Home to dozens of organizations, Arcadia High School (AHS) is a place where creativity, talent, and possibility meet. On Oct. 12 in the Rally Court, Pep Squad performed a short but energetic show for AHS students to watch as they settled down for lunch.

Cheer Captain senior Simone Ball said, “We prepare for Pep Rallies throughout summer practice! They’re used to promote the football game that follows at night, [and they] entertain students with pep spirit.”

The first section of Pep Squad to perform was Cheer, which started with up-beat music to get the crowd’s attention. The section then incorporated a sequence of a stunt known as a “basket-toss”, where a cheerleader is held or thrown in the air. These cheerleaders, known as “flyers”, received a round of cheers as they performed. 

Flyer senior Emily Wu spoke about what goes through her mind as she is performing on stage.

“I’m used to performing in front of people so it wasn’t [particularly] difficult,” said Wu. “But I was definitely nervous. I think I could’ve done better on some parts of the routine, but overall [we] did really well.”

The second section of Pep Squad was Song, which started off their performance with bright smiles and fast-paced moves. Wielding their pink and silver pom-poms, the cheerleaders performed extraordinarily, leaving their audience clapping and cheering as they ended their performance.

“Cleaning up the routine and making everything look sharp was the most difficult,” said Song Captain senior Nicole Chen. “We wanted to make a great performance.”

Pep Squad’s quick but captivating performance was nothing short of enchanting. Their spirited performance was a wonderful way to bring students together just before the AHS Varsity Football team faced Burroughs High School in their match later that night. Congratulations to the cheerleaders who worked tirelessly to make this amazing performance!

Photo by Michelle Ho