SHS Cheer male recruit brings positive school spirit
Ygame,You are at a football and the crowd goes wild when they announce your high school’s name. Music then plays from big loudspeakers, and the cheerleaders come out and perform their daring stunts. When they gather to create a human pyramid, you notice something interesting: The person on top is a boy.
At Southwest High School, 18-year-old senior Angel Mendez is breaking the norm by being the only male cheerleader on the team.
Southwest cheerleader coach Julio De Leon said he admires Angel for all the positivity and effort he brings to the team.
“He is an amazing athlete, teammate and student,” De Leon said. “He works hard, is motivated, self-efficient and a role model.”
Mendez is a high-achieving student who is involved with the Associated Student Body, but he is also very passionate about cheerleading. His path to success has not been easy.
“It started off by wanting to learn how to do a backflip, and I started doing cheer from then on as I was younger, and I loved it,” Mendez said.
Giselle Cervantes, a 17-year-old senior, said she has known Mendez through cheerleading since eighth grade. She said he is not only a good teammate but also is a great friend to have.
“He can always make you laugh no matter what, even if you had a bad day,” Cervantes said. “He always makes you push harder than you can, and he’s always there as emotional support as well. You can always count on him as a friend as a teammate.”
Maddelynne Lilien, an 18-year-old senior, said that despite Angel’s positive attitude, people are not always kind in their Y remarks.
“It’s best to ignore it because most times it comes out of a place of jealousy or hate,” Lilien said.
Though Angel is currently the only male cheerleader at SHS, the team hopes he inspires more boys to try out.
“More males should sign up for cheerleading because their added strength and abilities can strengthen the overall team’s skill set. We can incorporate more advanced stunts or tumble with such high levels of strength from many athletes,” Lilien said.
“When I came to high school, I always knew that I wanted to be super-involved with my school and saw cheerleading as an opportunity to be involved. I’m still not one of the best ones, but I have learned a lot of cheer skills,” Mendez said.