Stephen Holt is USM’s only male cheerleader. Choreographed into routines with nine women, he provides strength and balance to their aesthetically-focused routines: in any given human pyramid, Holt will be found at the bottom center position.
Despite stereotypes surrounding cheerleaders, the last decade has granted cheerleading national recognition and respect for being a physically demanding sport on par with the football and basketball teams they cheer for.
No longer are cheerleaders seen simply as motivators for athletes, but as athletes themselves.
Al Bean, USM’s athletics director, is very happy with the team. “They work very hard and they are extremely committed,” he said. “We have always wanted to have a cheerleading program, and we support it as best we can.”
He also notes that they’ve accomplished a lot under coach Cassandra Maegan’s leadership. “I give them a lot of credit for what they do.”
Ironically, the Husky cheerleading squad is one of the least visible of USM’s intercollegiate athletic teams.
USM basketball fans are among the only ones likely to have seen them in action, as basketball is the only university sport for which the team cheers.
But their action at USM is not all they do. This semester, they will compete in Kingston, RI at the National Cheerleading Association All Star Open Championship.
Two to three nights a week Holt can be found with Maegan and the rest of the squad on the courtside at a basketball game, rooting for USM’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
When they’re not on the court, the team trains at the Costello Sports Complex, where Maegan leads practices at least three times a week.
The risks of flipping, jumping and catching inherent to cheering barely cross Holt’s mind. This is the attitude of a seasoned cheerleader.
Holt’s mother, who coaches the cheerleading team at Cony High School in Augusta, introduced him to his now-favorite sport when he was in junior high.
“I grew to love it,” he said, “And I’ve done it every day since eighth grade. It’s my favorite thing to do.”
Holt’s dedication to the sport is evident, as it takes up a lot of his time. As a vocal performance major, time is something he’s often lacking. With a full course load to contend with, as well as his cheer duties, he doesn’t get many chances to relax. When he does, he enjoys hanging out with friends on the Gorham campus.
Eventually, Holt wants to use his degree and experiences to perform musical theater. But for now, cheering is what’s on his mind.
“I love cheering,” Holt said. “If I didn’t do it, I’d feel something was missing.”
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This isn’t your mother’s sport anymore
Nationwide, cheerleading by both sexes is on the rise, and so are cheer-related injuries. Injuries have increased mostly because cheerleaders are moving off the sidelines and onto the competition circuit. When teams make that move to main events, routines become more spectacular, more difficult and more dangerous.
The worst injury USM cheerleader Stephen Holt has witnessed happened to a girl he cheered with in high school. She back-flipped off a row of shoulders and flubbed the landing so bad she broke both of her arms at once.
“They split right open,” he said, saying that he saw the bones crack through the surface of her skin. What does a cheerleader do after an injury like that? Hop right back in the saddle, of course. “She just didn’t do back-flips,” he said.
Holt has been fortunate. The only injuries he’s sustained have been a few quick knees to the face. Other than those, he remains unscathed.
Stephen Holt is not alone in the world of male cheerleaders. Though he is the only male cheerleader at USM, he joins the likes of many famous men,
including:
– George W. Bush
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt
– Michael Douglas
– Samuel L. Jackson
– Steve Martin