*** MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD ***
It’s the documentary that is sweeping the nation and has accumulated interest from multiple celebrities including gymnast Simone Biles and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. Netflix’s latest documentary Cheer follows the lives of several athletes and coaches of Navarro College’s champion cheer team, as they seek their 14th win national championship win. However, rather than focusing solely on their rehearsals, Netflix also follows the complicated lives of the student-athletes, many of whom come from difficult backgrounds (including being abandoned, the death of a parent, and misuse of drugs). The show is a heart-warming testament to the impact that hard-work, focus, and positivity can have on students’ lives.
Filmed in the small town of Corsicana, Texas, head coach Monica Aldama trains around 40 cheerleaders from all across the country for the possibility of being “on mat” * at their nationals in Daytona, Florida. Coach Aldama’s passion for each of her students is evident throughout the show, as she takes time to talk to many of them about a range of topics, from their personal lives to how they can improve their skills at practice. In one episode, Coach Aldama even helps one of her athletes, Lexi Brumback, who experienced intense cyberbullying by taking her to a police station and helping her report it.
While all the athletes possess extraordinary skills, the standout from the show was the cheerleader Jerry Harris, an athlete with one of the most positive and joyful attitudes. After losing his mother, Jerry joined Navarro’s cheer and team, and while he was a talented stunter, he did not have the tumbling skill some of his other teammates possessed to be on the mat at the 2018 Nationals. While this docu-series follows his quest to be on the mat, it his “mat-talk” ** that has gained him the most positive attention. A constant encouragement to his teammates and a talented cheerleader himself, Jerry’s story is the underdog’s, and one can’t help but root for him throughout the series.
The show is more than one team’s rigorous journey to secure another win, it is a story of people who have gone through the most unimaginable circumstances and worked together for a common goal. Even for those who do not know much about competitive cheer, Cheer, in my opinion, is one of Netflix’s best documentaries that engages all audiences and shows us what strength and dedication truly looks like.
*on mat refers to a cheerleader that performs and does the routine at nationals- out of 40 cheerleaders, only 20 perform
**mat talk is what cheerleaders yell to encourage each other while they are performing