Gold in Sweden! With Seneka Erickson

BY KAYLEE HASENBANK

Inside Cheer recently sat down with Seneka Erickson to discuss her journey through every level of the sport, reflecting on her experiences in All Star, College, the Pro Cheer League, and the U.S. National Team! Seneka’s story begins in Utah, where gymnastics shaped her entire childhood, starting at age 4. After spending a decade as a gymnast and earning herself a spot on the Junior Olympic team, a series of injuries forced her to make a difficult choice. What started as a chance to try something new, quickly became the start of an exciting and very rewarding chapter!

U.S. NATIONAL TEAM

What was it like representing cheer internationally?

I recently got to go compete in Sweden because they needed someone and they reached out right after I competed with my college team. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They didn’t really tell me much information other than to book a flight to Boston and do some fundraising. When I went to Boston, we trained for 4 days and it was from 9am to 9pm and it was high- intensity. I learned the routine the first day and we went full out the second day. It was very quick learning and that was difficult, but it showed me what I was capable of, and I met the most amazing people.

Tell us about putting on the U.S. National Team uniform for the first time!

I think it’s kind of hard to put into words, but the first moment that I put that USA uniform on, it was kind of  like, “there’s no way this is real, wake up from this dream, what’s going on?” But wearing it and walking out on the stage and getting to know that I get to represent our country is something that I’ll never forget. And it was a lot of excitement and very nerve-wracking, but honestly one of the proudest moments that I really have had. And just knowing that I’m making my people proud and getting to represent our country by doing what I love.

What did winning a gold medal with the U.S. National Team mean to you?
I think the biggest thing was just representing what the United States is. We want to make sure that we were put together, we’re good people, and when we won and got the gold, that was all of our hard work being earned. Those practices were so hard. Truly, it was the hardest 3, 4, 5 days of my life just training to go perform, but it was so rewarding that we finally did it. Afterwards, we did a lot of team bonding and celebrated, so it was super fun.

What’s Next?

We’re still trying to figure that out, but I am continuing with Electric, so we’re going to be seeing another year of All Star Cheer, and then tryouts for Pro Cheer League are in July. I’ve been coaching at Stingrays for my 5th year now, but last year I got the opportunity to coach Peach, and it truly has been the best thing ever. I got my major in Marketing, so I do social media marketing for Stingrays, and then hopefully grow my marketing career, but stay involved in cheerleading.

RANK BY INTENSITY, FUN, PERSONAL GROWTH, AND PHYSICAL GROWTH!

INTENSITY – U.S. NATIONAL TEAM

FUN – PRO CHEER LEAGUE

PERSONAL GROWTH – KSU CHEER

PHYSICAL GROWTH – ALL-STAR CHEER

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Seneka Erickson