Episode 3 My Team: The Cheerleaders

Three teams. They all want to win

but only the team that can throw highest,

flip fastest and pull off jaw-dropping stunts

will take home the prize.

First place goes to...

They'll have to be totally fearless,

because the journey ahead could make or break them.

Forget pom-poms - this is the world of cheerleading.

With only weeks until the competition season starts,

the teams need to up their game if they want to walk away

with that trophy.

Coming up...

It all gets too much for Unity's team captain.

A key Ascension Eagle gets grounded.

I don't know what to say, Shola.

And two rising stars battle for the top position.

It's like a challenge between Emily and Sophie.

We don't know how Carly's going to call it.

Erm...

The first competitions of the season are coming up fast

but Unity Allstars team-mate Becky has been out of action

since she broke her ankle in training.

When Becky hurt herself, it was really devastating for the team

because everybody has their place on the team,

like, if someone is out, it affects everybody.

Becky's missed a crucial six weeks of training

but today she's got big news for head coach Tori.

The doctor said last time I went that he thought

I would get my cast off the next time that I would be going,

so that's tomorrow.

-So hopefully, some good news tomorrow, and then...

-Yeah.

-..in the next couple of weeks we can start to ease you back in.

-Yeah.

-Good luck tomorrow.

-Thank you.

-And let us know what they say.

-Yeah, I will. Thank you.

-See you later.

If her plaster comes off, Becky will be back with her

Unity team-mates, but she'll have to work hard to earn her place

back on the team.

I feel like I need to catch up on quite a lot,

which is what I'm very scared about when I do get back into training,

and I just feel, like, completely out of it.

OK, guys.

She watches on as Unity start part of the routine

that's built on trust - because it's built on each other.

So tonight we are going to be doing pyramid.

Pyramid is the part of the routine where all of the stunts connect

to build a giant pyramid.

You would be judged on how you get into the pyramid,

what you do within the pyramid

and how you get out of it.

Pyramids are the toughest part of the cheer routine to crack.

When done right, they look spectacular.

It's the whole team together.

And when everyone's up there in the air at the same time,

it's incredible.

But when things go wrong, it all falls to pieces.

In the pyramid, you have to work as a team with your group,

because if one of you doesn't do your job

then your whole group falls.

It's basically like the most important part of the routine.

Everyone needs to listen to what is going on.

We feel confident that you guys should be able to handle this,

no problem.

So - lots of good focusing.

Ajay, come here. I reckon he'll be fine.

Everyone needs to find their position.

Dip, catch her bottom. You have to touch her.

Ha-ha! Boys.

And then the team starts work on building

a championship-winning pyramid.

Let's try that and see how it goes.

Two, three, four, five, six, dip, seven...

Cheerleading is tough, but for 12-year-old flyer Megan

it's a chance to break free from everyday life.

It feels really fun to be thrown up in the air.

People throw you so high that you don't feel like you're ever

going to come down.

It's probably just one of the best feelings that you could ever have.

Megan is a brilliant athlete, a great tumbler.

She has a very, very bright and very promising future

and she could go so far.

Cheer has been more than just a chance to fly.

It's been a support through difficult times.

Cheerleading does help me take my mind off what's happened at home,

because I lost my dad from cancer at a young age.

When she's having, like, a really low time and she's really

missing her dad, we all take her under our wings a little bit.

If she wants to talk to anyone, she knows she can talk to us about it.

It does sometimes make you feel quite sad, when I can't

share my cheerleading experiences with my dad, because he never really

came to a competition, so he didn't really know what I was capable of.

When I go to competitions,

I do take a special necklace that belonged to my dad.

That was his lucky necklace.

When I compete, it makes me feel like he's there with me.

Normally, I do a lot of work with my mum and helping around the house

and what a normal teenager would do, because she is a single parent.

I'm willing to do that because my mum comes first.

Well done. Thank you, Megan.

To me, she is the most important thing that's on the planet.

The strength and determination

that I see from Megan, I'm very, very proud.

She's become such a lovely young lady.

She is so talented and she's beautiful.

I think her dad would be very proud of her, definitely.

Three, use your legs. Six, seven, eight.

Back in training, Megan and her fellow flyers

have made a great start to this season's pyramid.

That'll do. We'll move on. Guys, we're going to try something else.

So coach Tori decides to push the team to take on the hop through.

If you did the same as everyone else,

then nothing's setting you apart, so we're trying to push

the boundaries of what they're allowed to do within our level.

It's a daring move where a flyer jumps through

the arms of their team-mate.

It is quite a tricky manoeuvre, because if you let go

people can hurt theirselves.

You heard Megan - it's dangerous, so DON'T try this at home.

Two, three, foot. Five, dip, seven, eight. One, two, three.

You have to force yourself through the hole.

You need to lift your hips. OK? Up - through.

Again. Two, three.

For this movement to work, the flyer needs to take a leap of faith.

But do they trust their team-mates enough?

It's a bit scary. You go to a place when no-one is there to catch you.

Seven, one.

The first part of the pyramid's going really well,

-but this part, not so much.

-Hopefully, we'll get it soon.

It's getting a bit worrying.

Five, dip, seven. One, two, three.

That's your fault on the reload.

But they just can't nail it, and, after an hour of trying

and failing, Tori takes drastic action.

I'm worried about the hop through at the very end of the routine.

I feel like we need to change that whole section. Guys, listen.

We're not sure about this section. We're going to make some changes.

Daniela, come here.

With competition season only weeks away,

the team need to avoid more injuries,

so Tori makes the pyramid easier.

She could be slightly angled,

so they're almost back-to-back, like almost like that.

This is the time to make the changes now, rather than just leave it

and then just before the comp, say, actually, we don't like it.

And then you go up...

And then you go up, round, legs around, onto your tummy.

It might not work but we hope it will.

Fingers crossed, we'll see what happens.

Two, three, four, five, dip, seven, eight, through. One, two, three.

-Again!

-The team pick it up quickly

but simpler moves could mean fewer competition-winning points.

Come down. Ready! One, three...

With the pyramid built,

Unity now start to shape the rest of their routine.

Seven! One, three.

Everyone's being pushed to the limit, including team captain Lily.

-Did you hold her hand?

-Yes.

-OK.

Don't then blame her because you did your job wrong. That's not cool.

Five, seven.

I feel like I have to set a really good example for my team,

because they look up to me because I'm the captain.

Make sure you don't just let go of Olivia when she does that front foot.

You need to stay connected until she hits that cradle.

OK, guys. Let's go running tumbling.

And as the team tackle the tumble section, Lily struggles to keep up.

You lot - remember what I said about finishing the landing. Let's do this.

Seven, eight, and one, two, hands three, hands five,

seven, eight, one... Oh, dear!

Lily, and why didn't you do your tuck?

An old knee injury from last season stops Lily in her tracks.

Guys, doing the round of tucks, Lily - where was yours?

Lily, have you done one yet?

And suddenly the strain starts to show.

What's wrong?

What's wrong?

But you love cheerleading.

So what is it that you're not enjoying?

My back handspring.

But you are so many other things apart from tumbling.

The intense training's taking its toll on the 15-year-old.

-So much pressure.

-What pressure?

The pressure from where? Pressure from who?

Mostly school.

I have to stay after school for most of the week,

like catching up on classes.

Lily's got a lot on. She's in her final years at school,

so she's got all that pressure of exams.

She is the captain of the team,

so there's a lot of pressure on Lily to perform.

Your attitude needs to be strong but that's the person you are.

That's why we made you captain.

I really struggle with juggling my schoolwork with cheer and I'm

coming up to my GCSEs, so there's a lot of work and a lot of pressure.

But obviously, education comes first.

OK?

Lily tonight was questioning whether she was still enjoying it.

It's our job to sort of

remind them why they love it still and help them see the positives

and see their strengths, so we'll keep an eye on her over the next

couple of weeks and make sure that she still loves it,

because without Lily we'd be in real, real trouble.

With their team captain struggling, and routine needing work,

are Unity leaving the door open for their rivals to steal their crown?

Balancing life and cheerleading can be tough,

but for these athletes life is cheer.

Cheer means everything to me.

It's always been, like, a part of my life.

I basically, like, eat, sleep, breathe cheer.

It makes me feel like I'm special.

It makes me feel like I could achieve the impossible.

I can never imagine giving up cheer. I'd be so sad if I had to.

If someone told me that I had to give up cheer,

I'd just be like, "No!"

I would never give up cheerleading cos it's just too fun.

I'm never giving cheerleading up, ever!

Over in East London, the Ascension Eagles make sure

that cheerleaders like Zac have a way of mixing school with cheer.

This is the homework table and us are just doing our homework

and a bit of, like, our revision and stuff like that for school.

We're able to do our homework

and still be able to do our cheerleading practice.

It's easier, because I don't have to be juggling around all the time,

like, trying to find space for cheer and, like, my social life.

The Eagles have the smallest team

so they need everyone at every training session.

But even with the homework table they still don't have a full team.

At the moment, we are missing Shola.

If kids aren't in on time and we've already started the dance,

then they'll be at the back and some of them will be

a bit upset by that, because there'll be kids that want to be at the front,

but - turn up on time.

The big competition is just weeks away

and the Eagles are starting work on the dance section of their routine.

We all know - Shh! - how long it takes to learn a dance

so I'm going to do my best to teach you as quickly as possible.

Let's try it together. All right.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

This is my kind of thing. I like this kind of dance.

The dance section is when cheerleaders can have fun

but it only works when the whole team is in perfect time.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

One cheerleader keen to bring his moves is Harry,

one of only two boys in the Ascension Eagles.

All right, practise that.

My name is Harry and I'm 14 years old.

I'm not really like a typical cheerleader

because I don't like being the centre of attention or

nothing like that, but when I'm with a crowd, I'm all right.

Yeah, Harry does seem like an unlikely cheer boy

but when he does start to cheer, he really sells it.

-He's quite a typical boy.

-He likes his sport.

Cheering and, like, rugby are, like, kind of the same

cos in rugby, like, you need to be strong to take someone down.

In cheer, like, you need to be strong, knowing that you can

lift people up and you can catch them, and flyers can trust you.

In the past, not everyone has been supportive of Harry's cheerleading.

When he first started, he was scared,

because he didn't know whether people would support him.

Some boys from our school were actually, like, teasing me.

But it all changed once Harry learnt some top tumbles.

All of a sudden, he started doing back flips

and front flips out of nowhere.

It changed their perspective, like, of cheer.

It's gained me, like, more respect.

When I'm doing the cheer,

I don't really care what people think about me.

I'm doing something that I like, I'm helping a team at winning.

I'm proud to be a part of that team.

All right. Let's go from the beginning one more time.

We've got to move on.

The dance section is where the judges look for hard, clean moves

and this season Harry's got a major part to play for the Eagles.

One, two, three.

In the dance, I'm like the new Justin Timberlake.

I keep it down low because I don't want to embarrass everyone else.

I don't want to show off too much.

Harry, that was it.

I'm the new Justin Timberlake, like, times two.

I'm, like, Harry Timberlake.

-Yeah.

-All right, guys. Come in and sit down, please.

We're going to go over what we're going to do.

We're going to walk through with counts,

all the way through to the beginning of the pyramid.

Hopefully by then the people that we're missing will be here.

Go to the opening and be still and quiet.

Because the Eagles team is smaller in numbers than their rivals,

their moves need to be bigger,

if they're to pull off the perfect pyramid and take the title.

We're doing the cartwheel. We'll drop in on one,

cartwheeling out straightaway.

So, from here, she's going...that way.

Angela has choreographed a very hard pyramid this season,

so we're going to have to work really, really hard to get it right.

Does everybody understand what they're responsible for

-in the cartwheel?

-Yeah.

If anyone falls on their head, then we will be in big trouble.

If we hit the pyramid, I think that we're going to come first

because it's a really difficult pyramid to do.

Make sure you know what you're doing. Here we go. Ready?

One slip, the whole pyramid will fall down like dominoes.

Four, five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five.

All right. Listen.

You guys have to drop the feet before she can cartwheel out.

You just wandered out and her legs disappeared from underneath her,

so let's try again. Here we go. Ready?

Seven, eight. One, two, three, four, five...

Even in a gym, these moves are tough.

But coach Angela has no choice but to push on.

Three, four, five.

Kind of.

All of the teams we'll be competing against will be at a similar level.

We've got to do something that will make us stand out

and hopefully this will be the thing. If they hit it.

Here we go! Ready?

One, two...

And, with moves as tricky as the cartwheel,

the team start to worry for their own safety.

All right. Come here. Come here.

I can see you're scared of it, but you've got to squeeze tight,

then nothing will go wrong.

Coach Angela has told us that the other teams are going to be working

really hard to beat us this year and we need to up our game

and really fly high.

Again.

Guys, come on.

The Eagles are struggling

and, to make things worse, Shola turns up with a shocking surprise.

I slipped on a scarf. I was running and I slipped on a scarf.

-Whose scarf was it?

-Mine.

She's broken her knee.

This could mean the end of the Eagles' championship chances.

Shola is a real all-rounder,

so she can base, she can dance, she can tumble.

She's one of our highest-level athletes.

I don't know what to say, Shola.

Shola's one of the best cheerleaders on the team.

If Shola doesn't make it to the competition,

it's going to be disastrous for us.

The championship's only weeks away

and the Eagles can't afford to lose her.

Of all people as well, Shola.

I'm really upset, but I'm just hoping that

she'll be fine for competition.

Because we do have such a small team, we don't have a replacement

for Shola, so we really need her to get better as quickly as possible.

Without her, we may not be able to compete at all.

In Manchester, northern champs The Rising Stars are also

training hard for the competition season...

One, two, three...

..and, just like Unity

and The Ascension Eagles, they have their eyes fixed on the prize.

Nice and strong arms.

But, as well as the fight for the championship,

flyer Emily has her own battle with her health.

I have cystic fibrosis, which is a lung disease,

so today we're going to the hospital

so I can start my antibiotics.

I'll get a needle in my side for two weeks.

Emily's parents take her for treatment every three months

and team-mate Jess is always there to support her best friend.

I go with her when she starts her IVs

because it just makes her feel a bit happier, she's not on her own.

It definitely helps having Jess here.

She keeps me company and things so I don't get bored.

Emily is my best friend.

She's always there for me, so it's good.

Emily's cystic fibrosis can get worse during winter,

but winter is competition season.

An infection now could rule her out of the champs.

So, this is the antibiotic now.

Help to kill any bugs that are lurking in Emily's chest.

All of the nurses and doctors, they all know I do cheerleading

and they all think it's really good.

It's important when you've got CF to do physio

and an important part of physio is getting exercise.

So, Emily doing all this cheer means she's getting a lot of exercise,

which helps to clear all the bugs and rubbish out of the chest.

She doesn't do it just because of that. She absolutely loves it.

-She keeps this in now, don't you?

-Yeah, for two weeks.

It can be uncomfortable sometimes,

but I just get on with it and I'm used to it now.

Emily's medicine has been working for two weeks

and so have her team-mates.

Now she joins the other Rising Stars

and gets back to their routine.

With just a few weeks until all three teams

go head-to-head in battle,

the pressure's building for the team and head coach Carly.

So, today, we are going to learn your pyramid.

We're going to try and put it all together today.

Are we all ready to work hard? Yeah? Right. Let's go then, guys.

Ready? Six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight.

Rising Stars need to master their pyramid.

They know more than anyone what can happen when things go wrong.

At our biggest competition last season,

the routine was going really well.

We went to do the pyramid and at first it was all hitting

and then, all of a sudden, the pyramid just, like, crumbled.

Because we're all connected, as one flyer fell,

it pulled all the other flyers down.

The pyramid did fall and it was really, really upsetting.

Ready?

Six, seven, eight...

Not put off by last season's cheerleading catastrophe,

coach Carly's making a bold move.

This year, I've given them a challenge,

I've given them a hard pyramid...

which I'm hoping that they'll perform it

and it'll be one of our best features of the routine,

IF they hit it.

To pull off this complicated pyramid,

everyone needs to pull together,

from flyers like Emily to bases like Freya.

My name's Freya and I'm a Rising Stars cheerleader.

All I really do is eat, sleep and cheer.

I do like to win. I'm very competitive.

-I think I will win.

-No, I will win.

I'm competitive, like, especially in cheer

but I'm also competitive out of cheer.

Right, watch out, Niamh.

I've made a lot of friends at Rising Stars.

How are you meant to get it in there?!

'The friendships I've got at cheer are really special.'

Oh, Sophie got three.

You trust your life in someone else's hands,

and they trust you with their life,

and I think that's really important

because, I mean, it's life.

I was quite a shy person before I did cheer.

I've been teased in the past about the colour of my hair.

When I go to cheer, I feel really good about myself.

I can be the confident person, I can be the funny person,

I can be whoever I want.

Cheer's such a lovely sport. So, I'm hoping, with Freya,

that we can make her feel like she can conquer the world.

Doing a sport like cheerleading, I think it's changed my life a lot

and I think it's changed the person who I am.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

The Rising Stars pyramid is looking good

but if Freya and her fellow cheer champs want to become

the best in the country

they need to have their strongest flyer in the main spot.

At this moment in time, we have Emily and Sophie that are both

learning the same part in the pyramid,

and we need to pick one of them to do that part for the whole season.

'Me and Emily are fighting for a position.'

I really want it.

Pyramid positions, guys. Emily, can you go in?

First up to try out for this crucial role in the pyramid is Emily.

I really want to be picked for the main part in the pyramid

because it's the bit where you get to perform a lot.

Ready? Five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Try not to leave go. Go again.

It's a demanding position that takes skill and technique.

I'm really enjoying it. I'm not hitting every move

but I can work on it and I won't give up.

One, two, three, four... Whoops! Just need a little bit more height.

Your full around's beautiful, Em. Really nice.

Right, Emily, one more time. Let's have a look.

One, two... Dip! ..three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four... That was better. A bit better.

Don't lean on Sophie, as well, Em. OK? Let's switch over.

Emily has done her best,

but is it enough to show Carly that she's the right flyer for the job?

We're just going to switch Emily and Sophie over

so we'll see how both of them work in this position.

Ready?

Now it's Sophie's turn.

Emily and Sophie are both really, really good flyers.

I don't know how Carly's going to make the decision

because they both are really, really talented.

Six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four... Whoops!

Wait for it, Sophie.

You're going too early.

You've got to go up. OK?

Go again.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Come on, guys, get it up.

They're both really good.

They've been practising so hard.

It's not a fight but it's, like, a challenge.

Cradle one, two.

Do one more with Sophie.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four.

That is how it's done. Good. OK.

Emily and Sophie have done all they can.

Now it's time for Carly to decide

who gets the main role in the pyramid.

It's definitely going to be a hard decision to make.

They're both really, really good flyers.

Emily is a really good performer.

Sophie is a gymnast,

so she knows how to hold her body.

Um...

It's a tough decision,

but one that could be the difference between winning and losing.

Emily and Sophie have both been working really hard for this spot

so I really don't know how Carly's going to call it.

Sophie, you're hitting more consistently than Emily,

so I want, Emily, you to do the outside for now.

Sophie has won the main flyer position in the pyramid.

It was a difficult decision,

but Sophie did come out a little bit stronger today

than what Emily did, so that's why we chose Sophie.

I'm feeling very happy that I got picked.

And I think that I need to carry on working as hard

to stay in the place.

I'm a little bit upset but that's part of cheerleading.

We all have to fight for different spots and everything,

so it's all good.

At least she's my friend, so I'm happy for her.

-Bye, Soph. Well done.

-Thanks.

Emily may have lost out this time,

but she still has a vital role to play if the Rising Stars

are going to be in with a chance at the Cheer Championship.

Next time - the competition season starts for our three teams...

-..but injury strikes Team Unity...

-Ohhh!

..Ascension Eagles' Zac takes the lead...

Come on, everyone, we can do this!

..and the Rising Stars are out of time.

That's it. Done. Let's go.