The Sower Logo

Home Sports Shift to a Coed Squad Opens Up New Frontier for Concordia Cheer

Photo by Kim Sleeper

 

by Noah Rohlfing

 

The Concordia cheer squad is becoming a coed squad, giving males the opportunity to try out and earn scholarships in order to expand the roster and the opportunities for stunt routines.

Cheer and dance coach Miranda Maser is excited about the recent change to Concordia’s cheer squad.

The change was announced recently, coinciding with the end of the Bulldogs’ 2016-2017 competitive season. Concordia joins multiple GPAC teams like Hastings College and Doane College by making this change.

Maser believes that the change will open new avenues for Concordia to compete with other cheer teams in the region.

“There are multiple benefits to this move. This was the first year stunting for us. In order to be competitive, we needed to be co-ed,” Maser said. “There are different stunts that we are able to do with male cheerleaders.”

Maser also pointed out that the addition to the squad benefits Concordia as a whole.

“It makes us more competitive, but it also is really good for the school to have more kids be a part of it,” Maser said.

The team held open tryouts this spring to include current students at Concordia who had exhausted eligibility in other varsity sports or added another sport to their schedule. Four athletes made the team. Maser lauds them as the first step in creating a potential GPAC powerhouse and attracting new recruits to the school.

“We added guys who had the thought process of, ‘We really want to be a part of this and build a good reputation for the next guys,’” Maser said. “They saw what the difference is between having a co-ed team and an all girl team and they said ‘Hey, I can do that.’”

One of those athletes is former Concordia wrestler and fifth-year senior Tommy Andrews.

“I wanted to be a part of the team because…this is the first time that the cheer team is going co-ed so to be a part of that would be really special,” Andrews said. “My experience has been really great so far, and try-outs were a blast… getting to know the girls and stunting and getting to know Coach Maser as well.”

It is currently the offseason for competitive cheer, so Maser has the team working together and is introducing aspects of the stunts to the whole group. She says that over the summer, the team members will also work on tumbling.

“You have to have this cohesive network of athletes…a lot of trust is involved, and a lot of timing is involved,” Maser said. “They have to learn specific skills and specific holds.”

Maser has high expectations for the Bulldogs in the coming cheer season.

Please leave a reply. Your comment will be reviewed by the Sower editors before posting.