Sis Boom Bah! South Bay Cheer 360 Grooms a New Generation of Cheerleaders
South Bay Cheer 360 junior level 2 athletes at “rogue practice” in Torrance. From left, Monique Gueverra, Skye Embray, Olivia McKissock, Molly Isip, and Nathalia Jackson. Photo A worldwide sport started because of a bunch of losers. They were the football team of the University of Minnesota in 1898 – and were having a bad year. A medical student named Johnny Campbell tried to raise the team’s spirits by organizing a group to yell encouragement from the sidelines, and the sport of cheerleading was born. Johnny Campbell’s efforts must have had some value; the team won the game that day and afterwards turned its season around, presumably due to the increased enthusiasm of their supporters. Soon it became customary for teams in football, basketball, rugby and baseball to have cheering squads that competed in volume and enthusiasm. In the 1920s there were changes on the sidelines; acrobatics and tumbling were added, and women began participating. It was still mostly a male activity until the 1940s, when many college-age men went off to war. Today, cheerleading is recognized as a sport in its own right called All Star Cheer that emphasizes teamwork, mental discipline and superior…
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