Smells like team spirit
> Loh Kheen Ho’s unexpected passion for cheerleading has led him to choose a career training future champions in the sport
It all started when I was in Form Three. I was chasing this girl, and she was in the cheerleading team. So I became a member.
We eventually became friends but cheerleading became a sport that I really got interested in. Before that I was a basketball player, and I was the captain of the school team when I was in Form One and Form Two. When I got into cheerleading I stopped all other sports. Cheerleading is unique because it combines elements of sports and different skills rolled into one.
Where did you start teaching cheerleading? I started by teaching a house cheer team at Seri KDU. That house team (yellow house) never won the school games before. That year they became the champions. I taught at schools only until I was about 22 or 23. After that I formed a company that provides coaching services, camps and music.
After that, I formed my own team Cheer Aces All Stars which comprised students who graduated high school and joined us.
We take part in national level, as well as international level competitions.
How many people are there in Cheer Aces All Stars now? We used to have more than 70 people. Malaysia actually has a cheerleading governing body called CHARM. They have rules and regulations about who can and cannot take part. So our team has shrunk to about 30 people. Are all the members of Cheer Aces All Stars full-time cheerleaders? Well some of them are and the others who hold full-time jobs train with us at night after working hours.
How many schools do you coach? We have 11 schools and 15 teams. (Most of the schools are in Klang Valley but he also coaches schools in Melaka and Ipoh.)
What qualities must a cheerleader have? For cheerleading you must have endurance, determination and a strong mindset.
You must be very determined to catch a flier (the person who is tossed into the air), hit the stunt, and also trust your teammates.
What do you think of the reality shows that revolve around cheerleading? I feel that drama is scripted. In reality we don't have these problems, because we educate the team members not to bring their personal issues here and to work as a team.
What are your future plans? Expand the cheerleading scene to make it bigger. It will definitely catch on.