The Push To Be Perfect

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Rivalries within the squads are inevitable--between those with boyfriends and those without, between those with money and those with little, between the flyers and the earthbound, between those who can do a standing backflip and those who can't. Beth Hammack, a Euless cheer sponsor, swears that most of the fights revolve around boys: "Junior-high kids are just hormones running around in tennis shoes, "she says with a knowing look. Then there's the perennial friction from freshman "fishes" lording it over the lowly eighth-graders. "My flyer and me got into it again today," says Breanna, whose job is to provide the base for the acrobatics of a freshman cheerleader. Monica, a team captain, tries to bring everyone together, but she complains that it never works because of the evil ninth-graders. "If we're on the team next year as freshmen, we don't want to be mean to eighth-graders," she vows.

Meddling moms, or moms who are just being protective, create problems too. Everyone remembers the Texas cheerleading mom who killed off the competition, thereby providing the story line for two TV movies in the early '90s. "Parents really do get crazy," says Henderson cheer sponsor Washington, who sees some parents pushing girls to perform stunts they're not ready for. "I think the parents like to get involved more than the coaches," observes Breanna. "It's like they want to be a teenager again."

Krystin Sessions and her mom Rene think they have found a balance. Grades come first--Krystin makes straight A's--but she takes her cheerleading seriously too, which is apparent from her buff 5-ft. 2-in. frame and sculpted biceps. "I started tumbling when I was, like, 4 or 5," she says. "You have to train and be committed to the team." Besides school practices, she takes lessons with a private coach, who also happens to be her cheer sponsor, Washington--a point not missed by some of the other girls' moms who have complained about favoritism.

At cheer camp, jealousy and the stress of competition start to hurt the Henderson team's scores from the National Cheerleaders Association instructors. So late one night, the 14 girls hold a "Come to Jesus" meeting in their S.M.U. dorm room to air grievances and try to put their problems behind them. Krystin, caught in the cross fire of parental sniping, is sage enough at 13 to know that teamwork matters above all--more than the moves and certainly more than the makeup. "It's not just about one person," she says on the last day of camp. "You want to encourage other people to do good so your team will all come together." Try as she might to be upbeat, however, Krystin can't quite hide her physical and mental exhaustion. Being 13, perky and perfect is tough, even for a cheerleader.