Good Things Come to those that Wait: August 2012

Foolish as I may be, I want to try out for the Patriot's 2013-2014 cheerleading squad. Anyone who knows me closely knows I am not the biggest fan of football. But this is not about football, this is about the love of the sport of cheerleading that was robbed from me in high school when a cheerleading injury halted my cheerleading career.

Rewind to the year 2002. I was a junior in high school on the Varsity cheer squad. We had been practicing stunting one day after school at Henderson High School in West Chester, PA. My coach at the time had called out of practice due to an "anxiety attack". The JV coach was there and told us we could go into the other gym and practice stunting. Typically, stunting is not allowed without adult supervision. And so we started practicing the newest stunt- the scorpion. I had mastered it on the floor and at the elevator level, but it was finally time to try it at the extension level. Extra spots lined up, and up I went. With too much momentum, I ended up toppling over the left base and fell between two extra spots who were either not paying attention and talking, or literally stepped apart. To this day, I do not know as it all went by in a flash. Next thing I knew I was lying on the ground with my arm outstretched and my forearm in a "v" shape. I was to shocked and in too much pain to react. I might of screamed at first, I don't remember. Shortly the EMS team arrived. They grounded my arm and moved me to a stretcher. I took the ambulance literally one block to the hospital. My parents greeted me at the hospital. Soon my coach who had called out sick came to visit all the while scolding me for stunting. At this time, I had begun hyperventilating from the shock of it all and my tongue started going numb. I couldn't speak. I was scared. All I could do was sit there eyes wide open and get yelled at by my coach.
Tests were taken, X-rays completed, nurses and doctor's visited. The results, reconstructive surgery with two plates and ten screws. To happen immediately. My growth plates had closed and there was no way for the bone to be set and to heal correctly. This was the only option. Being 5'7" at the time and looking at me now you'd be surprised- but let's not question their motives. I was soon after knocked out and woke with the prognosis of 2 days recovery in the hospital room, 6+ weeks rehab and 3+ years laying low activity wise (skiing, CHEERLEADING, etc). I couldn't do anything that would involve falling with force on my arm for quite some time. Soon after, I returned to everyday life at high school. The girls who had dropped me had apologized for their sorrow and they were so upset. But they never truly apologized. They were just "so upset" about it all. How about a real apology if they were truly sorry? How could they not realize that safety is first and foremost in cheerleading? To this day I still hold that against those two girls and am bitter about it. To me it looks like it was on purpose. These girls don't realize it but they ruined my dream at the time.

Anyhow, I did not let that stop me. My love of cheerleading led me to return to cheerleading practices within a week, arm in cast and all. I keep my spirits high even though I was crushed and tried my best to make out every movement possible. Although deep down I couldn't help but feel that my life long dream of being an NFL cheerleader one day was shattered. I had just made an all star cheerleading squad and would have likely also received a scholarship for cheerleading to college.
I ended up finishing out high school on the squad but shortly after did not follow-through with cheerleading in college due to the fact that I was required to stunt to tryout and medically wise I was still no allowed. I let my dream run away from me and have not revisited it since.
Fast forward to summer 2012. I've been researching it, studying videos and working out. I'm stretching (anyone who knows me would think "holy crap!") to re-learn splits. I am taking dance classes (yeah, on my Kinect, so what? I work late, it's convenient and it's pretty decent for dance classes!) but maybe I will take more qualified dance classes in a month or so if I can find a class that works with my work schedule.
I have 5-7 months to get in shape. I read online there are preliminary auditions in January. But I also read they were in March. I need to nail that down once they announce the dates. Regardless, I think I have enough time to whip myself back into my high school cheerleading shape and to unwind all the damage I have done to my body in that time sitting at a desk all day long at work. Gymnastics wise- not going to happen. But NFL cheerleading is more dance and stamina- which I have the skills for. Gymnastics was just icing on the cake for me.
My first task to re-learn: Splits. Lots of splits. Right splits, left leg splits and center splits. At the tryouts, they make you do all three splits. Without being able to do a single split. I don't have a chance. Here is day 1 of my split training. If anyone has tips on how to learn splits, please share! I plan on stretching twice a day. 30 seconds in 3 sets on each leg and then the center. Maybe that is enough, maybe it's not enough. Tips?

Cooking for Two: Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons white wine

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 salmon fillets (4 ounces each)

somen noodles

1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions: Cover a glass dish with aluminum foil. On low heat, sauté garlic and olive oil until tender. Combine balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, white wine, honey, salt, and pepper in with the oil and garlic and whisk. Simmer uncovered for 3 minutes. Set aside.

Bring water to a boil. Toss in somen noodles and cook three minutes. Drain and return it into the pot. Set aside.

Place fillets on prepared pan. Brush with sauce and sprinkle with oregano. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 15-18 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

When salmon fillets are close to being done, combine somen noodles and sauce in pot and simmer on low. Brush fillets with reserved sauce before serving over bed of somen noodles. Serve immediately.

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