Sydney Threadgill '23 Recruiting Profile

My name is Sydney Threadgill. Cheerleading is what motivates me to be better. I am a varsity cheerleader (10-12) and I have done competitive cheerleading sense 8th grade. Before that I did gymnastics but after joining the cheer team in middle school, and being named captain for 7th and 8th grade, I decided cheerleading has a kick to it. I absolutely fell in love with the sport. Now I have been the varsity captain of my school team for two year and I was captain of my competitive team for 3. I feel like I would be a good candidate for a collegiate level cheerleader because I have such good leadership skills and a burning desire to make my team the best. I will work hard day and night to complete that goal. I have all level 5 tumbling skills and some level 6 stunting. I am able to backstop and main/side base. I would consider myself very outgoing  and easy to get along with. I have a 3.52 GPA on the 4.0 scale and I work hard in my academics. I have pasted my collage essay below because I feel like it really shows who I am as a person and what I've gone through to get to where I am today.

“Five, six, seven, eight.” As we begin our cheer routine, I am standing in my usual spot, the back right corner, hidden from the view of the girls I think are better than me. It’s my sophomore year, and this is where I had stood since 7th grade.

I began middle school as a carefree preteen: I hung out at friends’ houses, I went to birthday parties, I even ate lunch at the “popular table”. Then things began to take a turn. People suddenly stopped talking to me and, instead of singing “Happy Birthday” with everyone, I would sit quietly on my phone, scrolling through the stories of others celebrating without me.  Eventually I discovered that my “best friend” had turned on me and somehow convinced others to do the same. I went from the girl who had so many friends and was happy and confident to the girl who sat by herself at lunch, debating whether she should eat in the bathroom or her teacher’s room. 

Through all of this, the only thing that brought me happiness was cheerleading. When I went to competitive cheer practices, I left the school drama behind. I felt accepted and part of a family. I always enjoyed cheerleading because I knew I was good at it. But even at cheer practices my insecurities followed me. In the back of my mind I was always comparing myself to the other girls and worrying that they were talking about me and watching my every move. Even after being named cheer captain at my middle school, making the highschool JV team as a freshman and varsity as a sophomore, I still didn’t feel like myself. My confidence was so low that I would stand in the back during practice so that other people couldn’t judge me. 

The turning point took place a week before my junior year. My high school cheer coach was fired and both of the captains quit. They didn't have a leader for the team. No coach plus no captain equals no cheer team. There was now a void I could fill. Maybe this was my time to shine. My middle school bully had moved across the country; there was nothing in my way except my own insecurities. But my dedication to the team was stronger than my fear of what people thought of me. The day after our coach was fired we were scheduled to perform at a back-to-school pep rally. I knew it was up to me if we were going to participate. So I choreographed and taught a routine that very day. After that, I became the de facto captain and continued to choreograph all of our team’s halftime, sideline, and pep rally routines. Once official captain tryouts came, I was named captain despite the fact that I was the only junior running against four seniors.

Being the captain of the team my junior year came with a lot of responsibility. Our new coach didn't have much cheerleading experience, so I eventually went from simply choreographing routines to planning and organizing the cheer program. I decided where we would cheer, who would attend each event, what we would wear, and even acted as the liaison between the team and the booster club. I was given the Heart of a Cheerleader award for my leadership skills, and now my teammates call me Coach Sydney, which is an even better reward.

Through coaching this team, not only did I gain back my confidence, but I also grew as a leader. I learned to listen to other people, how to communicate with peers and adults, and how to fulfill my role with integrity. Going into my second year as captain, instead of standing in the back worrying about people looking down at me, I confidently stand in the front knowing they are looking up to me.