Fabulous Flipping

Stunt is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and it involves skills similar to those utilized in cheer, such as tumbling, partner stunts, pyramids, group stunts, and others. However, stunt focuses on the technical skills used in cheerleading instead of the cheering aspect. During competitions, teams compete head-to-head, performing one of 18 types of stunts. The team that performs the stunt the best earns a point and picks the stunt level of the next routine that will be performed.

Stunt is a highly-anticipated spring sport at Stuyvesant, and its team is composed of many cheer members who are active during the fall season. The varsity coed stunt team finished the 2022-2023 season third in Division A, showing significant improvement from previous years and prospects of winning the playoffs in the near future. 

The team consistently performed well this season, boasting a record of 7-3. They started the season off strong, winning 12-5 against New Dorp, then breezing past Benjamin N. Cardozo High School with a result of 16-11. Despite a significantly larger competing bracket during the season in comparison to previous years, the Stuyvesant stunt team was able to outdo themselves, exhibiting their best performance in the past four years. A key reason for their growth has been the captains’ focus on improving team spirit and learning more advanced technical skills, which result in more impressive performances. 

In addition to performing well in competitions, the stunt team is its own community within Stuyvesant. The team has a preseason in which members sharpen their skills and spend time together at camp before school starts. Additionally, the team’s captains—seniors Danica Moser and Xinni Lan—have been extremely supportive, mentoring and helping members of the team. The members are supportive of each other during practice and often spend time together when they are not practicing. Senior and team member Daria Minhas was also essential to maintaining team morale and improving the team community. On top of excelling in matches personally, Moser said “[They] helped tie the team together.” Minhas supported the team emotionally and helped keep morale up during difficult games. 

Stunt coach Jenna Freytag is optimistic about the future of the team. She is proud of the team’s near-perfect record this season and believes that they have the potential to become city champions. Despite having a relatively fresh team, in which most members, even seniors and juniors, joined only this year, they were able to excel. The team only lost three times during the entire season, with one of the losses coming from rival Brooklyn Technical High School, and two from Susan E. Wagner High School. Freytag believes that the team, with a few minor improvements, has the potential to win against both rivals in the next season. “One thing that the Stuyvesant stunt team could improve is the frequency of their conditioning training, as it is a crucial part of being able to perform better. Without stronger abs, shoulders, biceps, and other muscles, moves become impossible to do,” Freytag said. However, the team has undoubtedly improved in regard to their stunt skills. They’ve been able to consistently perform level four routines, a significant improvement from previous years. The captains’ focus on training for more advanced routines has been a key driver of the team’s success.

Despite a successful season, the team leadership has worked on a plan to improve even further and potentially win the playoffs next year. First, they will employ a training regiment that places more emphasis on conditioning and will last longer. This is expected to keep the members in better physical shape, which will result in being able to perform more advanced routines. Additionally, there will be more social gatherings within the team to foster a greater sense of stunt spirit next year. The future looks bright for the Stuyvesant stunt team.