I Joined The #1 Cheer Team In America

[Music] cheerleading is the pinnacle of sport meets performance growing up i had always wanted to pursue cheer but because of the physical risk i never allowed myself to try until now so this week i'm going to step out onto the mat to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams of auditioning for one of the top cheer teams in the us because if i don't i'll always be wondering what if so here's how this episode is going to work 10 days from today i am going to try out for the university of kentucky's actual cheer team and in order to make the team i'm gonna have to pass through three rounds of tryouts if i mess up if i get cut the video ends and so does my childhood dream of being a cheerleader so because i'm a leo i've enlisted two world silver medalists to give me my best shot thank you both so much for being here with me pretty last minute because in 10 days i'm gonna be trying out for the university of kentucky the university of kentucky is what i would consider a powerhouse for decades uk has been a cheerleading dynasty winning 24 national championships in 35 years michelle should be very nervous to perform next to some of the best cheerleaders in the country i kind of feel like i know where you are but let's see where you are so a toe touch you said you knew that word yeah okay you want to show me what you're my version yeah you're interested okay five six seven eight five six seven eight okay that was really good i was actually really impressed i have no idea what it looked like everything we do is like clean right sharp and clean and facials as long as you're not like even when you're dying inside you don't show that cheerleading is three sports all-in-one we have the tumbling which is like gymnastics one three did you die we have the dancing we also have like power lifting what is this this is how we teach our flyers to hold their positions without killing the boy underneath them these boys and girls are tossing humans above their heads while keeping them safe and you have to do it all with a smile on your face we gotta get you out of those old shoes and into some cheerleading shoes whoa so you can get that little notches that is so helpful one two all right one second balls all this is happening in milliseconds and you don't really have time to almost think about it which is why we do repetition over and over so that way it becomes more of riding a bike sorry sorry i was like oh she was a full weight she said no we're we're elite now we're at league and in case you guys are curious the exact program i used to improve my flexibility during this challenge is available on my fitness app mkfit the link is in the description if you're interested so for the tryouts next week i have to learn the university of kentucky's fight song show me let's see it there's a fancy it is oh i can pray oh wait no no no no that's the beginning being able to do the fight song is extremely important this is something that they're doing every single game every single event at the school this is a really big dance for that school hit one two three four five six seven down eight kick one two cheerleading isn't just the skills it's being able to command a stadium to look at you and just want to get pumped up go catch go catch go cats we're gonna try to run it with the suns okay michelle's gonna try an elite's done this normally includes some sort of flip reach reach reach no where did our arms go reach yes okay reach pull yes okay okay okay we're getting closer that's good most chillers don't try leads fence until they at least had seven years of chilling underneath their belt [Music] i leave for kentucky in six hours and we have not perfected everything oh my god my bad my back here you go you got it ah if you're thinking too much about the skills kind of just do it the hardest part of this challenge is going to be michelle getting out of her head it's going to be just going out there and having a good time and performing and doing what she's been taught for 10 days let's go big blue even if i hit it just once in practice that's great but i have to be able to hit it consistently under pressure in front of a crowd while people are judging me if i don't pass round one i don't get to do anything else and the video's over [Music] if you know cheerleading you know kentucky kentucky is the end-all be-all of college cheerleading and first place national champions the university of kentucky wildlife i will be working with michelle over the course of these tryout weekends michelle is new to the skills that these athletes have been developing basically since they've been able to walk michelle's gonna really have to give it her all or else she she could very well get cut kailyn come on up kaylin's number six good luck olivia perfect you're number seven come on in hello michelle how are you excited michelle is number 24. there you go good luck coach ryan's standards are what's called the gold standard if you're afraid of failure you don't deserve success there's my posted coach ryan martin o'connor five-time state champion won a national championship at alabama as a cheerleader three-time gold medalist this kentucky program is in great hands with coach ryan i'm not going to stand up here and tell you it's all going to be fun and it's all going to be easy even this weekend's not all going to be fun and easy but again to be a part of something meaningful you have to go through that she doesn't take no for an answer you're not going to be a mediocre athlete you are going to be the best of the best i don't have any friends don't have to go make friends this is like high school lunch where you have to pick a table except everyone is a cheerleader and really really cool i'm going to make a friend now i am challenging myself to make a friend hey can i stretch with you guys cheerleading is all about trust the past 10 days with michelle we've built that bond and that trust and now she has to go and create this same bond and same trust as somebody that she doesn't know maddie daniel was saying y'all cheered together at navarro yes that's so cool together i just went to navarre to like help me prepare for kentucky the world is still buzzing months after netflix released the documentary series cheer it's a series that featured the 14-time national championship team from navarro junior college being on cheer for me was a little different i wasn't really known as daniel i was known as gabby's style partner i was the guy who threw gaby cheers a show it really showcased the athleticism of cheerleading it takes hours and hours of dedication blood sweat and tears multiple injuries and it just really showed how hard cheerleading really is people just think of like high school like sideline cheerleaders that are like the dallas cowboy cheerleaders like it's just like an accessory to football games and stuff but it's just so much happier so in order to make the team i will have to pass through three days of tryouts demonstrating different skills each day round one tumbling and fight song round two stretch stunts and round three performing an elite stunt in front of a live crowd and to be totally clear i do not have actual aspirations to become a cheerleader but i did want to use this opportunity to experience a sport i have always felt deeply drawn to and in order to make sure i don't squander this opportunity i have to make sure i don't get cut we will start with girls first today and we will go four at a time standing tumbling running tumbling fight song let's do this let's get started [Applause] wow that looks so good that's hey he's been cheering since he was like eight years old all right if we can get girls one two three and four on the mat girls one two three and four here we go number one standing tumbling [Music] [Applause] wow take it till you make it you land it and just hit the crowd instantly you guys can go ahead and take the mat with your fight song partners i need to see that you can do the fight song at appearances you know at alumni events at games that's fantastic that you can do all these other skills but you have to be able to be an ambassador for our university so you're going to do that fight song way more than you're going to do that by spring double up [Applause] all right thank you guys could not imagine putting that out there at anything in front of anybody good god 17 come here please i'm very disappointed in your fight song the fight song should have been freaking perfect the stunt should be perfect so what i want to see from you right now is you take your butt over there and you work on that fight song and you come ask me to show it to me again can i have another chance you beg me for another chance get your partner and go fix it thank you being the head coach at the university of kentucky is a huge amount of pressure because we're 24 time national champions and because we were unsuccessful this past year it's hard to read things that people say about you without knowing you we just got to win and then we'll everyone will shut up my husband wants to beat up a lot of people sometimes so does my mom it's okay all right you're about to go on i'm going with you guys are you all ready i'm excited big smiles big energy yeah we got this all right 21 22 23 24 let's go wildcats yeah 23 you're good standing [Applause] 24. i wish everybody smiled like she did that was awesome now time for the fights you're not done you're not done all right you guys can go ahead and take the map or fight song let's go uk come on big blue well she's awesome what i'm talking about here we go fight song all right let's do the extension we got it let's go big blue [Music] hey you got this [Music] [Applause] still smiling and waving that was so funny i know you killed the fight song too so funny like double check after i was like did she just like kill that you're just so good out there and the extensions were money you like sprung off the floor like i wasn't even expecting it like you just like boom off the floor it's game time dude that's exciting not nervous yeah everybody's cheering cause like the thing about like cheerleaders is like you cheer they're gonna cheer too you're quiet they're gonna be quiet so you went out there as soon as you started yelling they were like okay that's good i'm gonna be honest i was disappointed in fight song today it was on the website i sent a tryout email you knew that you were going to have to do this fight song if you didn't you showed me that we weren't worth your time and why would i want you on my college team if you can't act like a college aged adult it's not just the skills that you do in front of me it's like the life skills that i need to see too for you to be a part of this team when we come back coach strobis is going to be here our strength coach and we are doing our fitness assessment and we will make a cut after the fitness assessment you're going to step on arms start up big jump landing with the leg spent 24.5 24.9 good job ready when you are 16.8 physical fitness is important it's a huge part of what we do we are athletes 44 45 more reps [Applause] i really wanted to see effort that's what i was looking for is like who's going to take this seriously who's going to take every part of tryouts seriously those are the people that i want my vertical jump was so bad well i mean i just think that this gives us some like black and white answers on things that you were already questioning is that is that what i think it is yes it is we are going to post a cut tonight if you are not invited back uh tomorrow again just we appreciate what you did here but we can't you know lower the program standards to accommodate everybody you should be willing to rise to the standards that we have set cats on three say it loud say proud one two three thank you end of day one tryouts i'm about to go see if i made the cut even if i make it all the way through to the end do not worry i am not taking any spots from actual students who want to be on the cheer team i made it 24. and even though i made the cut headed into day two i started to feel a little nervous because i noticed that some of you are not subscribed so please help us get to 3 million by subscribing all right guys go ahead and start clearing the floor clear the floor let's go we are going stretch stunts it can be a tough stretch hand stretch double up to stretch a rewind strike anything showcasing like that the girl is able to pull stretch and the guy is able to hold stretch with a dismount i know you haven't done it before but we're going to move fast you're a quick learner so we're just going to get you ready for it you ready yeah all right let's do it okay one two oh all right pull stretch good pop off you went to reach for the stretch instead of breaking it yeah buckled keep that hand at your side and slide it up your leg yeah just slide it up to the foot okay all right stretch good you ready yep one two one yeah that's what i'm talking about let's go [Music] i want you to lift and close to this pocket the second you go elbows out our noses are broken okay one two [Applause] wait okay wait i'm sure hold on i'm shook they're not even gonna see it coming yeah let's do it come on 24 and 25. let's go wildcats come on uk look at her she is all ready one two look at that smile all right pool stretch you got this you ready one two oh she learned to pull down let's go uk i'm putting hearts in my notes for that one i told her she didn't have to attempt to double down i was like if you could get a full down and she learned to pull down in one day after surprising the coaches with my stretch stunt coach ryan decided to surprise us we were told we now had just 15 minutes to learn a completely new cheer from scratch to be performed at tomorrow's audition in front of hundreds of people so you'll start to go [Music] [Music] i think one skill cheerleaders really need to have is the ability to be adaptable obviously we don't control what's going on in the basketball game or the football game and so we have to be listening and be ready for anything one two three four kentucky let's hear you yeah go blue oh sorry sorry my feet were way too far apart you're just rushing the extension kentucky let's hear you yeah go breathe don't don't stress this with all of this new information being thrown at me i definitely started to feel fatigued headed into day three just reminding you that you were on the news last night telling the public that this was happening first open tryout in three years pressure there is pressure and you should be excited about the pressure if you want to be a part of this program you should be excited that you get to show off in front of a crowd you get to do this tomorrow you get to do this in front of memorial it's gonna be fun cats on three say it loud say it proud one two three and while day two is challenging i managed to make the cut giving me the opportunity to live out my dream for just one more day all right guys how are you all doing day three is the big day michelle is gonna arrive here and the whole arena here is gonna be full this is where you showcase everything you've been working on she's really gonna see what it's like to fight that battle and get that sense of pressure on her it's going to come down to how well she does compared to these other athletes i am proud of you guys that you've made it this far i'm excited for you that you get to do this i'm honestly excited for me i'm not even going to lie just the little girl in me that grew up here is just honestly just really humbled and overwhelmed to be here today let's do this guys good luck today good luck [Applause] you're gonna do what number are you i'm 14. 24 at the end that's your last oh my gosh all right first up we've got mail number one [Music] now the coaches they're watching for a floss they're watching to see if you've improved from day one last day that might be the best kentucky we've heard all day she could have done a little more yeah but she was loud smack [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to perform an elite stunt so i'm trying to do a front hand spring up and we cannot get it to be consistent [Music] just squeeze a little bit more when i grab you like you're coming in good when i'm going to lift you the squeezing is stopping and then like i can't throw through like i'm just like throwing and like you're just like flopping over got it you got it girl come on this is easy [Applause] okay okay pop off oh my god okay we're getting better it's getting better i'm definitely not confident about it right now and this is like a really dangerous thing to do [Applause] come on michelle you got this you got it push yes ma'am okay all right make sure you push them back if you stop in that handstand you're it's going to cause your arms again so make sure you're shooting back i want you to relax till we go all right okay don't don't overdo it [Applause] number 24 all right let's get it let's go daniel let's go michelle [Applause] i think she starts ready [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] she's got great energy yeah can i be ready 24. [Music] what she learned that like in three days what because she didn't do that thing she's never done two back and forth no dingo said she had never done she's never known before she's committed she keeps doing stuff and doesn't tell me she's doing it i'm joking i'm just as surprised as everybody else is 24 hey let's go come on hope someone in the crowd jumped for michelle they love him go michelle puss that's what i'm talking about though this is fun can i be ready 24. good front hand relax okay okay whenever you're ready we're gonna do it okay let's do it come on [Applause] [Applause] [Music] there you go all right pool stretch you ready yeah one two [Applause] hit the u okay let's go wildcats good job how was that oh my god we did it i was so scared we only hit it like three times before hey it all matters what you do out here right even though it wasn't the best he still stayed up there thank you guys so much for coming we're gonna take about 45 minutes to an hour and then we will announce our teams thank you [Applause] i just feel like a big exhale i literally thought i was just going to come here and look so bad and i probably did but i literally like i just feel this huge release of like oh my god i did it and i learned so much every like stunt or tumbling past you're like okay as loud as you can you have to distract me from what they just saw i'ma start doing that you were a cheerleader the crowd loved you the team loved you i loved you coaches loved you so now this was a blessing to have you and like we're so grateful that you chose kentucky to come work with us so your hope is to make blue squad yes yes that's everybody's hope of course yeah yeah all right first i just want to get started by thanking everybody who came out today let's hear it one more time for everybody who went through this process we are gonna go ahead and start with our blue squad females first first up number one maddie hayes [Applause] number three number fourteen number 11. number three and our last guy on the blue squad today number 13. guys for the white spot first up number 23 number 18. number 10 number 20 number 15 number 22 and last we have number 12. number 24 please come forward you really impressed us um i think our team can learn an awful lot from your confidence and i think your performance scores actually had you very close closer than we i think thought going into this but obviously just with the skills i mean the tumbling is it's hard to learn to flip your body if you haven't been doing it we do a standing tuck in our fight song you know that's something that we're doing in the fourth quarter in warm-ups when it's cold i just don't think that you know that we're there yet but just definitely wanted to take the time to say thank you so much for doing this and you did impress us um but you will not be able to be a part of this team that's okay i'm gonna leave it to the professionals y'all i knew i wasn't gonna make the team i was just genuinely overwhelmed at the thought of having fulfilled one of my childhood dreams and though i wasn't skilled enough to pass all three days i did get to feel like i was part of the team even if it was just for a short while and as mentioned before if you are interested in the flexibility program that i followed to help me prepare for this episode it's all linked below in my app mk fit where you can also find all of my nutrition guides favorite recipes and best practices for my health and fitness so if you want guidance on your own journey check out the link below

Channel: Michelle Khare

Views: 5,363,455

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Id: lX6U4nOhm5w

Length: 26min 17sec (1577 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 13 2022