Senior Izzy Hirsch is preparing to head into her final Nationals competition as a Houston mustang cheerleader. Her journey to becoming a cheerleader was unique in that she actually started out as a gymnast, but after coming to Houston, her mom encouraged her to try cheerleading. She says, “My mom was telling me about how amazing the Houston cheer program was and how they go to Nationals every year, and I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll try it out,’ and I’ve been here ever since.”
When talking about how different it was to go from gymnastics to cheerleading, Izzy shared that the main difference is teamwork. Gymnastics is very individualistic, but cheerleading is a very big team sport. She says, “You have to work with everybody. It can’t just be you; it’s always going to be your team.” This is one aspect of cheer that Izzy loves most. Cheerleading creates teams that are like “one big family” according to Izzy, and the competitions are so fun and exciting. Competing helps to bring the whole team together.
Next up for the mustang cheerleaders is nationals, and Izzy is confident in her teammates. The mustangs have been working hard to make sure their routine is close to perfection. After competing in Regionals and State, Nationals is the next level with everyone coming to give it their all. In 2022, the Houston Mustangs Cheerleaders won Nationals, and they are aiming for that again this year. The Mustangs will head to Nationals in Orlando, Florida in February, and as they are still hard at work, Izzy also added, “Shoutout to my whole team; I love them.”