in new.
Five! Seven! One! Sometimes you don't know till you get in the middle of those full-outs, what you should've done differently.
And at that point it's too late to change it, so you just kinda have to do the best you can.
But I'm not someone that focuses on the negative.
I like to think there's always a solution.
Three, five, seven! It's easy to impress Monica.
If you do one skill, she'll be like, "Oh, my God.
I'm so proud of you!" But to keep impressing her? Oh, baby.
That's gonna take some time.
That's why you gotta stay on your P's and Q's.
If you're not doing your job consistently, they are going to find someone else to do it.
Your chest is bad.
There's only 20 who get to make mat, and there's 30 to 40 of us on the team.
So, of course, you're gonna have people watching your every move being like, "I wish that was me.
I need that spot.
How do I get into that spot?" Monica really wants the best for her program.
And as much as she loves every single one of us, if one of us has a better skill than the other, they're gonna be put on mat.
And it's no hard feelings and she tells us that all the time.
Hey, Andy.
Come here.
Do you think Ty would be a better next stunter person in? On the line! Dawson is just - Shannon can't do her basket.
- Not to that pyramid.
You don't think he can do that pyramid? He's too short, I think.
You don't think he can do better than Dawson? D-Dillon, come here.
Do you think that Ty would be a viable option to do that stunt versus Dawson? Do you think he could throw the pyramid? Yeah.
I think he could throw the pyramid.
You do? Even though he's short? Like, y'all are a really different height.
I think you should try the transitions and see.
I'm gonna have Ty try it.
I wanna see Ty try that stunt with Maddy, please.
Right now.
- One, two, three, four, five, six - Let's go.
- Come on, let's go.
- Three, five, seven Let's go, guys.
One, three, four, five, six, seven - One, three, four, five, six, seven - Hold it, guys - One, three, four - Hold it.
- I feel like I'm forward.
- You are.
It's the position.
- One, three, five, seven, eight - Come on, Ty.
Breathe.
Come on.
Hold it.
Three, four, five, six, seven, eight Let's go.
Come on.
- Under.
- Come on, Ty.
Looks like she doesn't know how to hold her body weight.
Like, real life.
Like, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, for real.
Does Monica realize it's not the boys, right? I'm trying to get her to see that.
Five, drop, seven.
- I'm going! - One, two, three, five, eight.
I'm used to all-girl stunting, which is three people underneath you holding you up.
And then when I came here, it's only one person holding you up.
And that's always terrified me.
All-girl is when you have two bases on the side and a back spot.
It's like making a triangle and you're in the middle.
So one flyer is three girls underneath.
And co-ed is when you have literally a boy under you and that's it.
As a flyer, you gotta stay tight.
You gotta not roll your ankles.
You gotta lift up.
It goes from you having a little bit of relaxation in an all-girl group to you literally having to step it up and do it really by yourself.
- Let's go, Maddy! - Explosive! Up! - Arms up! - One, two, three.
Five, dip, seven Like, I just don't understand.
I really don't.
I feel like we're just working against each other and not together.
We're both trying so hard to keep it in the air that it's not working.
That time it felt fine, but it doesn't feel like that in the full-outs.
I don't know.
It feels like if I pop it through, you're about to die.
- I don't know why.
- I feel like my weight's so, like - In front? - That way.
Yeah.
I'm just frustrated.
I think after we get done with this, we should go back to the office - and re-choreograph that one section.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- And I have some thoughts.
- Okay.
I don't like the way it goes full, full, full.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We can we can That's we can fix that.
You see what I'm saying? I feel like it's hard to watch.
- Do you not think it's hard to watch? - The full-fulls are hard to watch.
That whole section is hard to watch for me.
- I like more unity in what's going on.
- Yeah.
And it feels very chaotic.
Mm-hmm.
Agreed.
- And - So, for Maddy's stunt, here's a thought, just throwing it out there.
Have Maddy be do a tumbler girl spot, and have Gillian do the partner stunt.
I mean, that's a big decision.
That's not an easy fix.
I mean, that's a-a sooner-than-later type decision.
I think we'd just need to see Gillian do it and see what she looks like.
You all right with Dawson tonight? Yeah.
Dawson tonight.
Some people are gonna be surprised tonight.
Okay.
Okay.
Is this it? Yeah.
So, do you wanna try We can try yours first.
Which one? I had, like, three.
- That one.
- The boys going out? Yeah.
Okay.
Come here.
One, two, three, four, five, this is seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, and seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one.
- This is a joke.
- This is just changing the routine.
We're gonna be here a while.
We're gonna be here till the cheese curds.
- Till the what? - Till the what? Till, like, the cheese curds.
You know, the curds.
All right.
Um, so do you wanna do the pyramid one more time and then I don't feel like we should because we could potentially make another switch on that.
- Okay.
Do the rest of the changes? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Start from the stunt, right? - Yeah.
Go to stunts! Don't talk! Ooh.
What what is this? - Go to stunts.
- [Andy[ Here we go.
- What are you doing now? - Changing people.
- Oh, Lord.
- Shut up.
Don't talk.
Go center.
Gill, come here.
I need you to be on this side.
No.
Not you.
Show me where Go to Show me how you start.
Tell Gill where she needs to start, please.
Actually, go to motions.
Let's go to motions.
Go to motions.
Excuse me.
- I know.
Three, four - Hold on, hold on.
Hold on.
- Okay, sorry.
- It's okay.
Take Maddy's spot, please.
Where are y'all? Go back center.
You're gonna switch in and out.
You come here for two to full.
- Yes.
- Maddy, follow up.
Okay.
Now What is next? Two to full? Two to full tilt? Double down, mark this.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Double, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four I know, hold on.
I'm going to the bathroom.
Go back go back to double downs.
Double downs! Everybody goes to their normal spots.
You just don't move.
I don't know if she thinks she's off mat or not, just tell her she she still is in the pyramid, she's just not in the stunt.
Like, what the hell was that? They couldn't warn me? Like, I literally couldn't just hold it back.
Like, you're gonna take me from center start to not flying at all? I wouldn't even have cared if I got moved back left.
I'm so happy for Gill, she's on mat, but now I have to fight for a spot.
First, you know, you're still on mat.
They're doing what they think is best for the team, and as much as it sucks now, you can't think about He's calling me.
Come on.
Mm-hmm.
There.
Up in the air.
Hey.
Let let him go first.
Hey, boys, show me where we land.
Why are you so upset? You just took me out of the air! One one thing.
You're not out of the pyramid.
You're not out of the baskets.
How did I go from being center stunt to not being in there at all? I could've gotten, like, a warning before I came into practice, something.
What? Being center stunt? I don't care about being center stunt.
You act like you're caring about being center stunt, you're upset about being taken out of center stunt.
I'm not upset about getting taken out of center stunt, Monica.
I just feel like I couldn't do my job, and it's just like What the fuck? - This is a team effort.
Right? - Damn.
And if we have to make a decision that we feel is best for the team, I need you to support that, all right? One, two, three, four, five I wanna fly on this team so bad.
Like, I wanted to do it.
I've never done it.
I wanted to be able to do it.
Like, I just It's just the consistency of the stunt.
Who knows who's gonna be in the air and who's not? But right now, I wanna try this and give it a shot.
And one, two, three, four, five, dip on seven.
Six, seven, eight, one, two, three, four I was never really hard on myself until I came here.
Back home, I always felt like I was the best.
And I've never felt like I was in the position that I wasn't good enough for something.
And then when you come down here, everyone is the best.
It was hard for me to adapt, but I never really like to admit it because it puts in my head that I'm not good enough.
Four, five, six At the end of the day, we do have to make team decisions, what's best for the team.
Cheerleading is not an individual sport, it's a team sport.
And we have to make decisions that are best for the routine.
I know Monica knows her priorities, and I'm not gonna sit here and tell her that her decisions aren't right, because clearly they've been working, but I felt like I really kinda let her down.
Every year, there's people wondering, "Why not me? Why didn't I get the opportunity?" I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I think my mind's constantly playing those different scenarios.
I don't want any decision that I ever make to be the reason that we fail.
So, if you want to be the best, how do you do that? When you win, people expect you to be good.
When you are good, people expect you to be even better.
You have to keep stepping it up more and more and more.
And that's what I'm gonna do.
Don't talk to me.
One One, two, three, four, five, dip, seven, and I give a little Into the moment Like I'm standing at the edge I know that no one's Gonna turn me around Just one more step I could let go Oh, and in the middle I hear the voices And they're calling for me now I know that nothing's gonna make me And they're calling Don't stop, no I'll never give up And I'll never look back Just hold your head up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough They keep saying Don't stop, no one's ever enough I'll never look back, never give up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough Oh but now I'm falling, falling Falling, falling, falling Falling, falling, falling Falling, oh Now we're going down And I can feel the eyes Are watching us so closely, oh I'm trying not to make a sound 'Cause I'll be found out somehow So keep calling Don't stop, no I'll never give up And I'll never look back Just hold your head up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough They keep saying Don't stop, no one's ever enough I'll never look back And never give up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough Oh, but now I'm Into the fire Feeling higher than the truth I'm falling I can feel the heat But I'm not burning But now I'm Fear and desire Feed the tired, hungry tooth I'm falling Feels like I'm falling, yeah I can hear them calling But now I'm falling Into the fire Feeling higher than the truth I'm falling I can feel the heat But I'm not burning But now I'm falling
Maddy Brum and Dawson Nickelson.
- Uh-huh.
- Which one is Maddy? - You know who Maddy Brum is.
- She's on ECE Bombshells.
She's in the Which one? - The grey Spanx.
- Yeah.
You know who I'm talking about.
She's incredible.
Come on, James.
Watch that T.
Come on, Maddy! - Yeah! - Yeah! Let's go, Jordan! So, Madison I'm gonna start crying again.
Madison is signing today to come down to Navarro.
So this is a big day for her, big deal for the family.
Yeah.
Shipping her off to Texas.
Mom cries every time she talks about it.
T-tears of joy, just, you know We're from Massachusetts, so I didn't know much about a junior college in Texas.
She knew that this was right for her and now we're here.
She's taking a selfie.
I have to! She kept talking about Navarro.
You know, she grew up in Massachusetts.
She's a town girl.
I'm like, "She's gonna go to East-Bum-I-Don't-Even-Know-Where Texas to a junior college.
" We couldn't even find a pool table.
I was like, "Madison, uh, you're out of your mind.
" Okay.
Will you take some photos? Okay.
What's your Do you have a good side? Um, no.
Do you want me to get a particular side? I'll just Monica, right when I walked in, she was open arms.
She was like, "Hi, I'm Monica.
It's nice to meet you.
" She is amazing and I cannot wait to have her as my coach.
- Stop crying! - I'm not, I'm happy.
I did.
Yay! Yeah! Thank you, guys.
Thank you, Monica.
Yay! Everything about this is a dream come true.
I watched Navarro online when I was younger.
Every single time I watched, I was like, "I'm going to be on that team.
" "I want to be on that team.
" Because the way they execute, the way they look on the mat makes me want to be a Navarro cheerleader.
So I came to ask you about that pizza party that you promised us.
- We have still have yet to - I promised nothing of a pizza party.
- Vontae, you did, though.
- Jeron.
That's the only thing we If we hit 12 full-outs before we leave to go to Daytona, hit 12 We don't need a pizza at that point! Hit 12 full-outs, you'll get a pizza party.
So what if we hit it today? Ain't the same.
We ain't got the whole pyramid.
If y'all hit full-out on the first time, I'll give you a pizza party.
- I mean, that's, like, today - No.
It ain't.
No.
It's not.
No.
It's not.
I'm always gonna want more.
I'd like to be throwing full-out right now.
We got the routine two weeks ago, so it's definitely not feasible, but by this time, when I got any of my routines, I could go full-out by this time, individually.
But my routines were not nearly as hard as the routines that these kids are having now, so All right.
Welcome to Thursday.
Oh yeah.
Yeah! Well, you look good.
Let's perform good.
We're on this floor now.
Everything is gonna have a purpose.
Four, three, two We're trying something a bit different this year.
For us to get Brad Vaughan was a big step for the program.
I think this routine could be the best scoring routine that Trinity Valley's ever had since I took over.
Choreography is gonna be a little bit more flashier this year, which is going to make it more exhausting for the team.
This year's pyramid is gonna probably be one of our coolest-looking pyramids that's gonna have some difficulty as well, because we haven't done any of these skills before.
One, three, four, now, five.
Seven, eight, one.
Last year, you know, I just put a pyramid in there, did a nice transition off, a flipping transition, made it look pretty.
Seven, one, two, three, four, five Trinity Valley definitely want a little bit more of a style like ours.
And, you know, it's very hard to do a fast-paced, all-choreography-and-skill routine.
You don't have a second to breathe.
It's very fast-paced, I will say.
And I feel like their stamina is just not there.
Breathe! Breathe! This is a sprint for 2 minutes and 15 seconds, and it is using so many parts of your body all the time.
To score as high as we need to score, the type of conditioning that we have to have is so high for that 2 minutes and 15 seconds, because it's 2 minutes and 15 seconds of the hardest cardio you can imagine.
All right.
This time you're gonna do 40 jumping jacks as a squad, and then do the stunt.
38, 39, 40.
One, two, three Nobody likes conditioning.
They do it because they know it's going to help.
Five, seven, eight We just have to get used to endurance, gassing out performing.
The overall picture's a lot better, which is really That's good 'cause we're gonna see the bad stuff.
All I see is the bad.
- Bro, I told you that.
- That is so annoying.
Some people get a little bit more rest than others.
But the people that are good at everything? Those people get no rest.
Let's go, Connie! Good finish, boy! Hey.
Hell of a job, tumblers.
Hell of a job.
The dishwasher broke.
I don't know how.
Nuh-uh! It's probably just off the track.
- How do you put it back on? - I don't know.
Set it on it? Can we talk about how Vontae was in a pissy mood today? I mean, those 40 jumping jacks before the set? Wasn't expecting that It's definitely catching up to my body.
Okay.
It's taking a toll on me.
Let me breathe for a sec without my chest feeling like it's caving in.
Everything hurts.
I'm just, like I'm definitely doing a lot more than what I did in previous years.
Like, I am in every single section.
It's constant, high-level energy, I can never have a down point.
I don't know, but I die.
You guys see that every single time we go through a routine, I die.
Hey.
Listen, we could literally be like the people 45 minutes down the road, and I don't think I would like that either.
So, I'm just gonna stop complaining, 'cause it could be worse.
It really could.
- You feel like you're ready? - Yes.
Y'all, this is it.
This is the hardest full-out that you're gonna do for the rest of the year.
But this one right now that we're about to do, this one's the most important one.
So, let's make this a great one.
I'll tell you, there's one team that scored a 9.
933 in Navarro's history, and that's 2012, and they hit the first full-out.
So, let's be that team.
Be that team.
- We can, we will, we must.
- We can, we will, we must.
- We can, we will, we must.
- We can, we will, we must.
Let's get it.
Come on.
This year, we're planning on doing 51 full-outs, and that's a crazy amount of full-outs.
Last year, we did 41 because we were going for win number 14.
So, we had this crazy idea that since we were going for win number 15, we would flip it and try to do 51 full-outs.
You can't get the full taste of what competition feels like if we don't try to emulate it as much as possible.
So we go through the full-outs and when we get tired in the full-outs and we're fatigued, we see where our weak points are.
And the only way we can make that judgement is through those full-outs, which is why we do lots of 'em.
From Corsicana, Texas, Navarro College! NC! NC! NC! NC! NC! NC! - One, two, three, four! - Five, six, seven, eight! Dogs! Here we go! Let's go! Easy! Hold it! Right? Steady! Hold! Lord Jesus! Well, we knew that was gonna be hard.
We knew that was gonna be hard.
Everything she was in messed up.
- Who? - Maddy.
- She got hit in the beginning.
- Because she was acting crazy.
No, because she there, there Dillon needs to move up.
Well, she hit me.
She was doing a messy pyramid.
You know, I can't You know, my mind, how it thinks.
Okay, can can you just give it a moment? Um, I gave it a moment.
I went over there and drank some water.
I'm like I'm telling you.
That's not what I'm talking about.
It may need a few full-outs to work itself out.
- That's - Okay.
You got it.
Tap in.
- You got it.
Here you go.
You got it.
- No, you're right.
I've only won 14, but you show me what you got.
- You're right.
- Show me what you got.
And on three! Good! Five, seven, legs! Three! Is her stunt falling every time? - Hmm? - Is her stunt And the back handspring up.
We can't really finalize our routine until we get so many full-outs in to where we know what's working, what's not, what looks good, what doesn't, what we need to change.
It's This is kinda the tough part.
I didn't think it was that bad.
I'd collapse if I do it again.
Maybe it's 'cause - I am so out of shape, I'd collapse.
- I'm doing pretty good.
We always wanna push ourselves as far as we can, try to train it to where we can make it all work.
And if not, hopefully, we're smart enough coaches that we can make some decisions that are just gonna make it better.
Ooh.
Maddy.
Do we have to watch it again? Bye! James! James almost It's like putting a puzzle together when you're trying to find those people that can do a lot of different things and make it through the routine.
Maddy, what were you thinking? Monica's gonna put in the safest routine that pushes the envelope.
She's not gonna let it just all burst.
If it only hits one out of ten times, it is out.
Is that the guy that everyone wants to be with? Yeah.
I just don't I don't get The Bachelor.
We love it! - I love it! - No.
I get it.
Well, like, I don't get it, but I get why you would like it.
But, like He's, like, sitting there, he's like, "Which girl am I gonna take?" - Yeah.
- Yeah.
"I'm so good-looking.
I have the best personality.
Who's gonna be mine?" - I wanna be the girl! - I wanna be the bachelorette! I'd be a bachelorette.
- I'd pick my little boy.
- I would have 40 boyfriends.
- Does he flirt with all of them? - Yes.
Get their hopes up that they're the one, then he's like, "Nah! Not you!" Then he tries to fall in love with them.
Like, he's got such a sweet soul.
Cheerleading's very big in Texas.
You look at it, like, "I could never cheer there.
" "I live all the way in Massachusetts.
There's no way.
" We were never, like, known.
We had to make ourselves known.
If I didn't keep pushing myself as a cheerleader, I probably would have never left Massachusetts.
Sydney? That's not Hi, Dad.
What do you think? I already said We already me and your mom are on it, so So, you'll go down there and sign with the attorney.
You know what I mean, with Julia, who's gonna be your agent.
- An agent? - John Mello.
This is happening too fast.
Well, it'll will slow down.
You just sit back and relax, that's it.
- I got things lined up, so - Okay, Dad.
Get yourself get yourself a car, you know what I mean? Told you I already got your credit cards situated.
So - Okay.
- You know? This is not for me, Maddy.
This is your life.
This is your future, you know what I mean? I'm only here to help it, then I'm gone.
My dad can't leave the state of Massachusetts for legal reasons.
So he doesn't know what happens down here.
He can never come and see me.
He sees, like, how my social media is getting bigger.
So, he wants to, like get me my own clothing line, with my family and stuff, but, like, I don't wanna do that.
I have, like, 25,000 followers on Instagram, but there's girls on my team who have a million followers on Instagram, and 300,000 or, like, 800,000 on Instagram, like I'm here to do cheer.
I'm not here to, like, promote myself.
I'm not here to, like, make myself bigger.
I'm here to cheer and go to school, and that's what I've been doing.
He didn't even want me to come down here at first because he never really He didn't get to see me a lot of my life.
But in the end of the day, that's kinda his fault.
So, when he didn't get to see me, he, um, he got home and he was like, "Well, why don't you stay near here so I can see you?" And I'm like, "That's on you.
" I want to do this for myself.
I don't know.
He has a lot to make up for at the end of the day too.
Five, six, seven, eight - One, two, three, four, five, six, seven! - Four, six! East Celebrity Elite, can I help you? It depends, are you looking for something this evening or something in the future? Yes.
Maddy Brum is doing stretch privates as well as flyer privates.
She's not doing any tumbling privates.
All of the flyers that I coach, I always, like, threaten them, and I'm like, "If I see you in the gym and if you're not flying how I teach you how to fly, I'll call you out in front of your whole stunt group.
" And every single one of them that sees me that I do privates with, they all Like, Elisse, earlier, I walked over to her stunt group and she was like - I was like - This is like Maddy's second home.
She's really brought a lot of positivity to the gym.
She's also, you know, she's a great athlete, she's a great teammate.
We have a lot of kids from all walks of life, and we realized early on that Maddy didn't have a lot of parental supervision or care.
And, um, and she needed some.
On five, your chin goes up and you emphasize your shoulders going back, because those are the things that You're pointing yourself out and saying, "I'm confident.
I know what I'm doing.
" You'll go five, six, seven, sharp dip.
One, two, clean, three, four, five.
She spent the majority of her childhood in a cheer gym.
I don't even think she has a hobby besides cheer.
That's all she's done.
All her life is cheer and cheer, and then she cheered more.
Arms are straight, shoulders are back, chin is up.
You're smiling.
You're so happy to be here.
Cheerleading is the best sport in the world.
Three, high V, five, seven.
They dip, one, you lift, three, catch, four, chin, five.
When Maddy was young, her dad went into prison.
Growing up, I always wondered, like, "Where's my dad?" My family told me he was away for work because my mom didn't want me to live every day knowing that he was in prison.
We lived literally paycheck to paycheck just to eat and have a roof over our heads, so when she started wanting to go to the All Star gym, there was just no reasonable way that it would be okay, because I couldn't I couldn't provide that.
But, ECE, they saw in her this athlete that deserved to have an opportunity that shouldn't have been held back by funds.
Get out of your comfort zone.
Watch how you're doing it.
"Do I like the way I look when I'm doing it?" Because if anyone needs to like the way they look when they perform, it needs to be you.
Turn, three, grab, five, shoulder We moved from house to house to house.
I don't even know how many houses I've lived in in my life.
It was a tough time, you know.
My mom's gotten arrested in my school parking lot, like It's been crazy.
Crazy things have happened in my life, and Your mom got arrested at the school? Yeah, one time, but it was okay.
Um, she It wasn't anything bad.
She just stole the license plates off someone else's car.
And then they caught her.
Three, four, five.
Seven Things were never very graceful in my family, but cheer always provided me with consistency.
I always knew I was gonna go to ECE and go to cheerleading practice.
Today may be a chaotic day.
I-I don't know where I'm sleeping tonight, but tomorrow, six o'clock, I'm going to cheerleading practice.
I'd go to the gym and I'd get a new skill, and that'd be the best thing that happened all week.
- Oh.
You want me to do that again? - That got so good! You didn't even know how to do one when you first came here! And now you're grabbing your ankle! She loved being here, but her family was not going to be able to pay for it, or physically get her where she needed to be.
She is resourceful because she had to be.
She found something she loved.
She decided that she was going to be the absolute best at it that she could be.
And then she set goals, and she's by far the most decorated athlete that we've ever had in this gym.
And deservedly so.
When I'm cheerleading, I just know that I can be whoever I wanna be.
And no one thinks about my past life.
No one thinks about any of the hardships that I've gone through, because it's not any of their business.
When they watch me cheer, they're not watching me as the broke girl out of the friend group.
They look at me as the girl who's extremely talented at what she does.
When people come up to me, like, "It's just cheerleading.
" It's not just a little sideline sport to me.
It never has been and it never will be.
This is what I love.
This is what I do.
This is what I wanna do with my life.
I always wanna win, I always wanna be the best, because literally my whole entire insides is cheerleading.
It's everything to me.
I would be nothing without it.
Okay, y'all, listen.
Shh.
Eyes up here.
Brooke's gonna fill in for Gabi's part today, so We need to make sure she knows the formations and stuff.
- Come on, guys! - Let's go! - You can do this.
- Thank you.
Love you.
- I got you in the pyramid.
- One, two, three, four! Five, six, seven, eight! Dogs! There have been days where I just wanna give up, and say, "Well, I'm not on mat, so, you know, I don't really know what to do anymore.
" But I would never want anyone to think that I'm not 100% supportive of them, because I am.
I know none of these boys are better than me except for La'Darius.
And he's not even in Navarro shape, he's in cheer shape, but he ain't in Navarro shape, and it's showing.
- He's still doing shit.
- Right.
He's not in the shape to be doing this.
No.
And the same with Lexi.
Lexi ain't in the same shape she was last year.
A lot of people has to go.
A-a lot of 'em has to go.
I feel like I'm getting tired of the people that are off mat being so negative because they're mad that they're not on.
And I get that it's hard when you wish you were out there and feel like someone's not trying their best.
- You understand? - Yeah, I got you.
Some people are not on mat, they start thinking, "Oh, why did I even come here?" Or, "I've wasted my entire year.
" Or, "I should've done this.
I should've done that.
" Like, "Am I good enough?" "Why am I not good enough?" You guys have to fix your attitudes.
It's really frustrating being, like, in my position where, like, I've been trying to hold it together so much, and watching you guys, like, cry and complain, like, it's so frustrating.
Like, I would do anything to still be out there.
Like, I didn't even do anything wrong.
And it really sucks trying to watch you guys and mat talk you guys when you guys are all like, "I'm hurting.
Like, it hurts so bad.
" Like like, I can see it in your face, like, it sucks.
I bring a positive attitude to, like, everything I do.
That's something we've been lacking a little bit over the past, um, the past year.
And to me, that's the only challenging thing about the team currently.
God grant us serenity There's always competition with people off the mat and people on the mat.
They are very good supporters, but they are also your biggest haters sometimes.
There's always people that always have stuff to say throughout the whole entire practice.
And most of the time, it's just to talk to hear yourself talk, basically.
So, if it's not something that we actually need at that very moment or something that's gonna help people as a whole, just keep your mouth shut, so we can get done what we need to do.
I definitely think that negativity from, like, people that didn't make mat affects the people that are on mat.
It just kinda is stressful, but I mean, we all have to be team players and, like, do what's best for the team.
Let's go, Alex! You got it! Push! Y'all! Come and have a seat really quick.
I feel this anger coming up inside of me, so I wanna get it out before I leave today, so that I can then, like, leave it here and be done with it.
I appreciate the people that are not on mat wanting to make the team better.
But I feel like, almost every day, someone has some negative comment to make.
And if you're mad that you're not on mat and you can't be a team player, and you wanna cut people down every single day, then you don't need to be here.
I'm sorry, but that really pisses me off.
And, like, Tayler, your body language is just terrible today.
I don't know, like, if you're mad, but you having that pissy-ass look on your face every day is really pissing me off.
"It's so hard to mat talk y'all 'cause you're not smiling!" Really? Y-you know, maybe they're just trying to make it through without dying that day.
Like, why would we wanna tear our own team down because you're mad? And at the end of the day, we're gonna make a decision that's best for the routine.
And I'm sorry, but that's my job.
Don't question what we're doing.
You're on the team and you're here to support it, or you're pushing out.
So make a decision.
You come in tomorrow, you're on this team to make it the best it can be.
And if that's not what you want, don't come back in this gym.
You can make an appointment and talk to me about it and bring your uniforms.
That's fine.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Get over it.
People off mat are kinda used, like, as a way to, like, check people on mat in, because these are the people who wish they could be in your spot and maybe could do it if you're not doing your part.
It's stressful because you don't know if something will happen and you have to be ready, or if you're just working so hard and never get that chance.
There's been plenty of times in the past where someone on mat isn't holding up Monica's standards, and they get swapped out for someone that's off mat.
When I start doubting someone's ability, that's when I start making changes.
And I only do that when I feel like they don't believe in themselves.
Gill, can you do a straight full? I've never done it.
No.
- You got it, Gill! - Do a tuck, then let's try it.
And those few people that have that hope still in them, they keep practicing even though they're on the side.
Monica's watching.
And she sees who's doing nothing and who's still trying hard.
Gill! Gill.
Gill, that's really pretty! - Really? - Like, really, really pretty! We've had so many talented people that have went through the process of Navarro, two years, so talented, and never step foot on mat.
It's tough.
It's tough being on mat, and it's tough being off mat.
It's tough emotionally, always looking like, "I can do that.
" "I can Put me in.
I can do it.
I know I can do it.
" And you may never get that chance.
So, you go back to your room and you're like "She was messing up today, but I literally could've done that, I freaking could.
" You got it.
You have those emotions, you go back into practice, you put a smile on, and you encourage those 20.
- Hey, Monica.
Jean Claude.
Hi.
- I know who you are.
How's it? I wanted to get in touch with you at some point.
We would kind of like to have our opening when you're available.
Like, give me a time frame.
When are you thinking? Like, in the summer or Well, it'd probably be maybe in April or Yeah.
- Hey! - People are following you around.
I mean, you gonna have any privacy tonight or anything like that? Probably.
- They come in there - Just another day in the life.
I mean, I just can't You've just been a whirlwind.
- But it's so exciting.
- Yeah.
Do you wanna sit down, curl in a ball, and say, "I just want to rest"? I just never get home before ten o'clock at night because of our schedule right now, so - And then the weekends are are - Yeah.
I'm just tired.
So are you fixing to pull everybody in and say, "Okay.
No more travel.
We gotta get ready"? I said no more travel, but now they're bringing everybody to us.
Like Good Morning Texas, somebody from France Like, they're all trying to come here now because we said we wouldn't go.
- Yeah.
You just can't.
- No.
The show came out and when you get out in public, more eyes are looking, or seeing you out in the community, and that definitely caused more stress.
A different kind of stress.
- That's big! Yeah! - LA Times? Has all of this, like, made an effect on their practice and No.
- She's got a lot on her plate.
- Oh, yeah.
It's, you know, you step foot in that gym, it's a whole different mentality.
She's got it down, though.
It's a system now.
I don't like to disappoint people, and I feel like the college and the community, they kind of expect you to win.
Not that they don't think that we work hard, I think it's just they think it's easy because we win a lot, and it's really not easy at all.
We have so many people rooting for us that were fans of the show, so now we're talking a lot more people that I would be disappointing if we didn't come back with a win.
So definitely a lot more pressure.
- LA Times! Is that the LA Times? - Yeah.
LA Times.
- Don't put your glasses on.
- I'm not putting my glasses on.
LA Times.
That's unbelievable.
One of the things that makes her the best and makes her program the best is her level of expectation on a daily basis.
Even if we don't come back with a win, I wanna make sure that I feel like I put everything I had into it.
You know, I like to work so much and I like to work so hard because I want to at least not have any regret.
All right.
So we're gonna go through the list again.
- Uh - All right.
Cole, yes.
Blake, yes.
Marcus, broken.
Brooke, yes.
Leigh, yes.
Brooke did great yesterday.
- She did? - Yeah.
Molly, yes.
Caylee, yes.
Emily, yes.
- Still scared about her knee.
- Me too.
'Cause we don't really have an Emily replacement.
I know.
Unless Del gets better, and that's March.
We're struggling.
We don't have a lot of people, and so we don't have a lot of replacements.
We had two ankle surgeries over the break, and three knee issues as soon as school started back up.
So that's really my only worry right now, is staying healthy.
Okay, y'all! Come on, y'all! Three, five, seven.
- One, three, five - Move.
Good job, Taylor! Let's go, guys! Good, Maggie! Shit! That sounded like somebody died.
That's 100 push-ups worthy.
That's why we say "spot!" Don't go nowhere, Jada.
Go back out there with your team.
Back out there with your team.
I struggle with throwing skills sometimes because I used to have a mental block.
When my first fall occurred, I did a whip double.
But in my whip, I kept falling on my neck and my head.
You know, it almost completely took her out of the game.
Because when she was having these falls, when she was This was happening on tumbler passes.
She developed a tumble block after the fourth, fifth time of passing out in the middle of her passes.
And, you know, you've seen her tumble, she's full speed ahead.
She has a lot of power behind 'em, and she's falling out of the air on the back of her neck.
I've always loved tumbling.
It's like a thrill.
It's like a high.
That's what I would do when I was upset or something, like, loved it.
Jada was very, very physical.
From the time she was born, she was just always pushing the limits.
She was out there doing back handsprings when she was four or five years old.
But in high school, we were struggling in those times.
Like, my mom got laid off.
And my parents, they were struggling financially, and it was just that those moments where they didn't know what to do, and they couldn't agree on things, and instead of working with each other, they were working against each other.
I didn't really understand what was going on except just simply seeing all the pain.
And not understanding it was super frustrating.
They planned on divorcing a couple times.
Jada took it terribly.
She was crushed.
I ended up having to switch schools because I was getting in trouble, and that was kind of when all of the m-mental blocks started going on.
She was dead in the water, and with the program there, they didn't want to put the effort into her, it was just, "You can't tumble anymore, we'll replace you and that's it.
" "Y-you're done.
" I would try and try and try to get my tumbling back, but it just wasn't happening.
With her mental block, she was actually looking at doing other sports to get off of the cheer thing, and I knew it wasn't gonna work.
You know, that stuff was, you know, it's in her heart, it's in her blood.
So, I came here thinking, "I'm gonna do my job and I'm gonna leave.
" Very, like, closed in with myself.
But soon as we met Vontae? Instant.
Vontae was different because Vontae listens.
You look for a coach that is gonna be authoritative, but has some empathy.
And she found that.
Vontae knew what kind of person I was.
We're a lot alike, especially as athletes.
- All right! - That was good.
Jada.
Jada, come here.
What are you afraid of? This is a simple skill for you right now, and you're letting it It's just because the last time we ever worked on baskets, the last three I did of these, they were just I-I understand that.
I do.
But you're letting you're letting the skill beat you.
I believe in you, Jada.
You're Jada Wooten, remember? - Let's go, Jada! - Let's go, babes.
- Seven, eight, one, two, three, four - You got this! - You can do it! Yes, ma'am! - Come on.
- Better, Jada! Much better.
- There you go, Jada! - All right! - Pretty, Jada.
Vontae pushes you past your limits.
He's go always gonna tell you the truth and how it is, and what you need to do.
And, honestly, he's been a huge change in my life.
Whoo! It makes you feel like you're not just a number, not just an athlete that's waiting to go to another school or anything.
Like, you matter here.
Me too.
I took a shower.
- So TT's out till next Tuesday.
- He just told me.
Seems extreme.
Yeah.
He said he doesn't have any headaches or anything today, but So, I'm just gonna put Dawson in, and I should've spent time doing the pyramid last night with Dawson, and I didn't.
Okay.
Yes, but he's done the other side at least.
I know.
I'm just being pissy right now.
Okay? So, I'm just having a moment to myself.
I'm gonna walk outside and walk back in because I need a new attitude.
- Okay.
- I need a new attitude.
I'm gonna walk outside, leave it out there, and I'm gonna walk back in the door.
I'm just kind of over the top when it comes to wanting to be prepared.
I'm always an optimist.
I-I feel like, you know, even if someone if someone gets hurt, we can we can push through.
We're strong enough to have someone come in and learn the routine if Whatever happens, we can always move past it.
You know? We tried to strategize just the organization of the routine to make it where we could do a full-out sooner if someone had to go in new.
Five! Seven! One! Sometimes you don't know till you get in the middle of those full-outs, what you should've done differently.
And at that point it's too late to change it, so you just kinda have to do the best you can.
But I'm not someone that focuses on the negative.
I like to think there's always a solution.
Three, five, seven! It's easy to impress Monica.
If you do one skill, she'll be like, "Oh, my God.
I'm so proud of you!" But to keep impressing her? Oh, baby.
That's gonna take some time.
That's why you gotta stay on your P's and Q's.
If you're not doing your job consistently, they are going to find someone else to do it.
Your chest is bad.
There's only 20 who get to make mat, and there's 30 to 40 of us on the team.
So, of course, you're gonna have people watching your every move being like, "I wish that was me.
I need that spot.
How do I get into that spot?" Monica really wants the best for her program.
And as much as she loves every single one of us, if one of us has a better skill than the other, they're gonna be put on mat.
And it's no hard feelings and she tells us that all the time.
Hey, Andy.
Come here.
Do you think Ty would be a better next stunter person in? On the line! Dawson is just - Shannon can't do her basket.
- Not to that pyramid.
You don't think he can do that pyramid? He's too short, I think.
You don't think he can do better than Dawson? D-Dillon, come here.
Do you think that Ty would be a viable option to do that stunt versus Dawson? Do you think he could throw the pyramid? Yeah.
I think he could throw the pyramid.
You do? Even though he's short? Like, y'all are a really different height.
I think you should try the transitions and see.
I'm gonna have Ty try it.
I wanna see Ty try that stunt with Maddy, please.
Right now.
- One, two, three, four, five, six - Let's go.
- Come on, let's go.
- Three, five, seven Let's go, guys.
One, three, four, five, six, seven - One, three, four, five, six, seven - Hold it, guys - One, three, four - Hold it.
- I feel like I'm forward.
- You are.
It's the position.
- One, three, five, seven, eight - Come on, Ty.
Breathe.
Come on.
Hold it.
Three, four, five, six, seven, eight Let's go.
Come on.
- Under.
- Come on, Ty.
Looks like she doesn't know how to hold her body weight.
Like, real life.
Like, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, for real.
Does Monica realize it's not the boys, right? I'm trying to get her to see that.
Five, drop, seven.
- I'm going! - One, two, three, five, eight.
I'm used to all-girl stunting, which is three people underneath you holding you up.
And then when I came here, it's only one person holding you up.
And that's always terrified me.
All-girl is when you have two bases on the side and a back spot.
It's like making a triangle and you're in the middle.
So one flyer is three girls underneath.
And co-ed is when you have literally a boy under you and that's it.
As a flyer, you gotta stay tight.
You gotta not roll your ankles.
You gotta lift up.
It goes from you having a little bit of relaxation in an all-girl group to you literally having to step it up and do it really by yourself.
- Let's go, Maddy! - Explosive! Up! - Arms up! - One, two, three.
Five, dip, seven Like, I just don't understand.
I really don't.
I feel like we're just working against each other and not together.
We're both trying so hard to keep it in the air that it's not working.
That time it felt fine, but it doesn't feel like that in the full-outs.
I don't know.
It feels like if I pop it through, you're about to die.
- I don't know why.
- I feel like my weight's so, like - In front? - That way.
Yeah.
I'm just frustrated.
I think after we get done with this, we should go back to the office - and re-choreograph that one section.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- And I have some thoughts.
- Okay.
I don't like the way it goes full, full, full.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We can we can That's we can fix that.
You see what I'm saying? I feel like it's hard to watch.
- Do you not think it's hard to watch? - The full-fulls are hard to watch.
That whole section is hard to watch for me.
- I like more unity in what's going on.
- Yeah.
And it feels very chaotic.
Mm-hmm.
Agreed.
- And - So, for Maddy's stunt, here's a thought, just throwing it out there.
Have Maddy be do a tumbler girl spot, and have Gillian do the partner stunt.
I mean, that's a big decision.
That's not an easy fix.
I mean, that's a-a sooner-than-later type decision.
I think we'd just need to see Gillian do it and see what she looks like.
You all right with Dawson tonight? Yeah.
Dawson tonight.
Some people are gonna be surprised tonight.
Okay.
Okay.
Is this it? Yeah.
So, do you wanna try We can try yours first.
Which one? I had, like, three.
- That one.
- The boys going out? Yeah.
Okay.
Come here.
One, two, three, four, five, this is seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, and seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one.
- This is a joke.
- This is just changing the routine.
We're gonna be here a while.
We're gonna be here till the cheese curds.
- Till the what? - Till the what? Till, like, the cheese curds.
You know, the curds.
All right.
Um, so do you wanna do the pyramid one more time and then I don't feel like we should because we could potentially make another switch on that.
- Okay.
Do the rest of the changes? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Start from the stunt, right? - Yeah.
Go to stunts! Don't talk! Ooh.
What what is this? - Go to stunts.
- [Andy[ Here we go.
- What are you doing now? - Changing people.
- Oh, Lord.
- Shut up.
Don't talk.
Go center.
Gill, come here.
I need you to be on this side.
No.
Not you.
Show me where Go to Show me how you start.
Tell Gill where she needs to start, please.
Actually, go to motions.
Let's go to motions.
Go to motions.
Excuse me.
- I know.
Three, four - Hold on, hold on.
Hold on.
- Okay, sorry.
- It's okay.
Take Maddy's spot, please.
Where are y'all? Go back center.
You're gonna switch in and out.
You come here for two to full.
- Yes.
- Maddy, follow up.
Okay.
Now What is next? Two to full? Two to full tilt? Double down, mark this.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Double, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four I know, hold on.
I'm going to the bathroom.
Go back go back to double downs.
Double downs! Everybody goes to their normal spots.
You just don't move.
I don't know if she thinks she's off mat or not, just tell her she she still is in the pyramid, she's just not in the stunt.
Like, what the hell was that? They couldn't warn me? Like, I literally couldn't just hold it back.
Like, you're gonna take me from center start to not flying at all? I wouldn't even have cared if I got moved back left.
I'm so happy for Gill, she's on mat, but now I have to fight for a spot.
First, you know, you're still on mat.
They're doing what they think is best for the team, and as much as it sucks now, you can't think about He's calling me.
Come on.
Mm-hmm.
There.
Up in the air.
Hey.
Let let him go first.
Hey, boys, show me where we land.
Why are you so upset? You just took me out of the air! One one thing.
You're not out of the pyramid.
You're not out of the baskets.
How did I go from being center stunt to not being in there at all? I could've gotten, like, a warning before I came into practice, something.
What? Being center stunt? I don't care about being center stunt.
You act like you're caring about being center stunt, you're upset about being taken out of center stunt.
I'm not upset about getting taken out of center stunt, Monica.
I just feel like I couldn't do my job, and it's just like What the fuck? - This is a team effort.
Right? - Damn.
And if we have to make a decision that we feel is best for the team, I need you to support that, all right? One, two, three, four, five I wanna fly on this team so bad.
Like, I wanted to do it.
I've never done it.
I wanted to be able to do it.
Like, I just It's just the consistency of the stunt.
Who knows who's gonna be in the air and who's not? But right now, I wanna try this and give it a shot.
And one, two, three, four, five, dip on seven.
Six, seven, eight, one, two, three, four I was never really hard on myself until I came here.
Back home, I always felt like I was the best.
And I've never felt like I was in the position that I wasn't good enough for something.
And then when you come down here, everyone is the best.
It was hard for me to adapt, but I never really like to admit it because it puts in my head that I'm not good enough.
Four, five, six At the end of the day, we do have to make team decisions, what's best for the team.
Cheerleading is not an individual sport, it's a team sport.
And we have to make decisions that are best for the routine.
I know Monica knows her priorities, and I'm not gonna sit here and tell her that her decisions aren't right, because clearly they've been working, but I felt like I really kinda let her down.
Every year, there's people wondering, "Why not me? Why didn't I get the opportunity?" I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I think my mind's constantly playing those different scenarios.
I don't want any decision that I ever make to be the reason that we fail.
So, if you want to be the best, how do you do that? When you win, people expect you to be good.
When you are good, people expect you to be even better.
You have to keep stepping it up more and more and more.
And that's what I'm gonna do.
Don't talk to me.
One One, two, three, four, five, dip, seven, and I give a little Into the moment Like I'm standing at the edge I know that no one's Gonna turn me around Just one more step I could let go Oh, and in the middle I hear the voices And they're calling for me now I know that nothing's gonna make me And they're calling Don't stop, no I'll never give up And I'll never look back Just hold your head up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough They keep saying Don't stop, no one's ever enough I'll never look back, never give up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough Oh but now I'm falling, falling Falling, falling, falling Falling, falling, falling Falling, oh Now we're going down And I can feel the eyes Are watching us so closely, oh I'm trying not to make a sound 'Cause I'll be found out somehow So keep calling Don't stop, no I'll never give up And I'll never look back Just hold your head up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough They keep saying Don't stop, no one's ever enough I'll never look back And never give up And if it gets rough It's time to get rough Oh, but now I'm Into the fire Feeling higher than the truth I'm falling I can feel the heat But I'm not burning But now I'm Fear and desire Feed the tired, hungry tooth I'm falling Feels like I'm falling, yeah I can hear them calling But now I'm falling Into the fire Feeling higher than the truth I'm falling I can feel the heat But I'm not burning But now I'm falling