The J-TAC

Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Brittany Goodson Tarleton Co-ed Cheerleaders pose on a beach in Daytona Beach, Fla. with their second place trophy after a successful showing in the National Cheerleading Association's national championship.

Last April the Tarleton Co-ed Cheerleaders competed in Daytona Beach, Fla. for the National Cheer Association's national championship. The Texan Cheerleaders faced opposing schools from across the country and finished in second place in the nation. The team reached finals and lost to Hawaii Pacific University, which claimed their sixth national title, according to http://www.hpu.edu.

Coming off the successful season, the team has entered the new year with high hopes and expectations to succeed.

"We expect to win it, but we know it won't just be given to us," said Head Coach William Mayfield.

Mayfield believes the team has improved in both tumbling and basket tosses, but the biggest strength for the coming season is the cohesiveness of 15 returning co-ed members.

Mayfield says the team has gained a great deal of experience following last year's success.

"To get to the finals is not easy and to perform there isn't easy either," he said.

Mayfield said another goal for the season "is to perform the routine perfect with out any mistakes."

The team has worked on performing in front of crowds both to support Texan athletics and to work on the ability to perform in front of large groups confidently to avoid mistakes.

The program's success is apparent from beating Division-I schools such as University of North Texas and having girls from across the United States and Canada traveling to Tarleton to join the cheer program.

To exhibit their new routine, the cheerleaders will host a show day in March to preview their show for nationals. They will also travel to Southern Methodist University to showcase the routine.

In addition to a nationally-recognized co-ed squad, Mayfield has been working on developing and improving the All-Girl Squad as well. He hopes to build the team around the 11 girls returning from last year.

The two teams do not share members and combine to have 40 total members across the cheer teams. Both teams perform at Tarleton football games and the co-ed squad performs for the men's basketball games while the All-Girl Squad performs at women's basketball games.

"It's a go-go deal, but if we weren't going non-stop it wouldn't be fun," said Mayfield.

He says that his goal for the cheer program as a whole is to get Tarleton's name across the nation.

"We want to represent Tarleton at a national level," he said.

To learn more about the Tarleton State Cheerleaders go to http://www.tarletonsports.com/.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools