Cheer (2020) s02e07 Episode Script
Mining for Tenths
I'm lonesome, but happy
Rich, but I'm broke
And the good Lord knows the reason
I'm just a cowpoke
From Cheyenne to Douglas
The ranges I know
'Cause I drift with the wind
No one cares where I go
Oh.
Here it comes.
Here it comes.
Seat roll.
There we go! All right! Whoo! Yippee.
What are you doing? - That's perfect! - For you, Daddy! It's for me? You made it for me? Yeah, I gave it to you so you can give it to Mommy.
Oh, to give it to Mommy? Mommy, will you please take this dinosaur castle and love me for the rest of your life? I can't get back up.
If I get back down all the way.
You're silly.
Franklin, we met back in college.
Gosh, um, 2002 when I was cheering at SFA and he was still there.
We just kind of clicked.
Been friends ever since.
And then, you know, met my wife, and we moved in together.
We invited him to move in with us and be a part of our family.
He was here for Christmas and we include him in all of our holidays and gatherings, and, you know, if he has the time and he's not traveling, judging, or coaching, he's here with us.
What's this one's name, G? - Tuk-Tuk.
- Tuk-Tuk? - Tuk-Tuk.
- Tuk-Tuk.
How's it work, G? You wanna show him? Our daughter, she doesn't let too many males that close to her.
It goes, like, me, Franklin, then, like, her tito in Costa Rica, her grandpa, and then my mom's husband, and that's where she draws the line.
And, uh, he's, like, number two next to me, so - And then you roll him? - Yeah.
He's a giant roly-poly, I think.
We have a section in our pyramid called "The Roly Poly.
" You do? The first section they call the "Fruit Roll-Up," I call the last section the "Roly Poly.
" Best friends and best moments in my life have all been through cheerleading.
I never intended on being in cheerleading as long as I have been.
I've been out of cheerleading several different times in my life.
Somehow always end up back in cheerleading.
Do you want me to do some with you? Or you want to do it by yourself? - I'll do it by myself.
- Okay.
It is very difficult for people to leave behind the friendship and the family feel way more than the activity of cheerleading.
Tell me about that picture.
Uh, so that that that's called a one-arm stretch.
Um, that was my favorite stunt when I was in in college.
It took me a long time to be able to hit that skill, but, uh, it's something that I would do every year once I was able to do it with somebody.
It was her, in the picture, for a lot of years, because I dated her for seven or eight years.
I've done it with other people, but, uh, it was her for a long time.
What happened to her? Uh She, uh We were together for a long time, and nobody could have ever asked for a more perfect girlfriend.
Um I've got a lot of divorce issues throughout both sides of my family.
Always been kind of terrified of getting married and getting divorced.
We got to the point where I just was like, "I think you can be happier, and I'm not sure that I can be what you need me to be.
" "I could be your boyfriend forever.
" I said, "But if you wanna get married, it's probably gonna have to be to somebody else.
" There aren't a lot of decisions in my life that I know for a fact were 100% correct, but deciding that we needed to go different ways is one of the decisions I know for a fact, uh, was the right way to go.
Because I know she became happier.
Understanding that you have a weakness, and then actually deciding you want to change it, that's another step.
I'm older, but the idea of a, you know, a wife, and a family, and a home, and maybe a couple cows and a horse, couple goats, sounds pretty good to me.
But, uh, you gotta make moves to get there.
You know, everybody talks about three-year plans, five-year plans.
My plan right now is Daytona.
Y'all, we need to go full-out in uniform.
Uniforms! When I say, "This is where we win," and you guys say, "Let's go," that's the moment when we all come together.
And that's when, like, just those words alone, by by you not saying it will prove to somebody else you are not checked-in.
- Like, can we just go? - That's the beginning of the pyramid.
That's where we need to be loudest.
That's where we all need to be checked-in as one.
Go! That was weird! Make it work! Come on, guys! Come on! Get it up, Irelyn! Do not let her fall! Hold! Damn! It's all right! First one! Catch, one, three, five, seven, dip.
Check in.
- Hold it! - Good hold, Alex! Dawgs! I can't breathe.
That was awful.
Ow, my throat.
Thank you.
Y'all! I know y'all are breathing, so breathe, but listen please.
I mean, that was just, like, give up after give up after give up.
And I don't understand that because Yeah, it's windy.
Who cares? It's windy.
What if it's windier than this in Daytona? 'Cause I've been there where it was windier than this before, and we were competing.
What if it's hotter than this in Daytona? What if the air feels thicker than it does right now? Are you just gonna give up because it was hard? Like, there was definitely no fight in that.
We don't want it to be perfect because we want to test ourselves.
Like, y-y'all can make mistakes, it can be hard, but you should never give up.
And sometimes you can even make a mistake and nobody has a clue you made a mistake.
It's your body language and your face.
Like, when we fucked up, when we finished, we should have gotten right back up and went to the pyramid.
If she's not gonna tell us, we need to do it.
I know.
We're gonna do it.
It is frustrating at times.
When it comes to cheerleading, you have to worry about what you're doing, and what the other 19 people are doing on the floor.
You're not just doing something for yourself when you're going to perform.
You're doing it for yourself and all of the other people on your team.
That's what's gonna affect the outcome.
I want it pretty fucking bad.
- Oh, I don't want to lose.
- Yeah.
I-I get nightmares about it all the time.
It's because I think about it before I go to bed.
When you cheer every single day, you're not gonna have a good day every day.
And when I go out, when I make a mistake, I'm so hard on myself.
Like, I hate myself for it because I feel like I didn't just let myself down, I let everyone on my team down.
You never wanna be the person to say, "I messed up on the bandshell.
" Your goal is to always be great.
Suck in all the negativity.
Blow it out.
Suck in all your worries and fears.
Scream it out for this full-out.
NC! This year's routine is really, really good.
Five, six, seven, eight! Dawgs! It's very dynamic, and it's very in-your-face.
But right now as a team, we haven't completely unlocked that, like, Navarro, you know, hit.
Right now, we're very timid when we do the routine, and I feel like you can kind of see in our performance that we're not fully there yet.
Arielle, be more aggressive with it.
You just did a two to full-full! By God, show everybody you just did a two to full-full! That's how I want you to come around, like, "Did y'all just see what I did?" I would say that we haven't hit that level of, like, confidence and being in-your-face, because there's just a lot of tension right now.
And I feel like we are not as close of a team, but obviously, we haven't had the normal year.
Maddy, what happened? People just aren't trying because everyone's just in a bad attitude.
Everyone's just tired.
Like, that's literally just it.
Most of the team has never hit the bandshell.
They still don't know what it's like to go to Daytona and compete.
It comes down to you guys.
You're talented, you're amazing, but I'm telling you right now, if you're not a family by the time you're at Daytona, you ain't shit.
Okay? Y'all are sickening.
I'm ready for it.
Come home with a W.
You spend every waking moment, live, breathe, and sleep cheerleading.
That passion, that's why you make Navarro.
We have so many talented people here, and we're all here for the same reason.
We're all here to be part of this family.
We're all here to be Navarro cheerleaders.
And when you cheer at Navarro no one competes to lose.
I always struggle with sleep this last month before nationals.
Always wondering if there is something I could be doing more.
Let's go, Angel! No fucking pussy shit! - Everybody doing this? - Let's go! Crunch! Crunch! - Good! - Let's go, Angel! I like the routine.
Are there some spots that I think are not as visually good as other spots? Yeah.
It's probably stuff people won't notice, but I would feel so dumb and so bad for the kids if it was something that I had been looking at and thinking, "Man, I want to play with that and move it around," and then it was a comment on the score sheet.
TVCC! Do it! TVCC! This Show and Go is so bad.
It goes up bad, it comes down bad.
You're gonna have to squeeze ankles, make sure it goes up exactly the same, down exactly the same.
It can't it can't look like it's been looking.
It's so bad.
These cartwheels, remember we changed these so that the visual would move out to the line, and then it walked up the line.
That's not what we're getting.
We're getting this sideways movement with crunched over bodies and flexed feet, and it kills the visual! Franklin, he's never gonna go into a job and not give 100%, because he cares.
I think he does things that I don't do, and I do things he doesn't do, so He focuses on the things that he knows judges look for, because he's a judge.
So I want you guys to kind of set like this, so that I can see more of her.
And you want to be careful about hunching over in this, because it crunches up your body and you don't want that.
Franklin has been the latest guru.
He knows stunts.
He also judges, so he knows that score sheet.
One, two, three, four, five seven, eight.
- Come on, Lee.
- One, two, three, four, five.
It's gotta go.
You have got to let this travel this way.
Everybody's on that score sheet to see what changes they made, because it's important that you know how to get the maximum score and what you have to do.
One, two, three, four, five Even though Navarro has won the last two, they didn't stomp Trinity Valley.
Trinity Valley was tight on their heels.
That's the photo finish at the track meet.
When you're looking at it going, "Dang! Which one of them just won that?" That's how tight that competition is in my opinion.
You're getting down to the tenths and the hundredths of points to pick the winner.
Quiet down! Just 'cause I'm not working with you doesn't mean you get to talk all you want.
All of this matters.
These are all tenths of a point that we need.
All of it matters! Don't pretend like it doesn't matter! Again! As a judge, I'm going, "Small mistake, small mistake, bigger mistake, small mistake.
" I'm not enjoying the routine.
I'm looking for imperfections in the middle of this big circus.
It's still on an angle.
You have got to get forward.
I know you're not seeing the front.
I need you to see the front.
One, two, three, four, five seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five.
Perfect! Perfect! I mean, I'm I'm a super number-oriented guy in general, and having judged so much, um, I'm always a little bit overly analytical, probably.
And so, in our division, the math means a lot because you are you are scraping for every single tenth you can get.
You know, 9.
8 versus 9.
9 in one of these categories could mean the difference in first and second place.
After a couple years here, I realized that the best you can really ever hope for is a coin flip.
Um, I don't think either one of these schools is ever gonna just completely demolish the other one, so you hope for whoever hits the best.
That's a hit-and-hope kind of situation, kind of like my golf game.
Hit and hope.
And then 56 from there, past me.
Many years ago, I decided that we needed to have a stage, because it was the only piece we were missing to be able to really cover all areas of preparation.
We try to mentally prepare.
We physically prepare.
The one piece that was missing was the stage.
Are we okay with blocking? Like, this this is okay? - This is our parking lot.
- Okay.
We did order it last year, so it has been a year, but they had a delay because of COVID.
Our year has been so up and down and full of disappointments, that having this stage to practice on I mean, the kids are gonna be ecstatic.
This is really happening.
Four years in the making, I'm so excited! You don't know of a single program in the country to have one? No! This is the most obnoxious thing a coach could do! Of course, nobody has one.
NC! NC! Our program is what it is because of Monica.
She will jokingly say, "The stage is obnoxious" because nobody else has one, but it's also something that that the program has earned.
In Daytona, the stage has a little bit of a bounce to it.
It's not a spring floor, it's not a hard floor.
So if you're competing and that's the first time you're actually able to get on it and tumble, you start doubting yourself.
"Am I gonna mess up because it's a different floor?" You can go through your routine over and over on the gym floor and mats, but it's different when you're at Daytona and you're on the bandshell.
And I think getting a stage up will give them a little juice, uh, add a little pep in their step, and and really catapult them as they finish preparations for Daytona.
You know, all the times that I've been to Daytona It is scary.
The unknown is scary.
Really, mentally preparing for that is just as important as physically preparing.
Let's go, Gabi! Don't move! Hold it! I'm not touching! Girls, wait for the double down.
A lot of us are, um, starting to cheat it.
So, it just kind of ruins the picture.
What do you mean? Don't cheat the double down.
Wait for the pop.
Like, when I say that, I mean, don't start turning to the front.
Also to make sure you get the pop, because, like on you kind of you didn't wait for his pop on that full-out.
Did you notice how you went down, everybody else went up? Wait for his pop.
- It felt a lot worse.
- Yeah? Yeah.
- Yes! - That was good! It's just habit! - Huh? - It's just habit.
Your your double down.
It's like you're slowly turning your body this way, but everybody else is staying to the side.
So just wait a tad.
Be disciplined.
Don't move until the pop.
Don't move.
When I first went to Navarro, I was surrounded by all of these athletes who I used to look up to.
I would literally fangirl over them all the time just because I wanted to be like them.
Everyone has that, like, little adrenaline rush when you first go into college.
And you're like, "Oh my gosh.
Am I gonna like it here? Am I gonna fit in?" "Am I gonna be a weirdo?" I was scared.
"What if I'm not good enough?" "What if I make myself seem like I'm this big, amazing cheerleader, and then I go out and fall all over the mat?" It obviously took some adjusting.
Fuck! But I had the people there to help me reel myself back in and realize, like, because I had bad days doesn't mean I'm bad at cheerleading.
It's gonna be okay.
If you walk out on the floor and act like you're the best cheerleader in that arena, you may not think you are, but if you act like you are, people are gonna watch you because you look confident in what you're doing.
We're not perfect.
We're human, and sometimes it's a hard pill to swallow.
You want to be perfect 100% of the time, and then that one second you're not it hits you harder than it would if you were used to it.
What's what's wrong with Gabi? What's wrong with Gabi? I don't know.
Why? Where is she? Is she crying? Looks looks like she's about to.
I think I think she's stressed about her stunt.
She has been for the past few days.
Like, just, like, questioning herself really, really bad.
I'll talk to her.
You don't even need to talk to me about anything.
I just think you need a second.
Is it about anything that's going on here? Is it the stunt? I'm just I'm already, like, really hard on myself.
I get it.
Trust me, Gab, I wasn't I feel like I literally don't know what I'm doing, so it just is, like, frustrating.
One thing that I learned from last year, the same shit that's happening to you right now happened to me last year.
Everyone's like, "You look scared.
Maybe if you didn't look scared it wouldn't" But that's the thing.
It's a it's a lot easier said than done.
It's okay not to be perfect all the time.
It's okay.
You're not gonna be perfect all the time.
The second you hold yourself to that high standard and don't reach it, it's gonna knock yourself down ten times more.
Trust yourself.
I was watching those fucking Gabi Butler stretching videos when I was nine, wanting to be like you, and there's still girls, to this day, watching those videos.
There's still girls who look at you and think Like, you could fall face-first onto the stage at a cheerleading competition, and there will still be girls in your DMs telling you that they look up to you.
Like, you're gonna be good.
You need to trust yourself.
You're a bad bitch.
And no one can take that away from you.
I hope you know that.
- I love you! - I love you more.
No more fucking tears! We're bad bitches! Now let's go fuck these reps up! Ugh! All right.
I'm just yeah.
Have a little pow-wow.
Maddy's a fighter.
Maddy is a feisty little thing.
Let's go, Dawgs! Her work ethic is just really top-notch.
She's a leader.
She's a good role model.
She's just that girl.
She's a badass.
She does it all.
She dances, she jumps, she tumbles, she flies, she does baskets, she performs.
She's the perfect all-around Navarro girl.
She leaves me in awe all the time, because every time she performs, I know that she just gave every bit of what she has, and that makes me proud.
She wants to be the best version of herself every time she is on that mat.
We're winning right here! I remember one practice, I was like, "Maddy, I'm going to TVCC.
" She was like, "Do not go to TVCC.
" She's like, "Navarro is the best thing that's ever happened to me, do not.
" Oh, because Maddy is diehard Navarro.
Oh my gosh.
- She is.
- Maddy loves Navarro.
Like, she was like, "It changed my life.
" Madison Brum equals Navarro cheerleading.
- She's a Navarro cheerleader.
- Yeah.
Five times for the baddest chick on the planet, planet, planet, planet! Let's go, Maddy Brum! Wham! She wanted go to this college.
And if she said this is what she wants to do, and I told her her dreams were big, not too big, but they were big.
And she "I got it, Mom.
" She had everything under control.
My mom was never the mom that could just afford to get on a plane and go and watch me cheer.
But she'll sit there after a cheerleading competition that I have, and she'll watch a video of it for hours, and just watch it over and over and over again.
With my mom coming to Daytona, it can make me cry just thinking about it because I've never really had that moment before.
I never really had the moment of, like, just having my whole family see me do what I do.
My dad isn't gonna be there.
He can't really go on a plane to travel to competitions.
When I was younger, he made some bad decisions and got himself in a bad place.
Everyone always tried to tell me that he was away for work, and after a while, I'm like, "He's been away for work for, like, six years now, so something's not right.
" So I looked it up and I found out myself, because if no one was gonna tell me, then I was gonna figure it out myself.
My dad went to jail for about 12 years.
If you don't mind my asking, Maddy, what did he go to jail for? Um, he went to jail for rape.
I never wanted to admit it.
I never wanted to accept it.
I always wanted to go to cheer and just get away from it.
When he was getting out, Maddy came in.
She's She she just was beside herself, like, not knowing how she was gonna handle this.
So, I remember saying to Maddy, "Your dad doesn't define you.
" "You define yourself.
" "And you" I'm gonna cry now.
And, um, I said, um, "And you've done that.
" People define you off of things that you go through, or define you from where you live, define you because of your parent and don't learn who people really are.
That's why I went to Texas.
If I stayed in Massachusetts I was so worried about everyone else.
Focusing on the things that I can control is gonna make me the person that I wanna be, it's gonna make me the athlete I wanna be.
These are my friends back home.
Aww.
Maddy is the best.
We love her.
Maddy is the best.
I miss her.
Send her home.
No, she can't come back! She's staying forever! - He cannot dunk.
- I dunked it! - Ask Jaymo.
Did I not dunk it earlier? - He did dunk it earlier! Dee, I might dunk on you in this game, boy.
It's gonna be a quick one-step.
That is the most immaculate cap - That's what I'm gonna do.
- That's not a dunk! - You're trying to foul me, cheater! - How's that a foul? I swiped for the ball.
Come on, bro.
Be realistic.
One of the things that I like most about Dee is that he is uber competitive.
It's it's funny to watch him and Vontae interact, because Vontae was exactly like Dee at 20 years old.
Sixteen, ones and twos.
Look how ready he is.
Everyone tries to compare Dee to me because he doesn't want to seem like he's not a tough guy.
He doesn't want to seem like he's not tough.
I understand that because I didn't want people to think I was not tough either.
Tackle him.
Do what you gotta do.
He's not getting easy points.
I had a hard time trusting anybody.
They don't know where I'm from, what I've been through, my life.
"No, I don't trust you.
" It's gonna take a lot for me to trust you.
So, when it comes to him coming together with this team, buying into it, he's still not there yet, but he's gonna get there.
And when he does, it'll click for him.
He off.
Vontae, he got a huge will to win.
He don't like losing.
I'm just like that too, though.
I don't like losing.
Every time I was guarding you on the perimeter, you got a screen.
- I don't think - I don't wanna hear it! - How was my shot in your face? - You got clamped! You ten inches taller than my team! Don't wanna talk.
Andre's tall! What you talking 'bout? I can't play that man, he too big.
Dee's competitive like me.
It makes him to be able to trust me, because he feels how much I want it as well.
Six for eight! D'ante, you shouldn't have said he could jump.
What you talking about? I wasn't even jumping on Six for ten.
- I won! I won! - Run it back.
- Game.
- Life ain't that easy! You gots to see it through, my boy! No cap.
You gots to! Why then? - He thought he was - Oh my gosh.
Dee, that looks like a girl's jacket.
It is a girl's jacket.
- Fade away! No contesting.
- I got it from some girl in eighth grade.
Devonte's got his own style.
You know, like, he's he's got his own mind.
I always knew he was gonna be kinda different.
When he was born, they had to, like, do an emergency C-section 'cause he was, like, tumbling around everywhere inside my stomach, and I knew he was gonna be active.
D'Anthony is seven years older than him.
Far in age, but they were really close.
Mom was just at work a lot.
You know, when grow up with a single parent.
So it was like, "My mom's not around, you know, who's gonna be the one to step in?" He showed him all the ropes.
They started young, kinda flipping in the backyard.
Come on.
Let's see it.
And they loved it.
And, you know, and I noticed that they were kinda good.
Growing up in the neighborhood, nobody knew how to spin except for me.
And then one day, Dee said, "Come outside.
I gotta show you something.
" And then he did a full.
I was like, "Oh.
You you you might be decent.
" He would compete with all the older boys.
So we were, like, 15, 16, 17, getting ready to go to college, and Dee was eight, nine, and ten.
Whatever skills we'd do, Dee wanna do those same skills.
Stuff that seemed like such a challenge to me, Dee would come in there and do it, you know, like, first try.
Hey! If he can control his body like that at the age of seven, then it's like, "Man, this kid can really be, like, he can really be good.
" He was always more advanced, and he always wanted to do more, but when you're at a gym, you can't do everything if you're not age-appropriate.
So, because he couldn't do the things that he knew how to do, it got kinda boring to him.
It felt like a girl activity because I wasn't old enough for the big the "big boy" team.
So, yeah, I was like, "No, I'm just gonna hoop.
" He was quick, man.
He was a he was a great ball handler.
But, you know, life.
How life works, he, uh, he was still small.
He was in high school, 4'11".
Ninth grade of high school, still 4'11".
Tenth grade of high school, 4'11".
He was like, "I'm just I'm just not gonna grow, Mama.
" And I think it kind of broke his heart.
I was like, "Well, look.
In reality, cheer probably can take you further than ball gonna take you.
" I was decent, but Dee was, like, above and beyond, and it was like, "Man, this kid this kid can go places.
" He told me one day, he was, like, uh, "If you don't cheer, I ain't cheering.
" So I decided to cheer.
We were at a gym called Ace in Alabama, but, uh, they had a safety protocol in which we couldn't spin more than two times at the gym, or we couldn't rotate more than once.
So, we couldn't do double backs and we couldn't do triples.
That's why I give so much credit, so much love to Flip City.
Black socks.
So you can go around in white socks.
When you look at the top cheerleaders in the state of Georgia, majority of them come and train here.
You know, cheer is expensive.
So that's one of the reasons we started this program.
So we started teaching the kids tumbling just to give them something to do to stay off the streets.
And then the kids started getting good.
Then we said, "We're gonna stick them in a small competition.
" We put them in a small competition, they won.
We said, "We're gonna take them to state.
" We took them and they won.
"We'll take them to nationals.
" Then we started getting athletes put on the world team, and then it's just a growing process from there.
A lot of the athletes come here and it's like, if they're having issues, just tumble it off, like, it's just It's like that.
It's family-oriented.
And that's how me and my husband built it.
We built it as a place of love.
Dee.
Dee.
Ant is more so like a father figure to Dee.
I still wanna be just like him.
He's really like my other half.
It's really my brother and my mom, they're my they're my Dee's dad, he he he's he's He got on drugs.
That, you know, that that demon that demon got him.
And it was it was horrible, because he was a really good person.
He was a really good person.
To be honest I mean, like, I just know he'd be there for me if he could, but he couldn't.
I know he loves me, but he just he couldn't do nothing for me, like, He he needed to fix himself.
My brother went to college for cheer.
He was the first person in my family to go to college.
So, when he went to college for cheer, I was like, "Well, that's crazy.
Cheer might be talking about something.
" Ant has a plan for Dee.
Then, you know, Ant started doing the the research and things, and he was like, "You're going to Trinity Valley.
" I cheered at Oklahoma State.
And the kids who came from the Valley, they just they weren't the "give up" type of kids.
If somebody did something great, I'mma do the same, or I'mma do better.
And I feel like that's the environment for a kid like Dee.
If Dee got attitude, Vontae can deal with it.
You know, Dee's doing something wrong, he's gonna put his foot down.
That was Dee's first time leaving home, and, you know, I He was going so far away, so, uh, I wanted to I wanted to feel like there was somebody there, you know, who would make me feel comfortable with knowing that he's okay.
And Vontae made me feel like that.
Once I found out that he was going, Angel was going, Jaymo was going, I knew I knew that team was gonna be unstoppable this year.
I haven't been to Athens in forever.
It feels so weird being here.
You know, being on the other side as an alumni, it's so different and weird, just because, literally over a year ago, I was in that position where I was on the mat getting ready for Day like, getting ready for Hell Week, and they completely took it away from us.
I've tried to fill this hole.
I tried to ignore this hole.
Got a big-boy job, starting to work on a relationship and all that good stuff, and it all sounds amazing until I step into the gym and I see that big old Cardinal head on the floor, and I'm just like, "Come on back!" They won't perform, the guys.
They think it's too gay.
You know how it is, especially the young straight ones.
They're gonna lose, then! That's what I said! I'm trying to get this dub.
They're like All right, bring your asses! I'm Assistant Coach status today! I'm trying not to be overbearing with the team, but every time they circle up, like, I want to be there.
I want to be in the uniforms.
I want to give the speeches.
You know, a lot of people think that we can't do it.
Let's go out there and show them we can.
That' we're the ones that they should be watching.
That leadership I had when I was here, it was kind of more than life itself.
Hey! Bring it in! So you guys are gonna practice eye contact with judges.
That's what you're focusing on.
Trying to make them watch you.
Trying to make them want to be on your side.
Okay? They need to see that smile! One, two, three Hey! Turn it up, boys.
Good job! One, three, four, five, seven Fix your face, Jada.
- Seven, eight, one.
- Cards! Five, six, seven, eight.
Hey, Matt, uh, Benji and and, uh Hey! Some of you are really not fun to watch.
You're gonna get our butts kicked this year.
Notice I said "ours," 'cause you're representing us.
Okay? So if you feel stupid, don't care! Like, we don't care.
Because if we lose because you don't know how to put a face on, shame on you.
Okay? We are a performing art.
Figure it out.
And just remember, if you think people can't see you, somebody is watching you the whole time.
- So, just - Facts! Make it worth it! Make it worth somebody watching you.
I'm looking at the boys.
So, I need you guys to turn it on.
If you guys want to walk away with that first-place trophy, like, bring out the inner gay.
Okay? If you're scared about someone saying, "Hey.
He's gay 'cause he's performing.
" Hey, you're in cheerleading.
Let that sink in.
Okay? You once told us that you're not really a cheerleader.
- No.
- What do you mean by that? I just feel like I don't cheer for real.
Like, I just feel like I don't know.
I just feel like I do backflips.
Hey! Go back to the beginning! Go back to the beginning! Pick one moment in this routine to be gay.
That ain't got shit to do with me.
- Hey.
Come on.
- Come on.
Performing is really not that hard.
It's literally just using your eyes, looking into the crowd.
Sassiness, that's what they want.
And masculine men, they don't really have that sass.
So, we have to find another way to perform which is kinda hard for us to do, 'cause when we get choreographed, it's usually by a gay man, so it usually don't work out.
I've seen plenty of straight men perform.
They're just like, "Hey, look.
" "I'm straight and I'm a very big man, but I can also dance.
" "I can also give you performance, you know?" Cheerleading, you have to let it all go.
You just have to give it more.
I just don't know how to do it, like, just smiling after I land feels awkward.
I don't know, it's just weird.
I I never learned how to do it.
When somebody has that level of ability, people naturally try to find things that they can't do.
Do it again.
With Dee, they'll be like, "Oh, man.
He's a great tumbler, but he didn't even smile.
" People will look for that one thing to pick on him about 'cause he's so good.
Start performing.
Start showing the face you're gonna show on that spot.
Everyone.
One, three, four, five, seven, eight.
One, two, three Dee just kinda strikes me as the individual that's so super talented at one thing that when something else comes up and maybe it's not natural for him, like the performance aspect, they get to a point where they don't really understand it anymore, and then they shut down because they feel like they're just not good.
Are you gonna say anything to him? Hey, Dee.
I'm done babying you.
If you can't do what I ask you to do, Blake comes in and do your routine, and you come off the mat.
It's that simple.
Drop the pride, turn it around.
Learn learn Dee's routine.
Learn Dee's routine.
I mean, not last year Blake is learning Dee's routine.
- Does he know it? - No, but he's gonna learn it.
He's gonna know it.
I get it.
I don't need you to go out and do the craziest facials, but I need you to at least show some expression when you're doing skills.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
It's 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
That's it.
They be going through something here? I was kinda like Dee, very closed off.
It's so hard for him, and I understand where he's coming from, but he just has to give in and trust it.
I need him to be uncomfortable in that moment to test him and see how he's gonna respond.
Honestly, I do need to start performing more in this routine, but I just smile.
And, yeah, you do.
You just have a big smile on your face.
Especially now with confidence, like, now that you have so much confidence, you can definitely add something to it.
Even in my motions, I feel like I'm, like I don't know.
- Gill.
- What? - This is serious.
- Okay.
You're the shit, so act like it.
Okay.
Yeah.
Big faces.
Cassadee, how's it gonna turn on? I got it.
When you're smilin' When you're smilin' - That looks good! - That was good.
The whole world smiles with you That was good.
When you're laughin' - That's good.
- Is that good? - Yeah.
Period.
- Okay, post.
I don't want to give myself all the credit for my little Gillian Grace Rupert, but she was very hard to open, like, get to open up.
My mother raised me to always hold your head high no matter what the situation is.
You're strong, you're tough.
With Gill, I saw that in her.
I saw a strong little girl, but she just she kept she kept her chin down! We stood in front of a mirror and I was like, "Look at yourself!" I was like, "You're not gonna tell me that you're not one in a million!" Cassadee has helped me in more ways than I could put into words.
Just realize that I I am great.
You know what I mean? I am! And, you know, that's the whole point.
It's just like, she's helped me with my confidence a lot.
I don't think I ever struggled with confidence.
Being in pageants growing up, it did help me.
It helped me a lot.
My name is Cassadee, and I want the judges to go, "Wow!" If I say so myself, I was I was the first one to come out with that show.
When you're on a stage by yourself, I'm gonna either win this or I'm gonna lose this.
There's not a team to pick you up.
It is only you! You can have blood going right down your leg from your heels.
One time, I had a safety pin that was stuck into my skin.
Like, two safety pins hanging out of my leg.
Pageants definitely teach you how to smile through the pain.
This Daytona season has been very different.
It's not as fun and joyous like it was last last year.
- Hey, Fernie! - Hey.
Hey.
- Hey, Fernie.
- Hey.
There's been so many situations where we've turned against each other when we're supposed to turn towards each other.
But I think that these past few weeks, we've done a lot better at staying positive and staying strong throughout everything that's been going on.
Nobody wants to go through all that stuff alone, and knowing that someone has your back, someone is there through thick and thin, they're always gonna be there, it wouldn't be as bright as if I didn't have her.
- Aww.
That's so cute! - Isn't that cute? I don't know how I thought of that.
- That was a good one.
- That was a good one.
Gabi! Oh! I missed you! Mom! You look so pretty! Hi! I had to wear my I can't breathe! We ended up getting sent home for corona, and Cassadee knew I was having a hard time again, you know, with my mom and everything at home, and she offered, you know, for me to come visit her.
And I ended up staying, and her mom, she offered me a job at her gym.
- It's almost time to come home! - I know! She said, "I want to stay here.
" She fit right in, and we were absolutely more than thrilled to have her.
I'm in a great place right now.
I'm with a great family, you know what I mean? And it's just like, I got out, and once I got out, I didn't look back.
Gill, is your mom coming tomorrow? Will I get to meet her? She's getting her hair done.
She said she's going to Daytona, so you're gonna meet her there.
Okay.
I get to meet her there? Growing up, I was always close to my mom.
After my parents got divorced, it was just me and her.
So, it was more like I was super close to her because that's all I had.
My dad was never really, like, "close to me" close to me, you know? It was more of kind of like a forced relationship.
My mom and dad had always argued, you know.
He'd been pushing her and stuff like that.
'Cause he was drunk whenever he did it, you know? And that's how that's how it happened.
I could just tell, like, whenever you look at people, you can tell if they have a good heart or not, and I could tell sometimes with my dad that he doesn't.
Me and my mom, whenever we decided that we were gonna leave, you know, we didn't tell my dad.
We just kinda like grabbed everything we could, you know? I guess whenever he got home, he thought that, like, people had robbed us, you know? Until he got, like, served with his papers, you know, but, um So it was kind of more like he It wasn't like a mutual thing, you know? It was it was like we just left.
The divorce was really hard on my mom.
She took it out on other things.
Like, she would start drinking and start taking time to herself more.
And we went through times where I felt like I was in charge.
You know, I felt like I was was more scared for her, you know what I mean? Like I was the parent.
I was Like, it was like she's my kid, and I was scared that she was gonna go out and get hurt.
Ninety-nine, ninety-three, ninety-six.
When I'm here, it's more like I just get to be myself.
And I see how she grew up with her family, and and no wonder she is how she is, you know? And as confident as she is, you know? And as bright as she is, you know? And me being around her these past two years has just rubbed off onto me.
Just realized that I deserve a lot more.
- Yes! - No, we're gonna just hold our routine.
We're gonna hold it.
We're gonna go, "Dawgs!" One, two, three.
Superstar! I'm the only one who's given her a chance, and I'm the one who stayed by her side through everything she's been through.
I've had her back.
Just That's my number one girl.
Like, here, we don't make mistakes.
Like, we've hit so many zeros.
How many have we hit? Like, 26.
- Guys, that's why you're here.
- I'm not afraid of what I'm gonna do.
I'm afraid of just, like, just how I'm gonna feel.
Like, my adrenaline is gonna take over and I'm gonna have to puke after.
- Well, don't come talk to me.
- I won't.
This year's been tough.
You have to be willing to open up your life and your world to to everyone, and and allow them to see that we're not all perfect, and that we do have our struggles.
Because sometimes, you know, you look at the person that's like a parent figure, and you think they have it all together, and you don't realize sometimes they're human too and they need they need support also.
So Everybody has struggles.
Everybody has struggles.
And anybody that pretends that they're perfect is lying.
If you guys don't know, this is Brandon Hale.
He wanted to come in and help us out to give us a better finish to the routine.
He's gonna help with our dance.
- Thank you! - You're welcome.
Yeah.
Hi.
Anyways, I'm Brandon.
I'm simple.
Uh, let's have a good time today.
Yes.
Lots of energy and just show your personality so I can bring that out.
Let's have a party! Let's have a good time! All right.
Let's get going.
Brandon got my information from our music guy, and he just said he wanted to have the dance fit the routine.
Not that our dance wasn't good, but it didn't fit the style of the routine that we had.
So, he wanted to bring in a different element.
Five, six, seven, lean it out.
Catch her waist, down.
All of you go like this, both of you.
And hold her waist.
We've changed things up so many times all year long.
Scoot into this line.
This year, we really tried hard to get things done sooner, and it just ended up being one of those years where Oh, man.
Sooner became later with all aspects.
Here we go.
One, two, three, y'all dip on five.
Out, seven, eight, lean.
One, two, down, three, four, five.
Try to be in that formation by five.
Turn to the front.
Now this dance already feeling spicy.
Six, seven, and eight.
One, two, three, and four.
Get to that Try to get to this line.
Five, six, seven, eight, one! Right in there tight, all the way.
- Look at the armpit stains! - Oh.
I washed them, but you can rewash them if you want! - Vontae, you did not wash this.
- Yes, I did! They smell like shit.
Oh, God! Look at this.
- They did change, 'cause - Yeah, because we For us to be changing as much as we do day-to-day, maybe not super normal, but I felt this, like, overwhelming pressure to have things as as perfect as we could make 'em.
There's a lot of confusion! We've had the same counts since January! Franklin! It all starts on one and ends on eight! And then it recycles, it's the same! What drives me the most is I don't like losing.
I'll probably perform at Daytona, but my performing's different.
I'm, like, aggressive, more aggressive than whatever they be doing.
Let's go, stand up! - You gotta do what you gotta do.
- Five and six, down, seven.
As long as we do what we supposed to do, I think we got a good chance of winning.
All right, go again.
I like it.
I'm liking it.
It's always a nice little uptick.
When music comes in, the kids get super excited about it.
They start finding places in the routine to perform to the music specifically.
I screamed in the routine.
I was excited, like Like a fangirl! It go, brr brr brr.
I like it.
Brr.
Hey! Close! You do that two more times, y'all are done! Lightning, those are the smallest pants you could find? Get an extra large, you can't go out there like that, man.
My brain doesn't turn off.
Like, I go home, I'm thinking, "What if we did this? What if we did that?" What do we call days like this? Mining for tenths.
You guys are about to jump for a tenth, a lot.
Mm-hmm.
Seven, eight.
One, two I think all I ever really hope for - Seven! - Good fix, Jada! is that they just have the same belief in themselves that we do.
That three-four was so sharp, boys! Keep that up! And this year, we've got a really young team, but they're great.
Well, well, well, well, dance I had a meeting with the vets about how I felt like that we did need to, you know, have each other's backs and carry each other through the hard times because that's what family is for.
And I think from that point forward, everyone just understood how important their role role was, just supporting each other through the difficult times.
Our goal is right in front of us now, and, you know, we were able to get this bandshell.
Just some things that are positive, that finally it feels like we've gotten over that mountain, and now we can see the other side.
We have our own stage! Oh my gosh! Come on, Maddy Brum! One, three, five, seven, good.
Just, like, being up higher and having everyone else on the ground, like, smashing their hands on the stage makes you feel like you're on a performance stage, and makes it feel so much more real.
Brr brr.
Good! Monica! Monica! Monica! When you have a coach that's willing to go above and beyond for you My God! You did it all for me! you wanna go above and beyond for them.
I'm like this.
I have a dumb smile on my face.
You know, when you can't stop smiling.
What's up, bitch? Um, IÂ was just calling you about, like, the whole hair situation.
Uh-huh.
The rookie girls haven't really had, like, the full experience.
Yeah.
They have to do their hair, and, like, getting to put on, like, the uniform.
And I feel like when it comes to looking like a Navarro girl, I guess? Mm-hmm.
What if a video goes out and we don't have poofs in our hair? Well You know more than I do.
So, that's why I'm talking to you.
But at the end of the day, like, you're the only girl on this team that has performed at Daytona in Navarro uniform.
- Yeah.
- So your opinion matters to us.
What do you wanna do, Maddy? I just said that really aggressive.
Do you think maybe we could just, like, do the poof tomorrow? And then we'll all, like, get together as girls and then talk about it tomorrow? All right.
Done.
- Thank you, Gab.
I love you.
- All right, love you.
To poof or not to poof, this is the question.
Navarro girl poof.
Like, this huge, just, bump on the top of your head where you, like, tease your hair an obnoxious amount, flip it over, with the huge bow and the big curls.
I think the poof is cute.
The poof? Child, these ancient poofs.
These poofs have been going around since the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
I'm not personally a fan.
A lot of girls like it because it's that Navarro look.
It's "tradition" to have the poof.
I don't know why anyone thought of it, but I'm glad they're still around for Navarro, 'cause, like, that's just it's iconic.
Why fit in when you can stand out? Duh.
The uniform that they wear, the hair that they do, the makeup they put on, presents them as, like, strong women.
Whatever he said about strong women, can y'all, like, put a little asterisk? Strong women.
That was the perfect answer and y'all need to use that.
People look up to Navarro cheerleaders.
When you're on the team, you want to keep old traditions alive to feel like they're a part, you know, of something bigger than them.
If you complain about the poofs, you don't want to be a Navarro girl.
- No - I think we should do them, I don't care.
I feel like no one likes it, but we do it because it's tradition.
Since I was little, I've looked at a Navarro girl, and they wore a poof.
And that's how I want it to be.
Oh yeah, I hate the poof.
Last year, my rookie class, we didn't get the whole experience of being Navarro cheerleaders in Daytona.
And yes, I know it's just a hairstyle.
But I feel like this year was just so not normal, and I feel like the little things like that, the way Navarro does things differently, change the outcome.
I feel like we're slowly getting back together as a team, learning how to be a Navarro cheerleader with your face, like, getting ready to look like a Navarro girl or Navarro boy.
If you're not a family, then it's just individuals.
It's no longer a team.
You just put 20 individuals on the floor, compared to, you know, putting 20 family members on the floor, knowing that they're gonna hit zero for each other, not just for themselves.
You have to become a family to win as a family.
And I go la, la, la, la, la She's got the look Come on, little! The show-offs are basically like our our games, if we had games or we had competitions.
For us to be able to just get out in front of a crowd, get the jitters out.
Five seven, eight.
One, three five, seven, eight, one.
You only get one chance when you're at Daytona, and we want the people here to see all the hard work they put in as well.
It's the morning of the Resurrection.
It's the greatest day in history.
We've been practicing at the Baptist church in town.
On that day about 2,000 years ago, the victor of the world's greatest competition was crowned when Jesus Christ arose from the grave.
The pastor at First Baptist, was watching us practice.
He was like, "Hey! We're gonna have a big service on Sunday.
" "It'd be really cool if you guys started the service off by doing your show-off in front of our crowd.
" On this day of the Spirit, we've invited the legendary TVCC cheer squad to unify our spirit, 'cause there's nothing better than cheering on Jesus.
They're known for flowing routines, pyramids, tosses, spins, flying and catching, balance, strength, beauty, and agility.
They leave this week for the national competition in Florida.
And they're here today to lift your spirits.
Join me in cheering on TVCC Cheer for the next 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
Give it up for TVCC Cheer! Let's go! Competing is a whole different thing within itself.
That was perfect timing.
People just need to get their minds right and try to prepare themselves for what's to come.
That's what's so scary about Daytona too, like, you do what you do in the gym at the school every single day, just normal, to you're in it, like, you're you're competing.
One, two, three, four! Five, six, seven, eight! Cards! I'd hate to be that one person.
That's really what be pushing me.
Like, that one person that mess up.
You gotta ride home, just thinking.
That's a 16-hour bus ride.
A 16-hour bus ride being that one person that messed up.
You know, don't fold, like, hit all your stuff.
I know what to expect.
I know what it feels like in Daytona, but I also know what the hurt feels like.
I'm not afraid of failure, but this is the one competition and team that would hurt the most losing.
And I make sure that they know that it hurts.
- TV No! Taylor dropped a stunt.
- What? TVCC! TVCC! Roll them up! Let's give it up for the TVCC cheer team! Roll them up! Roll them up! Celeste, you're okay! It's just a show-off.
You're okay! Jesus, I can't deal with that.
I can't.
Hallelujah I can't deal with that.
Sing ye heavens and earth Celeste is acting so She's literally doing the most right now.
Where is she? Del had to take her out.
Lives again our glorious King - Dee doesn't do anything.
- Yeah.
He didn't smile one time in that routine, bro.
And I thought maybe from far enough away, you wouldn't be able to tell.
But it sucks all of it down.
He's gotta smile at some point.
This man here, bro.
Wow! Alleluia We've had a lot of battles, um, this year, this semester, and these kids have been so resilient, and worked hard, and overcome everything thrown at them.
So, thank you for coming, and From Corsicana, Texas! Navarro College! Show-off is the first thing.
and I just feel like as soon as we finally land in Daytona, and people physically see we're there, it'll be a sigh of relief, like, "We finally made it.
" As soon as we get to Daytona, they're going to see what it is to be a Navarro cheerleader.
It's not so much about the look.
It's just the way that you present yourself.
It's just that, like, that badass, like Sorry, I'm about to curse.
Badass bitch vibes.
Like, you have to really be tough mentally, physically, and just be ready for whatever is thrown at you.
Even though you're dying, you can't breathe, you feel like your whole body is gonna collapse, you feel like, "This is it, you're done," you know, and you still keep pushing in that routine and you still keep smiling.
The team is very focused because we all have the same goal.
We want to win.
I mean, not everything's about winning, but it just makes it better.
The routine is really good, but I don't know anything about what the girls on the street are doing, and that's scary.
We waited so long to get here and what if we wait to get here to get second place? That sits in the back of my head.
I literally have nightmares about it.
Dawgs! Madison Brum! - Good job, babe.
- Thank you.
You did good.
Who do the shit that I do? Stepping into Monica's shoes, or those kids' shoes, or Vontae's shoes, or the TVCC kids', our job is training that mental aspect to make sure that when the pressure is on and when it truly matters, that their confidence is so high in themselves that they know they cannot fail.
You have to make them feel like they are invincible in order to be confident enough to be able to handle that two and a half minutes of pressure.
We have put the work in to be as prepared as we can be, but, I mean, it's cheerleading, so you never know what's gonna happen.
Who do the shit that I do? Who do the shit that I do? Who do the shit that I do? Who do the shit that I do?
Here it comes.
Here it comes.
Seat roll.
There we go! All right! Whoo! Yippee.
What are you doing? - That's perfect! - For you, Daddy! It's for me? You made it for me? Yeah, I gave it to you so you can give it to Mommy.
Oh, to give it to Mommy? Mommy, will you please take this dinosaur castle and love me for the rest of your life? I can't get back up.
If I get back down all the way.
You're silly.
Franklin, we met back in college.
Gosh, um, 2002 when I was cheering at SFA and he was still there.
We just kind of clicked.
Been friends ever since.
And then, you know, met my wife, and we moved in together.
We invited him to move in with us and be a part of our family.
He was here for Christmas and we include him in all of our holidays and gatherings, and, you know, if he has the time and he's not traveling, judging, or coaching, he's here with us.
What's this one's name, G? - Tuk-Tuk.
- Tuk-Tuk? - Tuk-Tuk.
- Tuk-Tuk.
How's it work, G? You wanna show him? Our daughter, she doesn't let too many males that close to her.
It goes, like, me, Franklin, then, like, her tito in Costa Rica, her grandpa, and then my mom's husband, and that's where she draws the line.
And, uh, he's, like, number two next to me, so - And then you roll him? - Yeah.
He's a giant roly-poly, I think.
We have a section in our pyramid called "The Roly Poly.
" You do? The first section they call the "Fruit Roll-Up," I call the last section the "Roly Poly.
" Best friends and best moments in my life have all been through cheerleading.
I never intended on being in cheerleading as long as I have been.
I've been out of cheerleading several different times in my life.
Somehow always end up back in cheerleading.
Do you want me to do some with you? Or you want to do it by yourself? - I'll do it by myself.
- Okay.
It is very difficult for people to leave behind the friendship and the family feel way more than the activity of cheerleading.
Tell me about that picture.
Uh, so that that that's called a one-arm stretch.
Um, that was my favorite stunt when I was in in college.
It took me a long time to be able to hit that skill, but, uh, it's something that I would do every year once I was able to do it with somebody.
It was her, in the picture, for a lot of years, because I dated her for seven or eight years.
I've done it with other people, but, uh, it was her for a long time.
What happened to her? Uh She, uh We were together for a long time, and nobody could have ever asked for a more perfect girlfriend.
Um I've got a lot of divorce issues throughout both sides of my family.
Always been kind of terrified of getting married and getting divorced.
We got to the point where I just was like, "I think you can be happier, and I'm not sure that I can be what you need me to be.
" "I could be your boyfriend forever.
" I said, "But if you wanna get married, it's probably gonna have to be to somebody else.
" There aren't a lot of decisions in my life that I know for a fact were 100% correct, but deciding that we needed to go different ways is one of the decisions I know for a fact, uh, was the right way to go.
Because I know she became happier.
Understanding that you have a weakness, and then actually deciding you want to change it, that's another step.
I'm older, but the idea of a, you know, a wife, and a family, and a home, and maybe a couple cows and a horse, couple goats, sounds pretty good to me.
But, uh, you gotta make moves to get there.
You know, everybody talks about three-year plans, five-year plans.
My plan right now is Daytona.
Y'all, we need to go full-out in uniform.
Uniforms! When I say, "This is where we win," and you guys say, "Let's go," that's the moment when we all come together.
And that's when, like, just those words alone, by by you not saying it will prove to somebody else you are not checked-in.
- Like, can we just go? - That's the beginning of the pyramid.
That's where we need to be loudest.
That's where we all need to be checked-in as one.
Go! That was weird! Make it work! Come on, guys! Come on! Get it up, Irelyn! Do not let her fall! Hold! Damn! It's all right! First one! Catch, one, three, five, seven, dip.
Check in.
- Hold it! - Good hold, Alex! Dawgs! I can't breathe.
That was awful.
Ow, my throat.
Thank you.
Y'all! I know y'all are breathing, so breathe, but listen please.
I mean, that was just, like, give up after give up after give up.
And I don't understand that because Yeah, it's windy.
Who cares? It's windy.
What if it's windier than this in Daytona? 'Cause I've been there where it was windier than this before, and we were competing.
What if it's hotter than this in Daytona? What if the air feels thicker than it does right now? Are you just gonna give up because it was hard? Like, there was definitely no fight in that.
We don't want it to be perfect because we want to test ourselves.
Like, y-y'all can make mistakes, it can be hard, but you should never give up.
And sometimes you can even make a mistake and nobody has a clue you made a mistake.
It's your body language and your face.
Like, when we fucked up, when we finished, we should have gotten right back up and went to the pyramid.
If she's not gonna tell us, we need to do it.
I know.
We're gonna do it.
It is frustrating at times.
When it comes to cheerleading, you have to worry about what you're doing, and what the other 19 people are doing on the floor.
You're not just doing something for yourself when you're going to perform.
You're doing it for yourself and all of the other people on your team.
That's what's gonna affect the outcome.
I want it pretty fucking bad.
- Oh, I don't want to lose.
- Yeah.
I-I get nightmares about it all the time.
It's because I think about it before I go to bed.
When you cheer every single day, you're not gonna have a good day every day.
And when I go out, when I make a mistake, I'm so hard on myself.
Like, I hate myself for it because I feel like I didn't just let myself down, I let everyone on my team down.
You never wanna be the person to say, "I messed up on the bandshell.
" Your goal is to always be great.
Suck in all the negativity.
Blow it out.
Suck in all your worries and fears.
Scream it out for this full-out.
NC! This year's routine is really, really good.
Five, six, seven, eight! Dawgs! It's very dynamic, and it's very in-your-face.
But right now as a team, we haven't completely unlocked that, like, Navarro, you know, hit.
Right now, we're very timid when we do the routine, and I feel like you can kind of see in our performance that we're not fully there yet.
Arielle, be more aggressive with it.
You just did a two to full-full! By God, show everybody you just did a two to full-full! That's how I want you to come around, like, "Did y'all just see what I did?" I would say that we haven't hit that level of, like, confidence and being in-your-face, because there's just a lot of tension right now.
And I feel like we are not as close of a team, but obviously, we haven't had the normal year.
Maddy, what happened? People just aren't trying because everyone's just in a bad attitude.
Everyone's just tired.
Like, that's literally just it.
Most of the team has never hit the bandshell.
They still don't know what it's like to go to Daytona and compete.
It comes down to you guys.
You're talented, you're amazing, but I'm telling you right now, if you're not a family by the time you're at Daytona, you ain't shit.
Okay? Y'all are sickening.
I'm ready for it.
Come home with a W.
You spend every waking moment, live, breathe, and sleep cheerleading.
That passion, that's why you make Navarro.
We have so many talented people here, and we're all here for the same reason.
We're all here to be part of this family.
We're all here to be Navarro cheerleaders.
And when you cheer at Navarro no one competes to lose.
I always struggle with sleep this last month before nationals.
Always wondering if there is something I could be doing more.
Let's go, Angel! No fucking pussy shit! - Everybody doing this? - Let's go! Crunch! Crunch! - Good! - Let's go, Angel! I like the routine.
Are there some spots that I think are not as visually good as other spots? Yeah.
It's probably stuff people won't notice, but I would feel so dumb and so bad for the kids if it was something that I had been looking at and thinking, "Man, I want to play with that and move it around," and then it was a comment on the score sheet.
TVCC! Do it! TVCC! This Show and Go is so bad.
It goes up bad, it comes down bad.
You're gonna have to squeeze ankles, make sure it goes up exactly the same, down exactly the same.
It can't it can't look like it's been looking.
It's so bad.
These cartwheels, remember we changed these so that the visual would move out to the line, and then it walked up the line.
That's not what we're getting.
We're getting this sideways movement with crunched over bodies and flexed feet, and it kills the visual! Franklin, he's never gonna go into a job and not give 100%, because he cares.
I think he does things that I don't do, and I do things he doesn't do, so He focuses on the things that he knows judges look for, because he's a judge.
So I want you guys to kind of set like this, so that I can see more of her.
And you want to be careful about hunching over in this, because it crunches up your body and you don't want that.
Franklin has been the latest guru.
He knows stunts.
He also judges, so he knows that score sheet.
One, two, three, four, five seven, eight.
- Come on, Lee.
- One, two, three, four, five.
It's gotta go.
You have got to let this travel this way.
Everybody's on that score sheet to see what changes they made, because it's important that you know how to get the maximum score and what you have to do.
One, two, three, four, five Even though Navarro has won the last two, they didn't stomp Trinity Valley.
Trinity Valley was tight on their heels.
That's the photo finish at the track meet.
When you're looking at it going, "Dang! Which one of them just won that?" That's how tight that competition is in my opinion.
You're getting down to the tenths and the hundredths of points to pick the winner.
Quiet down! Just 'cause I'm not working with you doesn't mean you get to talk all you want.
All of this matters.
These are all tenths of a point that we need.
All of it matters! Don't pretend like it doesn't matter! Again! As a judge, I'm going, "Small mistake, small mistake, bigger mistake, small mistake.
" I'm not enjoying the routine.
I'm looking for imperfections in the middle of this big circus.
It's still on an angle.
You have got to get forward.
I know you're not seeing the front.
I need you to see the front.
One, two, three, four, five seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five.
Perfect! Perfect! I mean, I'm I'm a super number-oriented guy in general, and having judged so much, um, I'm always a little bit overly analytical, probably.
And so, in our division, the math means a lot because you are you are scraping for every single tenth you can get.
You know, 9.
8 versus 9.
9 in one of these categories could mean the difference in first and second place.
After a couple years here, I realized that the best you can really ever hope for is a coin flip.
Um, I don't think either one of these schools is ever gonna just completely demolish the other one, so you hope for whoever hits the best.
That's a hit-and-hope kind of situation, kind of like my golf game.
Hit and hope.
And then 56 from there, past me.
Many years ago, I decided that we needed to have a stage, because it was the only piece we were missing to be able to really cover all areas of preparation.
We try to mentally prepare.
We physically prepare.
The one piece that was missing was the stage.
Are we okay with blocking? Like, this this is okay? - This is our parking lot.
- Okay.
We did order it last year, so it has been a year, but they had a delay because of COVID.
Our year has been so up and down and full of disappointments, that having this stage to practice on I mean, the kids are gonna be ecstatic.
This is really happening.
Four years in the making, I'm so excited! You don't know of a single program in the country to have one? No! This is the most obnoxious thing a coach could do! Of course, nobody has one.
NC! NC! Our program is what it is because of Monica.
She will jokingly say, "The stage is obnoxious" because nobody else has one, but it's also something that that the program has earned.
In Daytona, the stage has a little bit of a bounce to it.
It's not a spring floor, it's not a hard floor.
So if you're competing and that's the first time you're actually able to get on it and tumble, you start doubting yourself.
"Am I gonna mess up because it's a different floor?" You can go through your routine over and over on the gym floor and mats, but it's different when you're at Daytona and you're on the bandshell.
And I think getting a stage up will give them a little juice, uh, add a little pep in their step, and and really catapult them as they finish preparations for Daytona.
You know, all the times that I've been to Daytona It is scary.
The unknown is scary.
Really, mentally preparing for that is just as important as physically preparing.
Let's go, Gabi! Don't move! Hold it! I'm not touching! Girls, wait for the double down.
A lot of us are, um, starting to cheat it.
So, it just kind of ruins the picture.
What do you mean? Don't cheat the double down.
Wait for the pop.
Like, when I say that, I mean, don't start turning to the front.
Also to make sure you get the pop, because, like on you kind of you didn't wait for his pop on that full-out.
Did you notice how you went down, everybody else went up? Wait for his pop.
- It felt a lot worse.
- Yeah? Yeah.
- Yes! - That was good! It's just habit! - Huh? - It's just habit.
Your your double down.
It's like you're slowly turning your body this way, but everybody else is staying to the side.
So just wait a tad.
Be disciplined.
Don't move until the pop.
Don't move.
When I first went to Navarro, I was surrounded by all of these athletes who I used to look up to.
I would literally fangirl over them all the time just because I wanted to be like them.
Everyone has that, like, little adrenaline rush when you first go into college.
And you're like, "Oh my gosh.
Am I gonna like it here? Am I gonna fit in?" "Am I gonna be a weirdo?" I was scared.
"What if I'm not good enough?" "What if I make myself seem like I'm this big, amazing cheerleader, and then I go out and fall all over the mat?" It obviously took some adjusting.
Fuck! But I had the people there to help me reel myself back in and realize, like, because I had bad days doesn't mean I'm bad at cheerleading.
It's gonna be okay.
If you walk out on the floor and act like you're the best cheerleader in that arena, you may not think you are, but if you act like you are, people are gonna watch you because you look confident in what you're doing.
We're not perfect.
We're human, and sometimes it's a hard pill to swallow.
You want to be perfect 100% of the time, and then that one second you're not it hits you harder than it would if you were used to it.
What's what's wrong with Gabi? What's wrong with Gabi? I don't know.
Why? Where is she? Is she crying? Looks looks like she's about to.
I think I think she's stressed about her stunt.
She has been for the past few days.
Like, just, like, questioning herself really, really bad.
I'll talk to her.
You don't even need to talk to me about anything.
I just think you need a second.
Is it about anything that's going on here? Is it the stunt? I'm just I'm already, like, really hard on myself.
I get it.
Trust me, Gab, I wasn't I feel like I literally don't know what I'm doing, so it just is, like, frustrating.
One thing that I learned from last year, the same shit that's happening to you right now happened to me last year.
Everyone's like, "You look scared.
Maybe if you didn't look scared it wouldn't" But that's the thing.
It's a it's a lot easier said than done.
It's okay not to be perfect all the time.
It's okay.
You're not gonna be perfect all the time.
The second you hold yourself to that high standard and don't reach it, it's gonna knock yourself down ten times more.
Trust yourself.
I was watching those fucking Gabi Butler stretching videos when I was nine, wanting to be like you, and there's still girls, to this day, watching those videos.
There's still girls who look at you and think Like, you could fall face-first onto the stage at a cheerleading competition, and there will still be girls in your DMs telling you that they look up to you.
Like, you're gonna be good.
You need to trust yourself.
You're a bad bitch.
And no one can take that away from you.
I hope you know that.
- I love you! - I love you more.
No more fucking tears! We're bad bitches! Now let's go fuck these reps up! Ugh! All right.
I'm just yeah.
Have a little pow-wow.
Maddy's a fighter.
Maddy is a feisty little thing.
Let's go, Dawgs! Her work ethic is just really top-notch.
She's a leader.
She's a good role model.
She's just that girl.
She's a badass.
She does it all.
She dances, she jumps, she tumbles, she flies, she does baskets, she performs.
She's the perfect all-around Navarro girl.
She leaves me in awe all the time, because every time she performs, I know that she just gave every bit of what she has, and that makes me proud.
She wants to be the best version of herself every time she is on that mat.
We're winning right here! I remember one practice, I was like, "Maddy, I'm going to TVCC.
" She was like, "Do not go to TVCC.
" She's like, "Navarro is the best thing that's ever happened to me, do not.
" Oh, because Maddy is diehard Navarro.
Oh my gosh.
- She is.
- Maddy loves Navarro.
Like, she was like, "It changed my life.
" Madison Brum equals Navarro cheerleading.
- She's a Navarro cheerleader.
- Yeah.
Five times for the baddest chick on the planet, planet, planet, planet! Let's go, Maddy Brum! Wham! She wanted go to this college.
And if she said this is what she wants to do, and I told her her dreams were big, not too big, but they were big.
And she "I got it, Mom.
" She had everything under control.
My mom was never the mom that could just afford to get on a plane and go and watch me cheer.
But she'll sit there after a cheerleading competition that I have, and she'll watch a video of it for hours, and just watch it over and over and over again.
With my mom coming to Daytona, it can make me cry just thinking about it because I've never really had that moment before.
I never really had the moment of, like, just having my whole family see me do what I do.
My dad isn't gonna be there.
He can't really go on a plane to travel to competitions.
When I was younger, he made some bad decisions and got himself in a bad place.
Everyone always tried to tell me that he was away for work, and after a while, I'm like, "He's been away for work for, like, six years now, so something's not right.
" So I looked it up and I found out myself, because if no one was gonna tell me, then I was gonna figure it out myself.
My dad went to jail for about 12 years.
If you don't mind my asking, Maddy, what did he go to jail for? Um, he went to jail for rape.
I never wanted to admit it.
I never wanted to accept it.
I always wanted to go to cheer and just get away from it.
When he was getting out, Maddy came in.
She's She she just was beside herself, like, not knowing how she was gonna handle this.
So, I remember saying to Maddy, "Your dad doesn't define you.
" "You define yourself.
" "And you" I'm gonna cry now.
And, um, I said, um, "And you've done that.
" People define you off of things that you go through, or define you from where you live, define you because of your parent and don't learn who people really are.
That's why I went to Texas.
If I stayed in Massachusetts I was so worried about everyone else.
Focusing on the things that I can control is gonna make me the person that I wanna be, it's gonna make me the athlete I wanna be.
These are my friends back home.
Aww.
Maddy is the best.
We love her.
Maddy is the best.
I miss her.
Send her home.
No, she can't come back! She's staying forever! - He cannot dunk.
- I dunked it! - Ask Jaymo.
Did I not dunk it earlier? - He did dunk it earlier! Dee, I might dunk on you in this game, boy.
It's gonna be a quick one-step.
That is the most immaculate cap - That's what I'm gonna do.
- That's not a dunk! - You're trying to foul me, cheater! - How's that a foul? I swiped for the ball.
Come on, bro.
Be realistic.
One of the things that I like most about Dee is that he is uber competitive.
It's it's funny to watch him and Vontae interact, because Vontae was exactly like Dee at 20 years old.
Sixteen, ones and twos.
Look how ready he is.
Everyone tries to compare Dee to me because he doesn't want to seem like he's not a tough guy.
He doesn't want to seem like he's not tough.
I understand that because I didn't want people to think I was not tough either.
Tackle him.
Do what you gotta do.
He's not getting easy points.
I had a hard time trusting anybody.
They don't know where I'm from, what I've been through, my life.
"No, I don't trust you.
" It's gonna take a lot for me to trust you.
So, when it comes to him coming together with this team, buying into it, he's still not there yet, but he's gonna get there.
And when he does, it'll click for him.
He off.
Vontae, he got a huge will to win.
He don't like losing.
I'm just like that too, though.
I don't like losing.
Every time I was guarding you on the perimeter, you got a screen.
- I don't think - I don't wanna hear it! - How was my shot in your face? - You got clamped! You ten inches taller than my team! Don't wanna talk.
Andre's tall! What you talking 'bout? I can't play that man, he too big.
Dee's competitive like me.
It makes him to be able to trust me, because he feels how much I want it as well.
Six for eight! D'ante, you shouldn't have said he could jump.
What you talking about? I wasn't even jumping on Six for ten.
- I won! I won! - Run it back.
- Game.
- Life ain't that easy! You gots to see it through, my boy! No cap.
You gots to! Why then? - He thought he was - Oh my gosh.
Dee, that looks like a girl's jacket.
It is a girl's jacket.
- Fade away! No contesting.
- I got it from some girl in eighth grade.
Devonte's got his own style.
You know, like, he's he's got his own mind.
I always knew he was gonna be kinda different.
When he was born, they had to, like, do an emergency C-section 'cause he was, like, tumbling around everywhere inside my stomach, and I knew he was gonna be active.
D'Anthony is seven years older than him.
Far in age, but they were really close.
Mom was just at work a lot.
You know, when grow up with a single parent.
So it was like, "My mom's not around, you know, who's gonna be the one to step in?" He showed him all the ropes.
They started young, kinda flipping in the backyard.
Come on.
Let's see it.
And they loved it.
And, you know, and I noticed that they were kinda good.
Growing up in the neighborhood, nobody knew how to spin except for me.
And then one day, Dee said, "Come outside.
I gotta show you something.
" And then he did a full.
I was like, "Oh.
You you you might be decent.
" He would compete with all the older boys.
So we were, like, 15, 16, 17, getting ready to go to college, and Dee was eight, nine, and ten.
Whatever skills we'd do, Dee wanna do those same skills.
Stuff that seemed like such a challenge to me, Dee would come in there and do it, you know, like, first try.
Hey! If he can control his body like that at the age of seven, then it's like, "Man, this kid can really be, like, he can really be good.
" He was always more advanced, and he always wanted to do more, but when you're at a gym, you can't do everything if you're not age-appropriate.
So, because he couldn't do the things that he knew how to do, it got kinda boring to him.
It felt like a girl activity because I wasn't old enough for the big the "big boy" team.
So, yeah, I was like, "No, I'm just gonna hoop.
" He was quick, man.
He was a he was a great ball handler.
But, you know, life.
How life works, he, uh, he was still small.
He was in high school, 4'11".
Ninth grade of high school, still 4'11".
Tenth grade of high school, 4'11".
He was like, "I'm just I'm just not gonna grow, Mama.
" And I think it kind of broke his heart.
I was like, "Well, look.
In reality, cheer probably can take you further than ball gonna take you.
" I was decent, but Dee was, like, above and beyond, and it was like, "Man, this kid this kid can go places.
" He told me one day, he was, like, uh, "If you don't cheer, I ain't cheering.
" So I decided to cheer.
We were at a gym called Ace in Alabama, but, uh, they had a safety protocol in which we couldn't spin more than two times at the gym, or we couldn't rotate more than once.
So, we couldn't do double backs and we couldn't do triples.
That's why I give so much credit, so much love to Flip City.
Black socks.
So you can go around in white socks.
When you look at the top cheerleaders in the state of Georgia, majority of them come and train here.
You know, cheer is expensive.
So that's one of the reasons we started this program.
So we started teaching the kids tumbling just to give them something to do to stay off the streets.
And then the kids started getting good.
Then we said, "We're gonna stick them in a small competition.
" We put them in a small competition, they won.
We said, "We're gonna take them to state.
" We took them and they won.
"We'll take them to nationals.
" Then we started getting athletes put on the world team, and then it's just a growing process from there.
A lot of the athletes come here and it's like, if they're having issues, just tumble it off, like, it's just It's like that.
It's family-oriented.
And that's how me and my husband built it.
We built it as a place of love.
Dee.
Dee.
Ant is more so like a father figure to Dee.
I still wanna be just like him.
He's really like my other half.
It's really my brother and my mom, they're my they're my Dee's dad, he he he's he's He got on drugs.
That, you know, that that demon that demon got him.
And it was it was horrible, because he was a really good person.
He was a really good person.
To be honest I mean, like, I just know he'd be there for me if he could, but he couldn't.
I know he loves me, but he just he couldn't do nothing for me, like, He he needed to fix himself.
My brother went to college for cheer.
He was the first person in my family to go to college.
So, when he went to college for cheer, I was like, "Well, that's crazy.
Cheer might be talking about something.
" Ant has a plan for Dee.
Then, you know, Ant started doing the the research and things, and he was like, "You're going to Trinity Valley.
" I cheered at Oklahoma State.
And the kids who came from the Valley, they just they weren't the "give up" type of kids.
If somebody did something great, I'mma do the same, or I'mma do better.
And I feel like that's the environment for a kid like Dee.
If Dee got attitude, Vontae can deal with it.
You know, Dee's doing something wrong, he's gonna put his foot down.
That was Dee's first time leaving home, and, you know, I He was going so far away, so, uh, I wanted to I wanted to feel like there was somebody there, you know, who would make me feel comfortable with knowing that he's okay.
And Vontae made me feel like that.
Once I found out that he was going, Angel was going, Jaymo was going, I knew I knew that team was gonna be unstoppable this year.
I haven't been to Athens in forever.
It feels so weird being here.
You know, being on the other side as an alumni, it's so different and weird, just because, literally over a year ago, I was in that position where I was on the mat getting ready for Day like, getting ready for Hell Week, and they completely took it away from us.
I've tried to fill this hole.
I tried to ignore this hole.
Got a big-boy job, starting to work on a relationship and all that good stuff, and it all sounds amazing until I step into the gym and I see that big old Cardinal head on the floor, and I'm just like, "Come on back!" They won't perform, the guys.
They think it's too gay.
You know how it is, especially the young straight ones.
They're gonna lose, then! That's what I said! I'm trying to get this dub.
They're like All right, bring your asses! I'm Assistant Coach status today! I'm trying not to be overbearing with the team, but every time they circle up, like, I want to be there.
I want to be in the uniforms.
I want to give the speeches.
You know, a lot of people think that we can't do it.
Let's go out there and show them we can.
That' we're the ones that they should be watching.
That leadership I had when I was here, it was kind of more than life itself.
Hey! Bring it in! So you guys are gonna practice eye contact with judges.
That's what you're focusing on.
Trying to make them watch you.
Trying to make them want to be on your side.
Okay? They need to see that smile! One, two, three Hey! Turn it up, boys.
Good job! One, three, four, five, seven Fix your face, Jada.
- Seven, eight, one.
- Cards! Five, six, seven, eight.
Hey, Matt, uh, Benji and and, uh Hey! Some of you are really not fun to watch.
You're gonna get our butts kicked this year.
Notice I said "ours," 'cause you're representing us.
Okay? So if you feel stupid, don't care! Like, we don't care.
Because if we lose because you don't know how to put a face on, shame on you.
Okay? We are a performing art.
Figure it out.
And just remember, if you think people can't see you, somebody is watching you the whole time.
- So, just - Facts! Make it worth it! Make it worth somebody watching you.
I'm looking at the boys.
So, I need you guys to turn it on.
If you guys want to walk away with that first-place trophy, like, bring out the inner gay.
Okay? If you're scared about someone saying, "Hey.
He's gay 'cause he's performing.
" Hey, you're in cheerleading.
Let that sink in.
Okay? You once told us that you're not really a cheerleader.
- No.
- What do you mean by that? I just feel like I don't cheer for real.
Like, I just feel like I don't know.
I just feel like I do backflips.
Hey! Go back to the beginning! Go back to the beginning! Pick one moment in this routine to be gay.
That ain't got shit to do with me.
- Hey.
Come on.
- Come on.
Performing is really not that hard.
It's literally just using your eyes, looking into the crowd.
Sassiness, that's what they want.
And masculine men, they don't really have that sass.
So, we have to find another way to perform which is kinda hard for us to do, 'cause when we get choreographed, it's usually by a gay man, so it usually don't work out.
I've seen plenty of straight men perform.
They're just like, "Hey, look.
" "I'm straight and I'm a very big man, but I can also dance.
" "I can also give you performance, you know?" Cheerleading, you have to let it all go.
You just have to give it more.
I just don't know how to do it, like, just smiling after I land feels awkward.
I don't know, it's just weird.
I I never learned how to do it.
When somebody has that level of ability, people naturally try to find things that they can't do.
Do it again.
With Dee, they'll be like, "Oh, man.
He's a great tumbler, but he didn't even smile.
" People will look for that one thing to pick on him about 'cause he's so good.
Start performing.
Start showing the face you're gonna show on that spot.
Everyone.
One, three, four, five, seven, eight.
One, two, three Dee just kinda strikes me as the individual that's so super talented at one thing that when something else comes up and maybe it's not natural for him, like the performance aspect, they get to a point where they don't really understand it anymore, and then they shut down because they feel like they're just not good.
Are you gonna say anything to him? Hey, Dee.
I'm done babying you.
If you can't do what I ask you to do, Blake comes in and do your routine, and you come off the mat.
It's that simple.
Drop the pride, turn it around.
Learn learn Dee's routine.
Learn Dee's routine.
I mean, not last year Blake is learning Dee's routine.
- Does he know it? - No, but he's gonna learn it.
He's gonna know it.
I get it.
I don't need you to go out and do the craziest facials, but I need you to at least show some expression when you're doing skills.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
It's 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
That's it.
They be going through something here? I was kinda like Dee, very closed off.
It's so hard for him, and I understand where he's coming from, but he just has to give in and trust it.
I need him to be uncomfortable in that moment to test him and see how he's gonna respond.
Honestly, I do need to start performing more in this routine, but I just smile.
And, yeah, you do.
You just have a big smile on your face.
Especially now with confidence, like, now that you have so much confidence, you can definitely add something to it.
Even in my motions, I feel like I'm, like I don't know.
- Gill.
- What? - This is serious.
- Okay.
You're the shit, so act like it.
Okay.
Yeah.
Big faces.
Cassadee, how's it gonna turn on? I got it.
When you're smilin' When you're smilin' - That looks good! - That was good.
The whole world smiles with you That was good.
When you're laughin' - That's good.
- Is that good? - Yeah.
Period.
- Okay, post.
I don't want to give myself all the credit for my little Gillian Grace Rupert, but she was very hard to open, like, get to open up.
My mother raised me to always hold your head high no matter what the situation is.
You're strong, you're tough.
With Gill, I saw that in her.
I saw a strong little girl, but she just she kept she kept her chin down! We stood in front of a mirror and I was like, "Look at yourself!" I was like, "You're not gonna tell me that you're not one in a million!" Cassadee has helped me in more ways than I could put into words.
Just realize that I I am great.
You know what I mean? I am! And, you know, that's the whole point.
It's just like, she's helped me with my confidence a lot.
I don't think I ever struggled with confidence.
Being in pageants growing up, it did help me.
It helped me a lot.
My name is Cassadee, and I want the judges to go, "Wow!" If I say so myself, I was I was the first one to come out with that show.
When you're on a stage by yourself, I'm gonna either win this or I'm gonna lose this.
There's not a team to pick you up.
It is only you! You can have blood going right down your leg from your heels.
One time, I had a safety pin that was stuck into my skin.
Like, two safety pins hanging out of my leg.
Pageants definitely teach you how to smile through the pain.
This Daytona season has been very different.
It's not as fun and joyous like it was last last year.
- Hey, Fernie! - Hey.
Hey.
- Hey, Fernie.
- Hey.
There's been so many situations where we've turned against each other when we're supposed to turn towards each other.
But I think that these past few weeks, we've done a lot better at staying positive and staying strong throughout everything that's been going on.
Nobody wants to go through all that stuff alone, and knowing that someone has your back, someone is there through thick and thin, they're always gonna be there, it wouldn't be as bright as if I didn't have her.
- Aww.
That's so cute! - Isn't that cute? I don't know how I thought of that.
- That was a good one.
- That was a good one.
Gabi! Oh! I missed you! Mom! You look so pretty! Hi! I had to wear my I can't breathe! We ended up getting sent home for corona, and Cassadee knew I was having a hard time again, you know, with my mom and everything at home, and she offered, you know, for me to come visit her.
And I ended up staying, and her mom, she offered me a job at her gym.
- It's almost time to come home! - I know! She said, "I want to stay here.
" She fit right in, and we were absolutely more than thrilled to have her.
I'm in a great place right now.
I'm with a great family, you know what I mean? And it's just like, I got out, and once I got out, I didn't look back.
Gill, is your mom coming tomorrow? Will I get to meet her? She's getting her hair done.
She said she's going to Daytona, so you're gonna meet her there.
Okay.
I get to meet her there? Growing up, I was always close to my mom.
After my parents got divorced, it was just me and her.
So, it was more like I was super close to her because that's all I had.
My dad was never really, like, "close to me" close to me, you know? It was more of kind of like a forced relationship.
My mom and dad had always argued, you know.
He'd been pushing her and stuff like that.
'Cause he was drunk whenever he did it, you know? And that's how that's how it happened.
I could just tell, like, whenever you look at people, you can tell if they have a good heart or not, and I could tell sometimes with my dad that he doesn't.
Me and my mom, whenever we decided that we were gonna leave, you know, we didn't tell my dad.
We just kinda like grabbed everything we could, you know? I guess whenever he got home, he thought that, like, people had robbed us, you know? Until he got, like, served with his papers, you know, but, um So it was kind of more like he It wasn't like a mutual thing, you know? It was it was like we just left.
The divorce was really hard on my mom.
She took it out on other things.
Like, she would start drinking and start taking time to herself more.
And we went through times where I felt like I was in charge.
You know, I felt like I was was more scared for her, you know what I mean? Like I was the parent.
I was Like, it was like she's my kid, and I was scared that she was gonna go out and get hurt.
Ninety-nine, ninety-three, ninety-six.
When I'm here, it's more like I just get to be myself.
And I see how she grew up with her family, and and no wonder she is how she is, you know? And as confident as she is, you know? And as bright as she is, you know? And me being around her these past two years has just rubbed off onto me.
Just realized that I deserve a lot more.
- Yes! - No, we're gonna just hold our routine.
We're gonna hold it.
We're gonna go, "Dawgs!" One, two, three.
Superstar! I'm the only one who's given her a chance, and I'm the one who stayed by her side through everything she's been through.
I've had her back.
Just That's my number one girl.
Like, here, we don't make mistakes.
Like, we've hit so many zeros.
How many have we hit? Like, 26.
- Guys, that's why you're here.
- I'm not afraid of what I'm gonna do.
I'm afraid of just, like, just how I'm gonna feel.
Like, my adrenaline is gonna take over and I'm gonna have to puke after.
- Well, don't come talk to me.
- I won't.
This year's been tough.
You have to be willing to open up your life and your world to to everyone, and and allow them to see that we're not all perfect, and that we do have our struggles.
Because sometimes, you know, you look at the person that's like a parent figure, and you think they have it all together, and you don't realize sometimes they're human too and they need they need support also.
So Everybody has struggles.
Everybody has struggles.
And anybody that pretends that they're perfect is lying.
If you guys don't know, this is Brandon Hale.
He wanted to come in and help us out to give us a better finish to the routine.
He's gonna help with our dance.
- Thank you! - You're welcome.
Yeah.
Hi.
Anyways, I'm Brandon.
I'm simple.
Uh, let's have a good time today.
Yes.
Lots of energy and just show your personality so I can bring that out.
Let's have a party! Let's have a good time! All right.
Let's get going.
Brandon got my information from our music guy, and he just said he wanted to have the dance fit the routine.
Not that our dance wasn't good, but it didn't fit the style of the routine that we had.
So, he wanted to bring in a different element.
Five, six, seven, lean it out.
Catch her waist, down.
All of you go like this, both of you.
And hold her waist.
We've changed things up so many times all year long.
Scoot into this line.
This year, we really tried hard to get things done sooner, and it just ended up being one of those years where Oh, man.
Sooner became later with all aspects.
Here we go.
One, two, three, y'all dip on five.
Out, seven, eight, lean.
One, two, down, three, four, five.
Try to be in that formation by five.
Turn to the front.
Now this dance already feeling spicy.
Six, seven, and eight.
One, two, three, and four.
Get to that Try to get to this line.
Five, six, seven, eight, one! Right in there tight, all the way.
- Look at the armpit stains! - Oh.
I washed them, but you can rewash them if you want! - Vontae, you did not wash this.
- Yes, I did! They smell like shit.
Oh, God! Look at this.
- They did change, 'cause - Yeah, because we For us to be changing as much as we do day-to-day, maybe not super normal, but I felt this, like, overwhelming pressure to have things as as perfect as we could make 'em.
There's a lot of confusion! We've had the same counts since January! Franklin! It all starts on one and ends on eight! And then it recycles, it's the same! What drives me the most is I don't like losing.
I'll probably perform at Daytona, but my performing's different.
I'm, like, aggressive, more aggressive than whatever they be doing.
Let's go, stand up! - You gotta do what you gotta do.
- Five and six, down, seven.
As long as we do what we supposed to do, I think we got a good chance of winning.
All right, go again.
I like it.
I'm liking it.
It's always a nice little uptick.
When music comes in, the kids get super excited about it.
They start finding places in the routine to perform to the music specifically.
I screamed in the routine.
I was excited, like Like a fangirl! It go, brr brr brr.
I like it.
Brr.
Hey! Close! You do that two more times, y'all are done! Lightning, those are the smallest pants you could find? Get an extra large, you can't go out there like that, man.
My brain doesn't turn off.
Like, I go home, I'm thinking, "What if we did this? What if we did that?" What do we call days like this? Mining for tenths.
You guys are about to jump for a tenth, a lot.
Mm-hmm.
Seven, eight.
One, two I think all I ever really hope for - Seven! - Good fix, Jada! is that they just have the same belief in themselves that we do.
That three-four was so sharp, boys! Keep that up! And this year, we've got a really young team, but they're great.
Well, well, well, well, dance I had a meeting with the vets about how I felt like that we did need to, you know, have each other's backs and carry each other through the hard times because that's what family is for.
And I think from that point forward, everyone just understood how important their role role was, just supporting each other through the difficult times.
Our goal is right in front of us now, and, you know, we were able to get this bandshell.
Just some things that are positive, that finally it feels like we've gotten over that mountain, and now we can see the other side.
We have our own stage! Oh my gosh! Come on, Maddy Brum! One, three, five, seven, good.
Just, like, being up higher and having everyone else on the ground, like, smashing their hands on the stage makes you feel like you're on a performance stage, and makes it feel so much more real.
Brr brr.
Good! Monica! Monica! Monica! When you have a coach that's willing to go above and beyond for you My God! You did it all for me! you wanna go above and beyond for them.
I'm like this.
I have a dumb smile on my face.
You know, when you can't stop smiling.
What's up, bitch? Um, IÂ was just calling you about, like, the whole hair situation.
Uh-huh.
The rookie girls haven't really had, like, the full experience.
Yeah.
They have to do their hair, and, like, getting to put on, like, the uniform.
And I feel like when it comes to looking like a Navarro girl, I guess? Mm-hmm.
What if a video goes out and we don't have poofs in our hair? Well You know more than I do.
So, that's why I'm talking to you.
But at the end of the day, like, you're the only girl on this team that has performed at Daytona in Navarro uniform.
- Yeah.
- So your opinion matters to us.
What do you wanna do, Maddy? I just said that really aggressive.
Do you think maybe we could just, like, do the poof tomorrow? And then we'll all, like, get together as girls and then talk about it tomorrow? All right.
Done.
- Thank you, Gab.
I love you.
- All right, love you.
To poof or not to poof, this is the question.
Navarro girl poof.
Like, this huge, just, bump on the top of your head where you, like, tease your hair an obnoxious amount, flip it over, with the huge bow and the big curls.
I think the poof is cute.
The poof? Child, these ancient poofs.
These poofs have been going around since the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
I'm not personally a fan.
A lot of girls like it because it's that Navarro look.
It's "tradition" to have the poof.
I don't know why anyone thought of it, but I'm glad they're still around for Navarro, 'cause, like, that's just it's iconic.
Why fit in when you can stand out? Duh.
The uniform that they wear, the hair that they do, the makeup they put on, presents them as, like, strong women.
Whatever he said about strong women, can y'all, like, put a little asterisk? Strong women.
That was the perfect answer and y'all need to use that.
People look up to Navarro cheerleaders.
When you're on the team, you want to keep old traditions alive to feel like they're a part, you know, of something bigger than them.
If you complain about the poofs, you don't want to be a Navarro girl.
- No - I think we should do them, I don't care.
I feel like no one likes it, but we do it because it's tradition.
Since I was little, I've looked at a Navarro girl, and they wore a poof.
And that's how I want it to be.
Oh yeah, I hate the poof.
Last year, my rookie class, we didn't get the whole experience of being Navarro cheerleaders in Daytona.
And yes, I know it's just a hairstyle.
But I feel like this year was just so not normal, and I feel like the little things like that, the way Navarro does things differently, change the outcome.
I feel like we're slowly getting back together as a team, learning how to be a Navarro cheerleader with your face, like, getting ready to look like a Navarro girl or Navarro boy.
If you're not a family, then it's just individuals.
It's no longer a team.
You just put 20 individuals on the floor, compared to, you know, putting 20 family members on the floor, knowing that they're gonna hit zero for each other, not just for themselves.
You have to become a family to win as a family.
And I go la, la, la, la, la She's got the look Come on, little! The show-offs are basically like our our games, if we had games or we had competitions.
For us to be able to just get out in front of a crowd, get the jitters out.
Five seven, eight.
One, three five, seven, eight, one.
You only get one chance when you're at Daytona, and we want the people here to see all the hard work they put in as well.
It's the morning of the Resurrection.
It's the greatest day in history.
We've been practicing at the Baptist church in town.
On that day about 2,000 years ago, the victor of the world's greatest competition was crowned when Jesus Christ arose from the grave.
The pastor at First Baptist, was watching us practice.
He was like, "Hey! We're gonna have a big service on Sunday.
" "It'd be really cool if you guys started the service off by doing your show-off in front of our crowd.
" On this day of the Spirit, we've invited the legendary TVCC cheer squad to unify our spirit, 'cause there's nothing better than cheering on Jesus.
They're known for flowing routines, pyramids, tosses, spins, flying and catching, balance, strength, beauty, and agility.
They leave this week for the national competition in Florida.
And they're here today to lift your spirits.
Join me in cheering on TVCC Cheer for the next 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
Give it up for TVCC Cheer! Let's go! Competing is a whole different thing within itself.
That was perfect timing.
People just need to get their minds right and try to prepare themselves for what's to come.
That's what's so scary about Daytona too, like, you do what you do in the gym at the school every single day, just normal, to you're in it, like, you're you're competing.
One, two, three, four! Five, six, seven, eight! Cards! I'd hate to be that one person.
That's really what be pushing me.
Like, that one person that mess up.
You gotta ride home, just thinking.
That's a 16-hour bus ride.
A 16-hour bus ride being that one person that messed up.
You know, don't fold, like, hit all your stuff.
I know what to expect.
I know what it feels like in Daytona, but I also know what the hurt feels like.
I'm not afraid of failure, but this is the one competition and team that would hurt the most losing.
And I make sure that they know that it hurts.
- TV No! Taylor dropped a stunt.
- What? TVCC! TVCC! Roll them up! Let's give it up for the TVCC cheer team! Roll them up! Roll them up! Celeste, you're okay! It's just a show-off.
You're okay! Jesus, I can't deal with that.
I can't.
Hallelujah I can't deal with that.
Sing ye heavens and earth Celeste is acting so She's literally doing the most right now.
Where is she? Del had to take her out.
Lives again our glorious King - Dee doesn't do anything.
- Yeah.
He didn't smile one time in that routine, bro.
And I thought maybe from far enough away, you wouldn't be able to tell.
But it sucks all of it down.
He's gotta smile at some point.
This man here, bro.
Wow! Alleluia We've had a lot of battles, um, this year, this semester, and these kids have been so resilient, and worked hard, and overcome everything thrown at them.
So, thank you for coming, and From Corsicana, Texas! Navarro College! Show-off is the first thing.
and I just feel like as soon as we finally land in Daytona, and people physically see we're there, it'll be a sigh of relief, like, "We finally made it.
" As soon as we get to Daytona, they're going to see what it is to be a Navarro cheerleader.
It's not so much about the look.
It's just the way that you present yourself.
It's just that, like, that badass, like Sorry, I'm about to curse.
Badass bitch vibes.
Like, you have to really be tough mentally, physically, and just be ready for whatever is thrown at you.
Even though you're dying, you can't breathe, you feel like your whole body is gonna collapse, you feel like, "This is it, you're done," you know, and you still keep pushing in that routine and you still keep smiling.
The team is very focused because we all have the same goal.
We want to win.
I mean, not everything's about winning, but it just makes it better.
The routine is really good, but I don't know anything about what the girls on the street are doing, and that's scary.
We waited so long to get here and what if we wait to get here to get second place? That sits in the back of my head.
I literally have nightmares about it.
Dawgs! Madison Brum! - Good job, babe.
- Thank you.
You did good.
Who do the shit that I do? Stepping into Monica's shoes, or those kids' shoes, or Vontae's shoes, or the TVCC kids', our job is training that mental aspect to make sure that when the pressure is on and when it truly matters, that their confidence is so high in themselves that they know they cannot fail.
You have to make them feel like they are invincible in order to be confident enough to be able to handle that two and a half minutes of pressure.
We have put the work in to be as prepared as we can be, but, I mean, it's cheerleading, so you never know what's gonna happen.
Who do the shit that I do? Who do the shit that I do? Who do the shit that I do? Who do the shit that I do?