Celebrities
Can the ‘Cheer Squad’ leave the drama at the door?
If you were fascinated by the athleticism on display in Rio during the Olympic gymnastics competition, just wait until you see the Great White Sharks from Freeform’s newest series, “Cheer Squad.”
The show follows a two-time national champion competitive cheerleading team in Canada and their coach, Ali Moffatt. The Great White Sharks are coming off their second victory at the World Cheerleading Championships and the team is eager to go all the way again, but they have to start again at the beginning — with tryouts.
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“There will be close to a hundred people vying for spots on the team,” Coach Moffatt tells Zap2it. “There are 24 athletes that make it, and it’s very competitive … It’s a high-intensity environment. The nerves run high, and it also is very stressful for my coaching staff. We’ve got to pick the right team, the right team who can go for the three-peat.”
On top of the stress of making the team and endless travel for competitions, the girls will have to deal with school, working multiple jobs and the inevitable trials and tribulations that come with being a teenage girl.
Moffatt says that while drama is inevitable, it’s got no place in the gym when it comes to the team.
“While high school girls certainly do have some drama, they do a really, really good job of putting the team first,” she says. “We’ve got a thing: You leave it at the door … The team has to come before each individual; that’s how a team is successful.”
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We’ve got no doubt that the girls will have their fair share of drama in and out of the gym throughout the series, but like many dedicated athletes, they’ll put it aside in favor of achieving their goal and making the “three-peat” happen.
Moffatt agrees that at the end of the day, that’s the message she and her girls want to send with this series. “The key message is that you work hard, you work as a team and you overcome whatever challenges are in your way.”
“Cheer Squad” premiers Monday (Aug. 22) at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform.