For Aledo High School cheerleader Abby Myser, Thanksgiving break included more than its usual holiday cheer, and it all began earlier this summer.
The AHS sophomore participated in an All-American tryout in July when Aledo Cheer attended summer UCA Cheer camp (Universal Cheerleaders Association).
At the end of the tryout, she and four of her teammates received UCA All-American honors.
All-Americans are invited to attend various parades around the country. But because Abby, who is only 15, is also a co-captain for the varsity cheer team, she received an exclusive invitation to attend the Varsity Spirit Spectacular at Disney World in Orlando, a parade reserved specifically for varsity-level All-Americans in leadership positions.
“The cheerleaders were sent videos of the parade choreography and had to learn on their own time,” Abby’s mother, Sarah Myser, said.
On their second day in Florida, there was a tryout for formation spots, and Abby beat out more than 800 other top cheerleaders from across the country to finish among the top six.
This allowed her the privilege of being in the front row and leading the parade.
“My husband and I are so so proud of Abby for all of her accomplishments in cheerleading and in everything else she does,” Sarah said. “She earned some amazing awards this year. In May we were in Orlando and her competitive cheer team won the World Championships for their level. She spends 20 hours a week in a cheer gym and then has her sideline cheer commitments on top of that.
“Getting to watch your child walk down Main Street in the Spirit Spectacular, leading the parade, knowing the literal blood sweat and tears it has taken to achieve this level was just an incredible moment.”
And it was not the only accolade Abby received in 2024.
In addition to All-American honors, Abby received Nfinity All-American Honorable Mention in November, which is a national award given to the best academic cheerleaders in the country.
Abby said being selected for the Varsity Spirit Spectacular was incredible.
“This event was exclusively for senior cheerleaders or captains of your squad that were awarded All-American,” Abby said. “So to have been invited as an underclassman was a huge honor.”
The best thing about the event for the Aledo sophomore was definitely the parade itself.
“It was so cool to have all of our hard work come together and to cheer in front of the huge crowd with all the new friends I had made,” Abby said.
The theme park was not half-bad either.
“I thought Disney World was very wholesome, especially with it being Christmas time,” Abby said. “It was so special to see all the kids there with their families. I loved when little girls would come to say ‘Hi’ to me or ask for a picture when I was in my uniform. I love that I get to be an inspiration for them.”
Abby said she received the video of the choreography two months in advance and that all of the participants were expected to learn.
“Then, when we got there, we had a formation tryout, which was one of the most stressful environments I’ve been in,” Abby said. “After the tryout, we had a six-hour practice to put everything together, practice our routine and walk the parade. Our practice was definitely worth it because the performance ended up going amazing.”
But it was not without its challenges.
Abby said she had to dig deep at times to remind herself that she deserved to be there.
“At first I was a little intimidated because these were all the best girls from squads all over the country,” Abby said. “Tryouts were by far the most intimidating thing because I was being compared to 800 other cheerleaders. But after making the front row, I was able to meet so many girls that loved cheer as much as I did and I got to learn a lot about how they ran their squads back home.”
Her greatest satisfaction came from learning she had been selected as an All-American.
“To me, All-American means hard work, dedication, and passion,” Abby said. “It’s a recognition of what you do in and outside of practice and to get that recognition means a lot to me.”
Besides being a varsity cheer co-captain, Abby also serves as sophomore class president, sophomore representative of HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America), treasurer of the National Charity League and is in the top one percent of her class.
For Sarah, the benefits of cheer are evident in many aspects of her daughter’s life and she could not be more proud of what Abby has accomplished.
“Cheer is a crazy sport that requires an unwavering drive towards perfection that can never actually be achieved,” Sarah said. “She has learned failure is inevitable and that one must be able to self-reflect accurately and to have an open growth mindset.
“There are no shortcuts in this sport. She is constantly striving to improve in every aspect. Details matter, and the work is never done. She has overcome serious injury and learned perseverance and mental strength.
“The grit attitude and time management this sport requires has carried over into all aspects of her life and she has taken the same work rate and drive and applied it in everything she does. We truly think she is just absolutely amazing.”
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