From the moment Michelle Santos'22 her teammates step onto the mat, they are at full focus. One slip-up, and the whole stunt could fail. To any person outside of cheer, this may seem daunting. For Santos, this is something she experiences daily.

Starting from a young age, Santos has been a natural competitor. Influenced by her parents, who promoted both physical and mental health, Michelle practiced hip-hop, tap, jazz, and contemporary dance.

During her sophomore year, Santos found her passion for cheerleading. Though it was a very exciting sport, the competition was tough, and she felt the need to improve. She watched cheerleading videos on her own time to gain a better understanding of the sport, furthering her growth.

Santos also understands the importance of staying conditioned, not just with the team but on her own. Running and yoga have become valuable assets of her routine, and she stays active by playing volleyball with her siblings.

Noticing her success early on, cheerleading Head Coach Barbara Callahan has been impressed by Santos’s willingness to help others and her ability to take responsibility in leading the team. During her senior year, Santos’s efforts were rewarded when Callahan appointed her as captain.

As captain, Santos shares her passion for cheer with the rest of the team, emphasizing the importance of team chemistry. As team members stretch before practice, Santos makes sure they talk about their day. She says it relieves stress and promotes a healthy environment where they can trust each other and build friendships.

“We’re all like one big family, once the season started everyone became super close,” said Santos. “If people don’t get along, then nobody’s going to listen to each other. ... If there’s not that much active listening, then the team falls apart.”

Cheerleader Monica Watson ’22 and Santos have cheered together ever since they were sophomores. Watson notices and appreciates the extra work that Santos puts in.

“Michelle is a really great captain,” said Watson. “She always makes people really confident about themselves, and she always knows what’s going on so she can  ll everyone in.”

Santos believes that a large portion of people don’t view cheerleading as an actual sport. She remarked that many tend to believe it to be something that doesn’t require talent, when in fact competitive cheer is very high-intensity.

“A lot of people think cheerleading is just shouting for a team, when in reality it’s a lot more. You need 100 percent concentration all the time. If you don’t, someone could fall and really hurt themselves. On stunts, if someone is being raised up while others are going down, it looks sloppy. You always have to know what you’re doing,” Santos said.

These problems were especially di cult to overcome during the pandemic. Although the team was not able to gather and practice stunts like they used to, they stayed that by stretching and doing cheers. Santos enjoyed seeing teammates she had not seen in a while, but she still felt the time was bittersweet.

“It was nice talking with everyone, but it was upsetting because stunting is the big part [of cheerleading] that everyone is excited about,” Santos said.

Now back full-time with fewer restraints, the team relishes their new sense of freedom. Over the past year, they’ve had limited contact with each other, hindering the team’s development.  is year, they were able to build new relationships in person.

Santos is excited to continue building these connections and encourages more people to join cheerleading.

“You don’t have to be outgoing to try out for cheerleading; there’s always going to be a spot for you on the team. We’re all very welcoming and supportive. You should definitely try out for the team! It’s super fun!” Santos said.