The University of Idaho cheer team has a season that lasts 10 months, practices that occur six days a week and one reason team members are dedicated to the sport.
“They do it because they love it,” said senior Michael Ruby.
Ruby is in his fourth year of cheer at Idaho and has been a captain of the squad for two years. He joined the program as a walk-on during the winter of his freshman year and immediately joined in the tumbling and stunts.
“You can blow people’s minds with stunting,” Ruby said. “We’re literally stacking human beings for people to watch.”
Ruby said he enjoys every aspect of cheer – coaching, being a teammate, developing athleticism, maintaining community relationships and performing in front of the crowd.
He said the team is used in publicity stunts such as photo shoots with the College of Agriculture on a tractor or with University of Idaho engineers in a newly constructed vehicle. Ruby said the team even performs in the Idaho Commons or at the Gritman Medical Center as a way to publicize the program.
The senior said many people do not realize how much work goes into cheerleading activities. He said confidence is key, but members often need 100 to 150 repetitions with a move before it can be used in front of a crowd.
“Everyone thinks I’m a ‘rah-rah’ cheerleader who jumps and touches my toes,” Ruby said. “People don’t understand how hard a sport it is … people tell me I’m not an athlete, but there’s a lot of athleticism in it.”
The senior stressed the importance of trust between team members in order to prevent dropping anyone during routines.
Ruby said he once was with the squad in Las Vegas for the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament performing a routine in front of alumni, donors and fans. He said he threw a girl up in the air, but that it was at the wrong angle and she began to fall.
Ruby said he was able to catch her before she hit the floor, but the stunt was ruined.
“We won the WAC tournament, the team threw the Gatorade on the coach and everying,” Ruby said. “She was running across the court and slipped in the puddle and hit her head on the ground. I ran up to her and asked if she was okay and if she was hurt. She looked at me and said, ‘Not as much as when you dropped me.’”
Ruby said her comments left a lasting mental impact.
“I didn’t throw for two months after that,” he said.
Chelsea Averna, another four-year member of the Idaho cheer team, said the program uses an all-year schedule consisting of practice and workouts.
“We don’t do it for the popularity,” Averna said. “We wouldn’t put in the time if it was just bragging rights.”
Idaho cheer head coach Bobby Meador said the team practices, performs or works out every single day of the week except for Mondays, when many students have obligations to their Greek house.
“These kids want to be here,” Meador said. “Other than a love for the program, there’s not much holding them here. We’re having a good time.”
The coach said there are no scholarships available to students, and that each member has to fundraise $200 as part of the team.
Meador said the purpose of the cheer team is to get the crowd involved at athletic events. He said it is important that the team capitalize on crowd momentum and perform the right chants at opportune moments.
Averna said teams will play better if they know they are supported by school fans. She said spectators and athletes may not thank the cheer members for their contributions, but fans would notice if the squad was not at the game.
Averna said one of her favorite moments with the team is when young children want pictures with members.
“There’s one family that comes up and says ‘My girl looks up to you,’ and I’m just thinking ‘You don’t even know me,’” she said. “But it’s so cool that she wants to become that.”
Ruby said what brings him joy is hearing that children are inspired by his position with the team.
“You never know who’s watching,” Ruby said. “You never know whose life you’re going to touch.”
Ruby and Meador both said they experienced discrimination in high school and were routinely called “gay” for being male cheerleaders.
Averna said the stigmatization for men in cheerleading has changed throughout the years, and that it is now trendy to be a male cheerleader.
“They get to know the athletes,” Averna said. “They get access to the weight room.”
Ruby said he has an internal drive to teach younger team members about leadership. He said he wants his peers to become even better than he is at the sport.
The senior said he would miss cheer after performing with the team for four years.
“Everything I can do for this program I will,” Ruby said. “I would never give it up for anything.”
Jack Olson can be reached at [email protected]