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Cheerleaders
looking for a few able-bodied men The TCU co-ed cheerleading squad currently has 10 men on its roster. But next year might be a different story.
At the end of the this year, the squad might lose as many as six
men to graduation or the a heightened demand of classes. With tryouts less than a month away, he’s predicting there will be more than enough applicants to fill the female vacancies. But finding enough men to fill the male spots could be a challenge. “Men are much harder to recruit than women,” Tucker said. “In most cases, women have been cheering since they were 6-years old. Six-year-old guys are usually playing soccer, baseball or football.” There are 10 spots for men and 20 for women on the co-ed team, but only four men might be trying out for a spot. Tryouts for the 2001-2002 team will be April 14. Without 10 men, Tucker said the co-ed team will not be able to perform stunts to the level they are accustomed to doing. Freshman Ashley Newbold said men play an important role in the stunts not only because of safety but for their strength. “Whereas the men on the co-ed team are paired with one girl, the all-girl team needs three to four girls to perform a similar stunt,” Newbold said. “Having guys helps with getting more people in the air. You can also do a higher caliber of stunts because of their strength and athletic ability. And because of stunts and other changes in the sport, Tucker said athletic strength is a necessity. “The men are throwing girls 100 to 110 pounds up in the air and holding them fully extended side by side,” Tucker said. “They make it look so easy, but it’s not. It’s literally two people working toward one goal — perform the stunt and not get injured.” Tucker said many members of the team either have strong gymnastics or sports background. One cheerleader, senior Josh Johnson, is a former TCU football player. He had never tossed a girl in the air until he traded his cleats for tennis shoes, but Tucker said past athletic experience helps in adjusting to cheerleading. “Because men normally work out or have a sports background, we try to take those skills they learned (in those sports) and use them to our advantage,” Tucker said. “It’s a matter of getting used to a foot instead of a barbell. Besides most of the guys would say they prefer lifting a pretty girl more than wrestling a sweaty man.” Junior Jason Eagar said he never thought he would see himself throwing a girl 30 feet in the air and holding her fully extended. He was involved in spirit clubs all throughout high school but had no technical experience before becoming a TCU cheerleader. “When I first threw a girl into the air, it made me feel real macho, like a total stud,” Eagar said. “But where people think we are the protector of the girls, it’s much more than that. People don’t see the pain and the hard work that goes into what we do — essentially we are controlling the destiny of this girl because once she’s up (in the air) it is our responsibility to catch her if she falls.” Although recruiting in the past has been difficult, Tucker is currently in the process of setting up an endowment to aid in scholarships for cheerleaders. He said he lost two recruits recently because there was not any financial assistance available to the cheerleaders.
And because the team may lose up to six men, Tucker said men will
continue to be recruited heavily.
Melissa DeLoach |