One day in 1898, during a varsity football game at the University of Minnesota, student Johnny Campbell stood in front of the crowd and did something no one had ever attempted to do in the history of sports.
With a simple cheer still used by the Golden Gophers today, Campbell became not only the first male cheerleader, but the first cheerleader ever. 111 years later, the UNH cheerleading team has entered the competition season with the first male cheerleaders in the history of the program.
In an attempt to expand the program's ability to compete on the national level, head coach Shauna Norris Foley started a coed cheerleading team to compete alongside the all girls squad. Previously, when the team competed at the National Cheerleaders Association national competition, they would only be allowed to send an all girls team of 20 cheerleaders. And with a team over 50 girls, some would be left behind.
"We did very well at camp," said Foley. "We took a big team to camp, 38 members at the time, all female. We got a full paid bid to nationals, but you can only bring 20 to nationals. So I said, lets see if we can get a couple of guys so we can bring two teams to give everybody the opportunity to compete. That was the genesis of it."
In its inaugural season, the coed team has welcomed three male cheerleaders, along with 17 female cheerleaders. Together they have made appearances at athletic events throughout the school year, including football, basketball, and volleyball games.
"I think our program has been growing," said senior co-captain Roxanne Healey. "This is my senior year and it has definitely grown since I was a freshman in terms of interest and numbers. And with a bigger program comes an interest with even males."
Bruce Martin, Phillip Parker, and Nick Gray have started a new row of cheerleaders in the team's typical formation, participating in cheers with bullhorns and serving as a much-needed base during the team's stunts. For all three, this is not a new life choice. All three have cheerleading backgrounds.
The addition of a coed team was important to Parker, a sophomore who coached cheerleading at the Boys & Girls Club in Nashua. It's even more important than people may know, as he was contemplating transferring from UNH due to a lack of a male cheerleader group.
"I was friends with one of the girls on the team and one day I was just joking around, I was like 'You guys should have a coed team' and she said they were actually thinking about it," said Parker. "I was the first guy on the team, and when I walked into practice I was really intimidated because all of the girls are so good. And the rest is history."
For Martin, a coed cheerleading team gave the senior forestry major an opportunity to extend his participation in the sport after high school, where he was a cheerleader for three years. His foray into the team came about because of another organization he belongs to. As a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, Martin befriended sorority sisters who were also cheerleaders.
Of course, when one hears that Martin is now the president of his fraternity as well as a member of the UNH Army ROTC, it begs the question as to how he manages to function with all that and now cheerleading on his plate.
"It's common for me to get about five hours of sleep a night," he said. "It's fun though. I love all the stuff I do. But having an hour or two here or there would be nice."
Along with the toll sleep deprivation takes on the body, Martin has also been on the wrong end of the risk side of cheerleading. Most recently on Wednesday he suffered a nose injury during the teams halftime routine, and was forced to sit out the entire second half as he made friends with an ice pack.
And for those who still believe the old adage that cheerleading is not a sport, here are just a few examples of what kind of commitment the members of both teams have to give to this "hobby."
Practice for the team is a three-days-a-week affair, for two or more hours each time, where they cover everything from stunts to cheers to routines. There is also weight training two days a week at the Whitt. And even when they are done with practice, they still have to run a mile, which they are timed on on a monthly basis and must complete the run in under eight and a half minutes.
"It is really fun," said Parker. "And people say it is not a sport, but guys will come in to see some of our practices and I will be tumbling outside and they will say 'Oh that is crazy how you do all that.' I did get mixed emotions with it so I was hesitant in the beginning. But it has been the best experience of my life."
Commitment to the cheerleading team extends beyond the school year also. Summer practices and the NCA camp are all mandatory, including fundraising events that the team holds to raise necessary funds.
Since having male members was a first for most of the girls and coach Foley, it would be expected that there be an awkward transition for all those involved. But according to junior co-captain Nicole Therrien, the new male teammates were accepted instantly and things have gone smoothly.
"I have never cheered with guys so I think it's fun," she said. "It adds definitely something different. You can do so much more. Everyone just works really well together. We come to practice and do what we need to do. And the guys are very dedicated."
And even though things have gone well, it hasn't been easy.
"In high school, you are kind of learning your skills," said Martin. "Here you are expected to have skills that you try to perform the best that you can. All of our stuff is done in an eight count, and I don't really pay attention to the counts as much as I should. That is probably one of the hardest parts."
Along with the spike in testosterone in the huddle, Coach Foley has noticed an increase in the team's stunts, particularly in how much higher the girls have been thrown in the air, which was expected with the added strength that males bring.
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