cheerleader Archives | Candy A. Westbrook

Dear Football Mom,

Why is my son so bent on working out during Christmas break instead of going to Colorado with his family skiing? Granted, he’ll be a senior next year and is working hard for a college football scholarship, but enough already. He wants to stay with his buddy’s family, as his friend’s dad owns several fitness centers, and they can work out together over the break. I’m a little upset with his buddy’s parents too, because I think they should have encouraged our son to go with us instead of offering for him to stay with them.

What say you?

Dear Reader,

This is a new one on me. What kid gives up Colorado skiing for working out?

Y’all do know my hair frizzes straight up each time I receive one of these read-between-the-lines psychological questions, sure enough, as if I stuck a finger in a Christmas light bulb socket with it turned on. I can see ol’ Clark Griswold, now. Y’all know I don’t claim to be that bright, but we’ll giver ’er a try.

My first thought actually has nothing to do with working out. Yes, you are right. For high schoolers, unless they are in a late state playoff after Christmas, they should be able to take a few days off during the holidays. Notice I said days, not weeks.

I suppose something could be brewing behind that snowman … and it’s not hot chocolate. It usually comes down to a girl in the mix somewhere. Then again, maybe he is just that serious about working toward a scholarship and has a valid fear of getting hurt on the slopes. Maybe your son is wise beyond his years. Injuries can spoil chances of saddling-up with scholarship offers, not to mention they hurt like the dickens.
If this is a new tradition for your family, my guess is he just doesn’t want change at Christmastime. Or—and this is a big OR—that purty little gal is pulling on his heartstrings to stay behind. He could be torn between spending time with her, or traveling with his family and then feeling like the Grinch. Oh, the G-force those gals have on our sons’ when their heads turn and their hearts go pitter-patter over a girl. Why, it’s downright frightening for mamas. Since his senior year is around the corner and time is short, he could be thinking he’d better take advantage of the time they have—if he’s even thinking that far in advance. Lots of maybe’s here, but like I said … reading between the lines.

The other thing that comes to mind and it chills me like icicles to be this honest, but maybe your son enjoys his friend’s family for various reasons instead of spending spare time with his own family. Does it feel like sand paper rubbing friction when all of you are together? Do you and you husband argue? Is chaos lurking behind every family gathering? Do tempers fly? Is alcohol a problem with adults? I know these are very personal questions. Please keep in mind I don’t want to know the answers. The questions are only there for you to mull over and consider, is all.

And by the way, there are no Norman Rockwell families out there. Even if you think his buddy’s family has it together, I tend to doubt its peaches and cream all the time. Put another log on that picture-perfect fire please, and hang those stocking with care.

Have an old fashion heart-to-heart talk with your son. Be honest with him. Tell him this stung a smidge and pricked your heart. If you are honest with him, I’m almost sure he’ll be honest with you. I believe your family just might huddle closer once your hearts open and y’all clear the air. Keep your cool no matter what he says. Give him the opportunity to share his feelings without jumping into soot from the fireplace.

Remember in the end, you are the parent—he is still the child. And too, since you are the parent, it’s a good idea for him to listen to you and do what you ask. In all seriousness, he has to obey your wishes, regardless of how he feels.

Christmas Day will come no matter how you celebrate it. Just make sure your son knows how much you love him, no matter where he spends the day.

Dear Football Mom,

Is cheerleading a sport? I know you usually answer football questions, but thought I’d try to get your input here. My daughter is going to cheer next year for football at a Division-I college, and yet they don’t offer scholarships for cheerleaders. Something is wrong with that.

Dear Reader,

I have to agree. College cheerleaders should be awarded full scholarships, period.

Depending on the school, some do give monies for room and board, books, or compensate the difference for out-of-state tuition. But generally, not all of the tuition. Not all of it, at all. Usually one or two expenses and that’s it. Partial scholarships do exist, as well as other scholarships such as academic and the like. They all apply. But a full-fledged cheerleader scholarship, like football scholarships have yet to be common practice, though it should be.

Cheerleaders matter. They matter a lot. Truthfully, I’d like to see a team win without them.

When football players try to get a crowd pumped up during a game, it’s a sign of weakness and desperation. I actually want to whup-upside the head some football-playing boys when I see them fellers turn into cheerleaders on the field. Good golly, guys, keep your heads in the game, Buck-a-roos. The cheers will come when you play tough and nail your assignments. Let the cheerleaders do their job and you do yours!
Cheerleaders matter. Yes, they flat-out matter. Is cheerleading a sport? It should be.

The Boys of Fall

I bawled like a blubbering baby when I first heard this song. What a gripping piece of music for all in the football nation. A dear friend of mine said she cried too, and doesn’t “know a hike from a hut!” I think you’d nearly have to be heart-dead without a pulse not to have some emotion shuffling through your core as the lyrics tantalize tidbits of nostalgia. Country crooners can always wet the eyes of the steeliest of hearts; however, Kenny Chesney took it to a whole new level. He encapsulated the purity of the spirit in football with his song, but he seared the soul with its flavor.

I dedicate this post to my fellow classmates of Buckhead Academy, who went 10-0 the first year our school ever had a football team (Go class of ’72!) and to my grandson, who at age 7 is entering his first pee-wee football season. Go Bryson II!!! May the tradition thrive!

Football is steeped in tradition, with passionate players, frenzied fans, and crazy coaches willing to do almost anything, go anywhere, and lay it all out for their teams. The madness surrounding the sport is hard to express in one simple statement. Football is such a menagerie of emotions and lessons learned. These emotions along with their lessons, however, can symbolize how you view life or react to it.

I’ve always believed that the past affects the present. What you do or don’t do, who you hang with or how you seize opportunities, even those of the smallest kind, will affect you in ways that you might have never imagined. High school football can be one of those vehicles that contribute to and characterize who you are at the core. Winning or losing seasons can very well personify a way of life for your furture. It has been said that some of the greater lessons are those when losing. Of course, winning is a lot more fun!

Our Buckhead Bucks literally had nothing. Not even a football field to call their own. My dad and a small crew of two or three, led by Mr. Ed Alsobrooks, mounted lights on poles on a torn-up, rundown field in town, just hours before we kicked off our first game. My mother finished stitching the last sleeve of my cheerleading uniform in the wee hours that Friday morning, so I could proudly wear it to school. We didn’t have a formal pep rally to send our boys off raht-proper-like for that first game, but honey, you’d’ve never known it. We were so late in assembling a football team that we didn’t get registered in time with the state under the ‘independent schools’ sports section. That meant we would not be allowed to compete on the state level for a championship play-off. But who in the world, in that fall of 1971, gave us a gnat’s chance of winning any game?

Understand, we had nothing. But in reality, we had more than nothing! What we did have was the intangible! That undeniable, deep-rooted, pure as the driven snow, emotionally packed, triumphal spirit that cannot be taught, cannot be duplicated, and cannot be produced, no matter how hard any coach anywhere could muster the effort!

Call it lightning in a bottle, magic or fairy tales, it’s the one thing all schools everywhere should experience at least once in their lives. Indeed, football history is loaded with plenty of heroes and teams that beat the odds. But our little school in South Georgia, located down a dusty dirt road, outside of town, smack-dab in the middle of nowhere, nonetheless went down in state history books! Not because of talent, not because of great coaching, and sadly, not because of the cheerleaders, but because of the intangible spirit within the hearts of every member of our student body!

Our itty-bitty school broke a long-standing record, going 10-0 in its inaugural football season. That made us the first football program in Georgia high school history to go undefeated the first year of playing the game! We came home the champions time and time again that special year and the record still stands.

It was a privilege to be part of it all, and I may be the only senior past or present who didn’t want to graduate—but oh honey, what a year! What an awesome tradition. And the legacy is passed on. It spilt over to my sons’ lives as well. Now, my grandson. That little team brought me through some amazing obstacles in life. That never quit, never die attitude strengthened my soul at times when I needed that extra push when all I wanted to do was give up.

Auspicious experiences in life have a way of leaving lasting impressions on one’s psyche, impressions which can supply steadfast tenaciousness as those lessons are passed on to future generations. It’s hard to fight back those butterflies, every time I think of a cheer, a score or the crowd roaring to their feet on that ole field. All I want to do is celebrate with the Buckhead Bucks once more! So, what do I do? I write about football from a mama’s heart who has passed on that winning legacy.

And, to all those football teams of today—dang-straight! Folks do indeed live vicariously through you. I am one of them!

When Christmas Brings Conflict

The Boys of Fall

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