PPBoys stole my heart!

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PPBoys stole my heart! <3
A cheerleader I am not.  In fact, I am terrible at all sports.  If you have ever participated in the Turkey Bowl then you know this for a FACT (sidenote:  FRIENDS -- we need to decide on a turkey bowl date!)
A few years back, as the ruler of all things positive at Platt (the school where I work), I was asked to help coach the Powder Puff Boys Cheerleading squad (aka -- PPBoys).  Yuuuuup.  Me.   I still laugh at the idea, especially now as I’m in the middle of PPBoys season!
Three years later -- I’m still at it.
You need to know this though…..THIS is my absolute FAVORITE part of the year.  I love every single second of the day this time of year.  I know that no matter how bad my day went, how exhausted I am from teaching a full day -- I get two hours after school with the peppiest (yep.. that’s a word!), nicest, cooooolest boys in town!    
Oh -- you don’t know what PPBoys do?  PPBoys are the cheerleaders during the Girls PowderPuff Football game!  So that means that while the girls are Footballin’ the boys are Cheerin’!  We teach them cheers, we teach them stunts (which is way cool!), and MOST importantly, we teach them a 5 minute dance routine to be dance battled at halftime against our arch rivals -- the high school across town.
Game day is bittersweet.  After the PowderPuff game is over and we head back to school on the bus, our time with these boys is over.  These boys will graduate in a few months and we will just be a memory, a silly thing they did in high school.  But these boys, they steal my heart, each and every year.  These are boys who give up their time to hang out with me, and genuinely have fun.
I love when they stop by my room and say HI,  I will stop my entire lesson, make them come in and give me a high five, or a hug (then write them a pass and send them back to class).  It’s good for my Freshman to see a Senior in our room!  
I love that they get so excited for “skirt” day… when we hand out their cheerleading skirts.  I love that this year, they took Ms. Volo’s abbreviation “PPBoys” and adopted it as their #Squad name!   

THIS  is why I teach.  I think Marisa & Jill feel the same way. These boys do not rely on me for a grade, they don’t have to worry about me writing them up for being late to class, they don’t even have to worry about acting appropriately, because this is the time when they are relied upon to act silly and crazy!  Us coaches we can act ourselves… we can let our “teacher” guard down a little.   These boys make us smile, they make our hearts grow, and sometimes, when they get the dance right, they make us laugh so hard I almost pee my pants!





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