FLORENCE, Ky. — Taylor Toepfert is one of many on Spirit Athletics Small Coed Senior 6 Team. She said she’s been cheerleading since she was a kid—both in the competetive and high school realms. With the sport, she said she’s had some interesting injuries.
“We were catching our flyer—and we caught with our back, not our legs, and her tooth went into my chin and I had to get stitches. She had to get her tooth filed because it was chipped. The worst injury I’ve had was a compound fracture in my leg. I was right there when it happened—I fell and there was bone and blood,” Toepfert said.
USA Cheer reports that March is Cheerleading Safety Month—a time dedicated towards ensuring these athletes stay as safe as possible while tumbling, stunting, dancing and more for a routine. The site reports findings on cheerleader injuries over the years. Toepfert says the big thing for her is being kind to her body.
“Fuel your body! Like yeah, it’s okay to look good and be skinny, but the biggest thing is you need to be feeding it, taking care of it— icing, heating, stretching and on top of that conditioning always helps. You need to be strong enough to be reliable with your skills and you need to trust your body,” she said.
Because doing these things is what keeps her able to lift and toss flyers into the air, as well as being able to do some running tumbling—which she said was one of her favorite parts of any routine. It’s a sport she’s planning to continue on with as she heads to college.
“It’s a lot mentally and physically. It’s a lot more mentally because you need to work each other up—not just yourself,” she said.
