Butterflies to Bravery
Sometimes the first step into the unknown is the one that teaches you the most.
Most kids stick to what they know. I didn’t. In 5th grade, I took a leap into the unknown and became the first male cheerleader at Christ the King School - breaking tradition and maybe even making a little history in town.
All my friends played basketball, but I never identified as a basketball player. I was a soccer and hockey kid. Cheerleading wasn’t something I had ever considered, until one afternoon after school at my friend Beth Heck’s house. A bunch of us were hanging out on her playground, swinging and talking, when someone mentioned there were cheerleading tryouts this week. Someone else suggested I should go.
At the time, the only exposure I had to cheerleading came from watching games at the University of Notre Dame - my favorite school, the Fighting Irish. I was also at the age where I was becoming curious about girls. I was outgoing, but suddenly there were butterflies. And after spending the summer of 1985 immersed in Paris - watching street performers, musicians, and artists, I had started to understand something new: performance is a form of expression. Cheering, I realized, wasn’t that different.
Trying out felt like challenging the status quo - especially at a Catholic school with strong traditions. But I was surrounded by a caring, supportive community. I was allowed to try out, and I made the squad. What meant a great deal to me was that the school added an additional spot rather than cutting someone else. I never wanted to take an experience away from anyone.
Some people may have questioned how seriously I took cheerleading. But whatever I do, I give my best. The values of Father Theodore Hesburgh - faith, excellence, and service - were already part of my foundation. I decided that if I was going to do this, I owed it to my teammates to do it well. These girls were my friends. They believed in me. The last thing I wanted was to be the weakest link.
That summer, I attended two cheerleading camps - one at Marian High School, and another at Saint Mary’s College (the same school where my wife would later earn her undergraduate degree). Apparently, this was noteworthy enough to land me in the South Bend Tribune on June 17, 1988, in an article titled “Camp Trains Cheerleader To Be Hip-Hip.”
The following summer, I returned to camp at Saint Mary’s. This time, I was old enough to stay in the dorms, now fully immersed, eating every meal alongside 134 girls from across Northern Indiana. That week became unforgettable when a reporter and photographer showed up, and suddenly I found myself on the front page of the South Bend Tribune again. The headline read: “His Slam Dunks Are ‘Awesome’ Toe Touches,” published June 22, 1989. I was 12 years old.
All that work paid off. When the University of Notre Dame hosted the Blue-Gold Game, I had the opportunity to walk out onto the field at halftime ready and confident to give it my best and cheer on my favorite school on the field of their stadium. I even met the Notre Dame cheerleaders and sat in on pre-season practices, seeing firsthand what discipline and excellence looked like at the highest level.
Even in something as unexpected as cheerleading, giving your best matters. Striving for excellence, respecting the craft, and honoring the trust of those around you is a lesson I carry into every part of my life.