Let's Hear it For the Boys

In the past, male college cheerleaders switched to cheerleading when they were unable to earn a scholarship in another sport. They tried cheerleading by default. They usually enjoy the sport when they start. Today, boys are becoming more and more involved in cheerleading both in their junior high, high school and on all-star teams. Yet, it is still an opportunity that happens by chance. For a few, they know early they want to pursue cheerleading. This usually develops out of a beginning in gymnastics. Many of our area schools have boy cheerleaders on the sidelines including Fayetteville, Bentonville, Har-Ber, Farmington, Greenland, Greenwood, Pea Ridge and others. Many of them play football and then cheer during basketball, but it is becoming more often the sport of choice for some boys. According to statistics, 98 percent of cheerleaders at all levels (junior high, high school, college) are female, but at the college level, nearly 50 percent of all cheerleaders are male. Northwest Arkansas will have strong representation next season with male cheerleaders in college. Several of these young men are highlighted in this article, though this is not all of the male cheerleaders in our area who are headed off to cheer in college. These young men receive scholarship money to attend college in most instances. Zac Foster played football at Fayetteville High and was a member of the 2007 State Championship team. Zac played football all of his life and when the season ended his senior year, he was looking for a new and different challenge. He decided to try cheerleading and joined an all-star team at Team Cheer. Learning how to do skills to counts and move to different formations in routines was the most challenging aspect for Zac. The first time he stepped on the competition mat, he was hooked. Zac parlayed this new love of cheerleading into a college scholarship and will cheer at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami this fall. Kevin Ellstrand never participated in cheerleading during his years at Fayetteville High. He was also a member of the FHS state championship team. When asked what sparked an interest in cheerleading, Kevin's response was typical of a teenage boy, "a girl". That girl was his girlfriend, who cheered both school (junior high and high school) and all-star cheerleading. When football ended, Kevin decided to join an all-star team. Without cheer experience, he had lots to learn but quickly realized that he enjoyed the new challenge. He also realized that it was a challenging sport. His all-star team conditioned like any other sport and the skills necessary to compete were new and tough to master. His favorite cheer memory is winning a Grand National Championship as a member of a Senior Coed Level 4 team. Kevin will cheer at the University of Arkansas this fall. Tyler Banks formed his interest in cheerleading by first participating in gymnastics. A talented tumbler, the aspects involving partner stunting proved difficult for him to grasp. Now, he is enjoying stunting. Tyler cheered for 3 ½ years at his school (his senior year at Har-Ber High School) and joined an all-star team. Tyler notes that trying out for college was a "crazy time" for him. He was "nervous and intimidated by all of the veterans." He held his own, though, and you will see him on the sidelines at the University of Arkansas this fall. Corey Molz played football as well and started cheering as a joke. Now, his advice to other boys considering the sport is that "it's the best choice I have ever made. I earned a scholarship and a new found respect for the sport". The hardest part for Corey was motions and timing. His favorite part of cheering is stunting and one of his favorite memories is winning 3rd place in the State Partner Stunt Championship. Corey cheered for 2 years at Bentonville High School and will be cheering in the fall at Southern Arkansas University. Mike Brown played football before he developed an interest in cheer. He really fell into cheerleading. He was picking up a girl at cheer practice at her all-star gym and she invited him to try some of the tumbling skills. Mike had already decided that football wasn't the sport for him but wasn't really looking for another sport. He quickly decided that cheer was something he was going to love. He cheered for Fayetteville High School for one year and all-stars for two years. Mike struggled with shoulder injuries that sidelined him for three months, keeping him from a very large national competition. He also struggled with mental blocks and learning skills that don't come naturally to guys, like motions. Mike is also an Eagle Scout and learned perseverance and determination through the process. All of his hard work paid off, as he cheers at Northeastern Oklahoma A & M College on a full-ride cheer scholarship in the fall. Sheldon Tucker was active in gymnastics from an early age. From that experience, he knew that he would enjoy cheerleading. Sheldon is very competitive and loved that aspect of cheerleading. His ultimate goal was to cheer at a university that competed and set his sights on reaching that goal. Sheldon was able to compete as a cheerleader at Bentonville High school and was a member of an all-star cheer team for two years. Sheldon ultimately accomplished his goal and will be cheering on scholarship at Hawaii Pacific University.