Moria Dailey
Published: February 22, 2006
Long is the word Ashley Morris used to sum up her experience at PJC.
“Long,” Morris said, laughing, “Long and stressful.”
She has been the captain of PJC’s cheerleading squad since her freshman year three years ago.
This is her last semester at PJC. Her last game as a cheerleader was Feb. 20.
“I enjoyed it. I don’t really want to leave because I don’t know what it’s going to be like next year,” Morris said.
Morris plans to continue cheering after PJC, but feels that the end of college will be the end of her cheerleading career.
“I’m probably not tall enough [to cheer professionally],” Morris said. “I want to be a physical therapist; I want to major in sports medicine.”
Morris said she is also interested in physical training.
“I love to work out, I love to be around people and help them work out,” she said.
Her love of working out is definitely a plus at PJC.
“We work out Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then we have practice Thursday, Friday and Saturday, games Wednesdays and then we travel on Saturdays to games. So it’s Monday through Saturday, and Sunday I get to just rest and hang out,” Morris said of her schedule as a cheerleader.
Morris began cheering in middle school, bringing her total to 12 years of cheering. She started in middle school after her best friend “told” her she was trying out for cheerleading, Morris said. Though she was apprehensive about trying out, she fell in love with cheerleading.
Throughout high school, Morris cheered competitively. She attended Pine Forest High School, and said their squad went to about 10 competitions each year. College, though, is very different.
“I want to compete, go out there, be on TV and everything, but we can’t. We’re not considered a sport,” she said.
She said that someone once told her that cheerleading isn’t considered a sport because there aren’t games every week like football and basketball games.
However, Morris feels that cheerleading is a sport.
“We practice just as hard as everyone else, we get tossed in the air, I mean we hurt ourselves just as much,” she said. “Not everyone can go out there and do it.”
As with any team there are positions. Morris is a flyer that is supported by a base. Ashley Bledsoe is one of the base cheerleaders, which means she supports Morris while she is in the air.
“She instructs us how to do our job so the stunt goes as planned,” said Bledsoe. “She is a very good flyer.”
Mark Skaggs, a fellow base, said that Morris is fantastic.
“She brought enthusiasm and professionalism to the team,” he said. “She is by far the best cheerleader I’ve ever seen.”