Destinee Foust is currently a senior on the varsity cheerleading squad. She has been a strong supporter for the Carlisle Herd Football team over her three years.  The cheerleading squad supports many different teams throughout the fall and winter seasons.  There is also a competition team over the winter so the girls have to balance all of the different types of cheer.  We had the chance to catch up with Foust recently.  

Q: How long have you participated in Cheerleading?

A: “This is currently my third year.”

Q: What influenced you to begin Cheer?

A: “I always thought it would be something fun to do since it incorporated a lot of teamwork and spreading positivity. Plus my mother and aunt both did cheer when they were younger, so I wanted to keep it going.”

Q: How has your experience been since you’ve started?

A: “It has been really good. It helped me come out of my comfort shell.”

Q: Do you feel like it helped shape you into who you are today?

A: “Yes, because when I first started cheer I used to be very quiet and tended to keep to myself. Now I’d consider myself a lot more outgoing and less shy since I was pushed outside of my comfort box. The only way we could be successful is if we worked together as a cheer squad, so I learned how to communicate with all the girls.”

Q: What was your impression of your first year of cheer?

A: “It was definitely awkward, because I didn’t really know anyone. Plus I wasn’t familiar with the routines and made a lot of mistakes.”

Q: How did you transition from that to now?

A: “Well I had one of my friends start with me. I was also able to become close with some of the other girls. After a couple practices, I began to better understand the routine as well.”

Q: Did you have any big struggles to overcome as you became more involved?

A: “When I first started flying I wasn’t very certain I could trust everyone at the time, so I had to overcome the fear of falling, but also being able to put my trust into someone I am not entirely familiar with.”

Q: What is your stance on the statement when someone says, “Cheerleading is not a sport.”

A: “I believe that cheerleading is a sport because no one really realizes how much we have to put into our routines and practices. If we aren’t communicating, just as any other team would, we wouldn’t have a good routine. Cheer keeps us in shape as any sport would. Plus, we have to compete too, which is something that someone who plays a sport has to do to. Cheer takes a determined and open-minded person because it is very difficult to do without having experience or background knowledge on stunts.”