Cheer Grooms Successful Leaders Who Know Teamwork
Did you know that cheerleaders get recruited for college scholarships and, in some cases; they put in more practice hours than the football team? American Cheerleader lists 225 colleges and junior colleges that offer full and partial scholarships — from Penn State, which awards $1,500 annually to cheerleaders who maintain a 3.0 GPA, to Three Rivers Community College, Poplar Bluff, Mo., which awards a dozen full-tuition scholarships.

Corporate America often seeks ex-cheerleaders, especially for sales jobs, where success goes to energetic and personable people who know how to work a crowd. T. Lynn Williamson, coach of the University of Kentucky 12-time national champs says, “I've got a note on my desk right now from a pharmaceutical company with a sales opening," Williamson says. "I get these calls regularly. Cheerleaders know how to set goals and how to work hard to attain them. They are competitive, and they understand personality and body language."

US history is filled with cheerleaders including: Presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, forty-year Senator Trent Lott, Halle Berry, Katie Couric, Kirk Douglas, Samuel L. Jackson, Madonna, Mandy Moore and Sandra Bullock, to name a few.

Did you know that for the first 100 years, cheerleading was dominated by men? The first organized cheer squad was in 1865 at Princeton University and women started to join squads shortly after WWII.

 

Today, while 97% of all cheerleaders in high school are female, almost 50% of collegiate cheerleaders, many attending college on full or part scholarship, are male. (American Sports Data, Inc.).

 

In 2005-06 Kentlake took first place at state competition for the small co-ed division; in 2006-07 placed first as Power National Champions and took first runner up in Wa State.  Kentlake Coaches opted to not compete in 2007-08 or 2008-09.  Go Kentlake!

 

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