19 May For Madison McKenna, It Was Always Auburn!
BY KAYLEE HASENBANK & CHRISTY SANDMAIER
War Eagle!
At just 5 years-old, Auburn’s viral sensation Madison McKenna picked up her first pair of poms. She’s loved it ever since. Even at such an early age, her dream was to someday cheer for the Auburn Tigers. It was a dream that only grew deeper as she entered high school. “My love for the sport, the disciplines it taught me, and my future goals kept me going,” she told us. “I followed a lot of the Auburn Cheerleaders on Instagram, and I looked up to them so much. I would watch them the entire game when we would go down to Auburn every Saturday, and I dreamed of being able to be one of them someday.”
Performing as both a base in middle school and high school, Madison knew she’d literally have to learn to fly to succeed. “In high school, I was a main base and was a part of an all-girl team. Auburn Cheerleading is a co-ed team, so this was a big adjustment to me. I started working on co-ed stunting during my senior year of high school. I loved being a base and wouldn’t trade that experience, but I knew learning to fly later in life would be a bit of a challenge,” she said. “Cheering at Vestavia definitely prepared me well for college-level cheerleading. Even though I was not a flyer, I learned clean, powerful tumbling skills and how to cheer effectively on the sidelines. I was taught a strong work ethic, and through my time competing, I learned discipline, resilience, and how to apply corrections.”
Cheering under the lights in high school and competing with her team, who won first place in the Game Day category at UCA Nationals three times, further shaped who Madison is today. “I absolutely loved cheering on the sidelines every Friday night, and those were truly some of my favorite high school memories. My high school cheer team also competed in both Game Day and traditional. I have a little bit—a lot—of a competitive edge, so this was such a fun experience. “Competing allows you to grow so close to the girls on your team as you work hard and face challenges together, and I am so thankful to have had that experience,” she said.
At Auburn, Madison quickly recognized the dynamic shift from high school to college as sport to being a student-athlete as a profession in many ways, and she enjoys using her platform to inspire anyone with the dream to compete for a big-time program. She knows it’s much bigger than herself. “The biggest difference is that you are representing an entire well-known university, not just your local high school. Representing Auburn carries a lot of weight, and it’s something that we as cheerleaders have to take very seriously. The way we represent Auburn, in and out of the uniform, is not something we take lightly. It is a privilege and an honor to represent something far bigger than yourself.”
Inside Cheerleading went behind the scenes with Madison, who hopes to pursue a career in social media marketing and start her own business, in this special in-depth look as she concludes her collegiate cheer journey, shares her favorite team memories, offers her most important advice, and so much more. Here’s Madison in her own words!
From Tryouts To Tradition
The tryout process was such a big factor in my growth as a person and a cheerleader! Throughout the process, you meet so many amazing people, you are challenged, and you have to motivate yourself to keep pushing even when it gets hard. You should be working on your skills all year leading up to tryouts, but the actual tryouts are two days long. The first day is technicals, which consists of stunting, tumbling, cheers, and band dances. If you make it past technicals, you will then do an interview with a panel of judges the following day. That night, there are callouts at Cater Hall, which is a sweet Auburn tradition. To prepare, I did privates with a coach at the end of my senior year in high school and worked on co-ed stunting. At Auburn, you don’t try out until the end of your freshman year, so I focused on keeping up my tumbling and stunting skills and staying fit. I also went to stunt clinics as tryout season approached, and made sure that I knew my “why.” Knowing why you want to be an Auburn Cheerleader keeps you going on the days where it feels tough and impossible.
Most people don’t realize that it’s not always as glamorous as it may seem. Our coach always stresses this in our tryout meetings to make sure people who are considering trying out are aware. Cheering for Auburn is about Auburn, not us as a team or individually. Sometimes what we do consists of riding on a bus for 12-plus hours to cheer on our team, but if that is what we are asked to do, we’re honored to do it. We are very service and community-oriented. We love to spend time in elementary schools, nursing homes, at campus events, and so much more. It’s about the Auburn family and making them feel loved and appreciated.
I have grown so much as a person as an Auburn Cheerleader. This program has blessed me with the very best people that encourage me and push me to be my best each and every day. My coaches have helped me grow my confidence and did not let me settle as an athlete, and for that, I am forever grateful. My teammates inspire me to be better and have shown me the type of person that I want to be. Everyone that I am surrounded by is hard-working, driven by their faith, resilient, and selfless. When I first made the team, I was more shy, and wanted to stay in my comfort zone skill-wise. With the help of my teammates and coaches, I’ve grown into a person who’s more willing to try new things, and confident in who I am.
Balancing Act
Balancing school, cheer, as well as a social life was definitely a little tough at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. Since being in this program, I have learned how to manage my time well and make sure I am prioritizing the right things. My mom always told me to treat my classes like a job, so that is the mindset that I do my best to have. Balancing everything can be difficult at times, but I am so grateful for the blessings that make me busy!
My advice would be to make a to do list every single day and prioritize the things that must get done that day first. Keeping a list and using my calendar has helped me tremendously in staying organized. I find it very satisfying to cross things off of my list, it helps me stay motivated!
Game Day!
Game Days are SO exciting and definitely one of the best experiences. We arrive at the stadium four hours before kickoff and set up in the stadium—setting out the coolers, putting out signs, and much more. Next, we go to our tailgate that all our families and friends come to. This is such a fun and sweet time to decompress and spend time with the people that you love before the craziness of the day begins! After that, we head back to the stadium to get ready for Tiger Walk.
Tiger Walk is one of my favorite parts of Game Day. All of the cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, as well as the band, line up and lead the team. We get to high-five fans and cheer for the players as they walk into the Harbert Family Recruiting Center. Next, we split up into groups and head to our various appearances outside of the stadium, before getting in place for Spirit March, which is where you march down the streets, coming from two separate sides, meet in the middle and have a pep rally. The band plays and we do cheers as well to get the fans excited for the game.
After warming up, there is the Eagle Flight and then we run out onto the middle of the fi eld and do cheers. The entire stadium cheers along with us and it gets everyone so excited for the game. After the middle of the field cheers, there is pre-game. The band goes out onto the field and plays the fight song and Glory. After pre-game, it’s time for runout. We get to lead our team out onto the field and it is so much fun. The amount of adrenaline I get when I do that runout tumbling pass is
indescribable!
The energy in Jordan-Hare is unlike any other in the country. I truly believe that Auburn has the absolute best atmosphere in all of college football. Win or lose, our fans always show up and show out. Being on the field, the feeling of pure joy is indescribable and that’s the moment that it hit me that I am finally getting to live out my childhood dream.
Bigger Than Us
As cheerleaders, it’s our role and our responsibility to represent Auburn well in and out of the uniform. We are held to a high standard and are expected to be a good representative of the university and the Auburn community as a whole. As cheerleaders, we [strive to] be a light and leave a positive impact on everyone we encounter, be a good student, and support our teams and organizations.
Being an ambassador for the university has made me take a step back and evaluate if I am being a good leader online and offline. I strive my best to be authentic and genuine, knowing that I am representing something much bigger than myself. It has helped build my personal brand around qualities such as leadership, confidence, and discipline.
The most meaningful event that I have done to represent Auburn outside of athletics was an appearance at Emerald Cove Daycare. There were only a small handful of kids there, but it was by far one of the most impactful days of my cheer career. Getting to simply just spend time with these kids and run around with them on the playground was something that seems so small from the outside view, but meant so much to both our team and the kids. What we do as cheerleaders is not about us. It is all about Auburn and the community and this day really put that into perspective. It doesn’t matter if you are cheering in front of 85,000 people or talking to one kid, it all means so much and is the biggest honor.
TOP TIPS FOR COLLEGE TRYOUTS!
- The biggest thing I would say is know the “why” behind what you want to accomplish. Knowing your “why” will be your motivation when days get hard or your motivation is low. Continue to work hard and practice small disciplines, and whatever you do, DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF! Comparison is the thief of joy and it is the quickest way to get discouraged
or sidetracked. Stay focused and consistent! - The mental aspects are just as important, if not even more important, as the physical aspects! Your mentality will drive everything that you do. If you believe that you are not good enough, you will perform that way. It’s so important to speak life to yourself and remind yourself over and over again how far you have worked and how bad you want it. I find that what helps me when I get anxious or in my head is taking my eyes off of myself. When you focus your energy on encouraging others and cheering them on, you think of yourself less and feel so much better.
- I wish I would have known how FUN it can be if you stop comparing yourself and worrying about the outcome. The tryout process in and of itself is so rewarding and such a blessing. The feeling of going out there and showing the judges how hard you have been working can feel so amazing if you just take a breath. I would tell my freshman year self to relax and soak in the experience! Even just being able to try out for the team is a dream come true!
Photography by: Southern Intrigue Sports
Dear Madison,
I would tell my younger self to stay true to who I am and to not try and conform to those around me. Everyone on our team is unique in their own beautiful way and everyone has different gifts. What makes us such a good team is that we all have different strengths and areas that we are gifted in. I would tell myself to be Madison, work so hard, give it to the Lord, and let that be enough.
Photography by: Southern Intrigue Sports
