To build a human pyramid with a group of girls standing on each other’s backs and shoulders takes not only strong, 强壮的肌肉，但信任, 忠诚和强大的家庭纽带.
Coming together as a family is critical to the success of Concordia University’s cheer and stunt team, 大二学生麦肯齐·菲肯说.
“When you’re on the mat and competing against the other team, 有很多人盯着你，压力也很大. 如果你们不能像一家人一样团结在一起, 你不会成功的, 你们在一起工作不会很好.
如果你们不能像一家人一样团结在一起, 你不会成功的, 你们在一起工作不会很好.
“在表演, we’re in direct contact and you have to have that trust and that bond to be able to be thrown in the air and do flips and be caught by your teammates. I think the bond and loyalty we have is unique to Concordia. 我们是非常非常亲密的朋友，”菲肯说.
Stunt is relatively new to 欧文康考迪亚大学. 艾米·哈尼, 啦啦队队长兼特技教练, who previously incorporated cheer into the athletics program, 2015-2016学年开始表演特技.
“We wanted to create another opportunity for young women at the university. We wanted them to have the opportunity to showcase their skills and what they trained for,”她说。.
The stunt and cheer team is made up of about 38 girls. Some of the girls participate in traditional cheer, 在篮球比赛和社区活动中助威. 其他人做特技表演，参加比赛. 有些人两者都做.
特技表演季从2月持续到4月. The stunt team participated in about five competitions last year and anticipates competing in seven to eight this year. 每场比赛大约一个小时, 分成四部分，搭档表演, 金字塔, 跳跃和翻滚, 第四个是前三个的组合. Each quarter is made up of four rounds, for which judges award points.
Feeken enjoys the adrenaline rush she gets from competing.
I like the pressure and the high energy and really seeing what you can do when there’s a bunch of eyes on you.
“I like the pressure and the high energy and really seeing what you can do when there’s a bunch of eyes on you. I like going up in front of people performing and going before judges doing what I love to do,菲肯说.
“The whole hour, your energy is so high,” she continued. “When you hit a stunt perfect and you get the point for the round, 这是世界上最美好的感觉.”
Feeken said just to be able to do the skill isn’t enough; execution is critical.
“It’s challenging how precise you have to be about everything,”她说。. “If there’s one little bobble in a stunt or your feet are apart during tumbling, that could be the difference in you losing that round and the other team getting the point. It comes down to the nitty-gritty to do the skill as perfectly as you can make it.”
Feeken’s most rewarding experience was beating Riverside Community College’s team at USA Nationals last year.
“这是我们整个赛季最多的观众, 还有很多年轻的高中生, 有抱负的大学拉拉队员看着我们. 能成为他们的榜样真的很酷,”她说。, 添加, 这是我们的最后一场比赛, so it was just a great bonding experience for my whole team.”
欧文康考迪亚大学 recognizes stunt as a sport. Although traditional cheer is not considered an official sport, 哈尼说, “We’re blessed at Concordia that cheer has always been treated like a sport.”
We’re blessed at Concordia that cheer has always been treated like a sport.
Both Haney and Feeken support making competitive cheer an official sport that is regulated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
“Our cheerleaders are athletes like everyone else,哈尼说.“他们进行竞争性训练. What they can do strength-wise is in line with other sports. 他们和其他人一样刻苦训练.”
“It would be really awesome to be recognized everywhere, publicly recognized as well,菲肯说. “Competing in stunt is a game, just like soccer or volleyball. There’s so much athleticism involved, there’s flexibility and strength and you need agility. There’s lots of tumbling, which tumbling is in the Olympics. That requires a lot of athletic ability, and we’re competing against other people.”
Feeken is looking forward to more adventures as Concordia becomes a NCAA Division II school. 欧文康考迪亚大学 is near completing the three-year membership application process to become a member of the NCAA.
“I love Concordia and for us to move up into that new level together, 这真是一段有趣的旅程,”她说。. “I’m really excited to see all of the new athletes that are coming in to be part of a Division II school. The school population is growing as we advance in athletics.”
Feeken said, overall, there’s a sense of even greater pride in the air.
Haney agreed becoming a NCAA Division II school brings 欧文康考迪亚大学 more notoriety and visibility. She said it gives the university a greater opportunity to share its mission and vision.
“Going through this three-year process of becoming a NCAA Division II school has really helped us with our policies at the university,哈尼说. “It’s raised the level of expectation for our student athletes and overall for our students. It gives our university more of a platform to share what we’re all about as a faith-based institution.”