Cheerleading Boot Camp Was A Real, Hardcore Thing In The 1960s

Bill Horan was a WWII veteran, a former paratrooper and ... a cheerleading coach. He ran cheerleading clinics at universities across the country during the 1960s, and they sound as though they were intense.

LIFE described the day-to-day atmosphere of the clinics:

Horan conducts his school like a Marine boot camp. The girls pay an average of $45 a week for the privilege of running a mile before breakfast, standing inspection and learning to Sir and Ma’am while they are taught school yells. Horan forbids smoking, gum and soft drinks and holds back mail call until the end of the day so the girls won’t be distracted by letters from boy friends.

"At this school we separate the jellyfish from the real troopers," Horan told LIFE in 1965. We can only imagine how much your form would improve during this sort of boot camp.

Head over to LIFE to see more incredible photos of Bill Horan and his pep-squad clinics.

[H/T Deadspin]