LJ Cheer: Q & A with Sydney Ochoa, flyer/co-captain

By Ed Piper

Sydney Ochoa
Year in school: Junior
Age: 16
Role on team: Co-captain and "flyer", the one who stands on top of the stunt formation and "flies" when she drops, spinning rapidly, toward the ground until her teammates catch her. (My granddaughter broke her right foot when she was dropped as an LJHS flyer, so I know about this personally.)

Interview after cheer team practice Thurs., Jan. 18.

EP: Tell me about your competition that is coming up this Sat. (Jan. 20).

SO: This might be our last competition. But, hopefully, if we do good, if we place high (in the sanctioned competitive cheer event), then we can go to Nationals. We're considering it, and it'd be great for the team.

EP: What are you as a team good at, would you say?

SO: Working together and stunting. We're always having fun. We call it being "versatile". We're always moving things around.

EP: Why is (competitive) cheer such a good spectator sport? What would people enjoy if they went to that event?

SO: Cheer events are really fun events to watch. They're really exciting. There's a lot of spirit.

EP: Tell me about school, not to bring up a bad subject (joking). What's a subject you like?

SO: I actually really like English.

EP: What do you like about it?

SO: Actually, my English teacher, Ms. (Jane) Medrano--she's really fun. I love her class. A lot of other cheerleaders are in my class. We really learn a lot in there. She's real with us.

EP: What's something you do in class you like?

SO: We have a lot of class discussion, and it really opens up our minds.

EP: What is a class discussion you remember that was really interesting?

SO: Right now we're doing presentations on controversial topics, and learning how to discuss them better.

EP: What is yours?

SO: My group just did a presentation on sexual assault, and it was really interesting to me.

EP: That's such an important thing. I wouldn't want to just leave that. It's important. People have to be safe. There has to be mutual respect. We're seeing that (issue) in society, too, right? There has been this big outbreak of sexual harassment cases. Things have to change, correct?

SO: Yes, I agree.

EP: Sydney, you're a captain. Talk about that role and what you do to help lead your team.

SO: Well, this is my first year as a captain and I've been a varsity cheerleader for three years. It's really great to get this opportunity. It is teaching me leadership and how to lead this team, and building my confidence.

EP: Cheerleader. A lot of people don't know much about it. They used to have this saying (when my granddaughter was a Viking varsity cheerleader from 2004-2008), "If you can't cheer, play football." Because there is quite a bit of workout. Like today, practice went from 2:30-5:00. That's a major time commitment.

SO: Yeah.

EP: That's demanding, isn't it?

SO: Cheer--it requires a lot of commitment and just being really dedicated to the team.

EP: What are you doing physically? People in the stands think, "Oh, they're cute." But you're doing a lot of workout things.

SO: Yeah, it's physically demanding. I get really tired sometimes. We have to learn how to push through it and work as a team to keep on going.

EP: What are some thoughts about what happens after high school? What is a dream of something you want to accomplish?

SO: Hmmm...

EP: What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

SO: I don't know if I have a dream. Lots of people want to do college cheer. It's really a big thing, and it's really hard to get in with that. But that's a good dream of mine.

EP: It is?

SO: Yeah, lots of cheerleaders dream of that.

EP: Your coach (Cindee Russell), does she really encourage that?

SO: Yeah, she does. She mentions it. For a bunch of the other varsity cheerleaders, the juniors, she really encourages it, which is for us to be better.

EP: Who are some good friends on the team?

SO: A few of the girls who started with me as freshmen...Julia (Munson), who is a year older than me, Angelique Pacleb, Kaitlin Wiltse, Hailey Ramos. We all started together. We're in the same stunt group, too. We feel that bond together.