Monica Byers has proven to be one of the most accomplished cheerleaders in the Jacksonville area. Byers, a 17-year-old senior, is co-captain of the Bishop Kenny High cheerleading squad and a member of Senior Black of the Infinity All-Stars in competitive cheerleading.
After she graduates from Bishop Kenny, she is going to move on to collegiate cheerleading, possibly at the University of South Florida or Georgia Southern.
“It’s scary right now because it’s coming so fast,” Byers said. “What do I want to do with rest of my life? What school am I going to next? I’m so excited. I’m ready for the next big step. I want to put my skills to test and see just how good I am.”
Her daily and weekly schedule is rather daunting. In a normal week, she’s in class before going to Bishop Kenny cheer practice, and then she has an hour or so to get schoolwork done before going to competitive cheer practice until 10 p.m.
Her weekly schedule during competition season includes practice, for both school and competitive cheer, Monday through Thursday, then usually a BK game on Friday night before leaving Saturday morning for competitions. She has competitions 10-15 weekends per year.
Byers has been involved in competitive cheer since she was eight years old. She said competitive cheer is a life commitment.
“We have two weeks off and that’s it,” Byers said. “Our practice season is from June until December. Our competition is from December to April. We start tryouts in second week of May.”
“The training is tough, but the rewards are worthwhile,” Byers said. “We won a competition at NCA Dallas which is the biggest national competition. We got a leather jacket that says ‘National Champions’. We also won a competition called ‘Summit’ which is also a National championship and I have a ring for that. At Worlds (the highest level of competition) last year we got 22nd place; this year we are going for the top 10.”
Conditioning is vital for cheerleading. Byers said virtually the entire summer from June to August consists of three hours of conditioning per 
day.
“We do a lot of endurance training and cardio,” Byers said. “In the summer, we do a lot of stunt conditioning, which means we lift girls over our head for five minutes at a time. Our challenge is to get through the summer.”
Amazingly, Byers said she has never lifted a weight in her life. She has always lifted her teammates to gain strength.
“I’m very strong for a girl,” Byers said. “I’m able to lift a lot of girls up using my strength to help out.”
Flexibility is also crucial in her sport. Byers said her coaches never let her or her teammates perform stunts without stretching. Byers is one of the lucky cheerleaders because she has rarely been hurt.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” Byers said. “Two months ago, I broke my arm. Some girls have some real serious injuries. Competitive cheer isreal risky. There are more injuries in competitive cheer than in football.”
Even after breaking her arm, Byers sat out only two weeks. She was still able to do some stunts.
“I was able to dance and do jumps,” Byers said. “I also did a one-arm cartwheel. I was one of the leaders so I didn’t want them to be on floor without me.”
Byers said her one of her strengths is leadership.
“My coach on the Infinity team calls me one of the leaders,” Byers said. “My teammates look up to me. “
In the future, Byers said she wants to work with children. She has a younger brother that she adores. She mentioned pediatric medicine as a possibility. She also suggested that she might work on the side coaching competitive cheer to help some of the kids who look up to her.
Byers said she got into cheerleading because she was a “complete tomboy” who got interested because her sister enjoyed the sport. She also played soccer.
Her mother, Nancy, said her ability to focus has helped Byers in cheerleading and academics.
Byers said the mental aspect of cheerleading is 80% compared to 20% physical. She said her teammates and coaches do what they can to keep the morale of the team up on a daily basis.
Outside of cheerleading Byers enjoys working for Yobi frozen yogurt on weekends. Byers said her job is the “lead” which means she focuses on customers and deals with details such as making yogurt and cleaning dishes.
“My sister did the same job and I find it lot of fun,” Byers said.
Team chemistry is important for both her high school and competitive cheer squad.
“One of biggest things as a team is knowing everyone is there for each other, but we also give each other space,” Byers said.
North Florida/ Player Spotlight/ February 2015
Monica Byers
Bishop Kenny High School
Jacksonville, Florida
Brent Beaird
Kenny Athlete Puts the “Leader” in Cheerleader
What an accomplished and commited kid!