Cheerleading is not something that the typical Brit is totally familiar with, with most of our impressions made from watching cheerleaders portrayed in movies. And lets be honest, cinema doesn’t exactly play cheerleaders in the most positive of lights, they are usually pretty, privileged bitchy white girls whose biggest concern is dating the star quarterback and becoming Prom Queen.

We tend to see a lot of them walking around in their uniforms and not a lot of the work that goes into making a routine, even the likes of Bring It On, which in a weird way, kind of mirrors the story of Cheer, didn’t highlight the amount of skill that goes into the stunts.

When I heard the buzz surrounding Netflix’s new docuseries, I’ll admit, I was a little sceptical and, yes, judgemental but I was never going to know for sure until I watched it for myself. And boy, have my eyes been opened.

Over the course of six hour-long episodes, we get to know many of members of the Navarro Cheer team and their coach, Monica Aldama. We join them in the middle of their preparation for the biggest cheerleading competition of the season, the National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida where Monica and her team are hoping to win their 14th National title.

The amount of time, effort and skill that goes into choreographing and executing a two minute, fifteen second routine is absolutely phenomenal but that is nothing compared to the huge amount of blood, sweat and tears from every single member of the team.

Before you know it you find yourself sucked in, on the edge of your seat with every ‘full out’ run through, feeling every bruised rib and banged head, shouting ”50 push ups” every time someone hits the mat. Gone will be any preconception that you may have had that cheerleaders are just pretty supporters and cheerleading is not a real sport.

Not only are you, very quickly, invested in the team as a whole but you also become attached to the individuals themselves, cheering on every success. Initially it’s their talent, hard work and perseverance that draws you in, but when you learn their back stories, the things they have had to face and come through, that’s when you realise that cheerleading is a lifeline for some people and is so much more than looking the part and waving a couple of pom-poms around.

Even after reading this, I am certain that many of you will still look down on the idea of cheerleading but I implore you, give Cheer a chance. You may be pleasantly surprised.