Spirit

Sideline Spirit

Cheerleaders might not always be the most noticed people at a game, but with their presence at many events, the TMB cheer team is making people take notice

T HE TRACY-MILROY-BALATON CHEER TEAM, COMPLETE WITH DAZZLING, HIGH-FLYING STUNTS, HIT ITS ZENITH ABOUT A DECADE AGO WHEN THE SQUAD INCLUDED 12 MEMBERS AND EVEN EARNED A THIRD-PLACE FINISH AT THE 2015 GREAT MINNESOTA CHEER-OFF.

Since then, the cheer team has continued supporting the football team, but hasn’t quite been able to reach those heights. However, there has been a resurgence of sorts with the program, as the number of cheer members this year stands at 13.

And a few years ago, basketball cheerleaders were brought back into the fold, a resurgence that has come years after the inception and growth of the now-defunct dance team.

“My sophomore year, they lost like five seniors, and then when we gained five or six more people that year, it really boosted the team,” said senior cheer member Rosa Vang, a flyer on this year’s squad.

Katilin Rohlik was the coach back in those glory cheer years, and she recalls, she didn’t have a very auspicious start.

“The first year was rough — I wanted to quit,” Rohlik said. “I didn’t want to coach the following year and tried to resign but (Activites Director) Bill Tauer “wouldn’t let me! I coached until 2015, and then in 2016 I had my twins, so I resigned. I then co-coached with Marissa Olson in 2017, but then resigned again to stay home with my kids. Just too hard with practices and a husband who is calling the games on Friday nights, too.”

Despite the rough start, Rohlik was glad she stuck with it and helped build the program to a very high level. Today, she is friends with girls she coached, some of whom are married with kids.

“What I remember most were the more personal moments, conversations and relationships that were formed,” Rohik said. “I have such fond memories of cheering and coaching for TMB — so glad that it is still going strong!

BUT HOW IS IT STILL GOING SO STRONG? As far as maintaining the success of the program, Rohlik goes way back to when she was a child and took part in the TMB Mini Cheer Camp, which takes place every summer. This year, her daughter was one of more than five dozen little girls to learn what it takes to be a cheerleader at the one-day camp that serves as the program’s biggest fundraiser.

“We ask the local businesses to help support the team by donating money so the cost of the T-shirt and pom-poms is paid for and the cost of the camp can go toward our program,” said Bri Bruder, who has coached the team for seven years but is stepping away this winter so she has more time with her family. “We had a huge turnout this year; last year we had 42, so it’s grown a lot. The little girls love it.”

Bruder said she will be there to help her predecessor, Olivia Pauman, as she transitions into her new role. They both agree that the camp doesn’t only develop potential future cheer members, it provides those who are into things like cheerleading and dance a little something extra to do during the summer.

“It gives these girls an outlet for younger youth to be involved with,” Pauman said.

“There are things like basketball and volleyball, but I firmly believe it takes an artsy kind of person to be able to express their body with dance and cheer,” said Bruder, who besides cheer, also help coach the dance team. “It’s not for everybody, just like sports are not for everybody. There are more ‘boy’ things, so cheer has really increased a lot. They get to hang out with their friends — and they got pompoms in the deal!”

The mini camp is run by the TMB cheer team. Shockingly, Vang said she was a shy newcomer to the high school and said being on the cheer team helped bring out the bubbly personality that she is known for today as a senior. Now, she’s a leader on the team and relishes mentoring younger girls at camp.

“It can be stressful at times, but I love that there were so many girls — the more girls there is, the more fun it is,” Vang said. “Being a role model to them is definitely one of our responsibility as a cheerleader. I know some of the girls now, they were in cheer camp when they were little.”

Makayla Erickson, a base on the cheer team who has the privilege of throwing Vang, came a little later to the dance than Vang, as she didn’t get involved until she was a sophomore. Erickson didn’t come to school in Tracy until the sixth grade, and like Vang, she was a shy one growing up. As a mentor, Erickson hopes she can help young girls who might be somewhat hesitant and withdrawn come out of their shell.

PAUMAN’S BACKGROUND IS IN COMPETITIVE DANCE, so although she lacks cheerleading expertise, she knows what it takes to perform at a high level.

“The dance part, I know really well, and Bri is going to help me with the rest of it,” explained Pauman, who teaches special education at the high school. “But I am very excited to be involved with the school and the girls on the team.”

The expansion of the TMB cheer team has paid dividends in many ways, including the team’s presence at basketball games. Winter sports cheerleading was once a given at Tracy Area High School, but the inception of the dance team in the mid-90s, shifted the dynamics greatly. Girls who would otherwise have cheered, went to dance, and that program flourished, advancing to seven state tournaments. However, the program shut down after the 2021-22 school year. It’s no coincidence that cheerleading soon returned to the hardwood.

“We lost the dance team — we had one senior girl who decided she wanted to work instead of doing dance so she could save money for college,” Bruder said. “We had a relatively small team anyway, and it was like a domino effect — ‘I don’t want to do dance if so-and-so doesn’t want to do dance.’ The next thing I know, we’re down to one dancer, and you have to have a minimum of five on the floor.”

With the successful dance program going away seemingly over night, Bruder said the school needed another winter sport for girls, and thus, cheerleaders were back on the sidelines in the gym. The winter sports cheer teams are split up since there isn’t as much room to operate like there is on the football field.

Pauman said she would like to implement a halftime dance routine for basketball games this winter.

“I think this would give me a good kick-start to coaching fall on my own next year,” she said.

EVEN IF MOST ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE PLAYERS ON THE FIELD OR COURT, these cheerleaders — who work as hard in their practices as the athletes do in theirs — know they have an important role to play, whether the team they’re supporting is ahead by 20 points or down by 20. They bring their energy to the game to work to keep the fans involved. Certain cheers, Erickson said, are geared specifically to the crowd to increase that interaction as much as possible.

“We are finding more ways to get people involved,” said Erickson. “We have made up more cheers that the student section has fun with and gets involved with. We like to do cheers that get them to respond.”

Maintaining a positive attitude during games is vital to keeping fans into the game, Vang and Erickson said.

“If you’re excited and happy and going strong, (the fans) respond in the same way,” said Erickson. “I feel like you feed off of other people’s energy.”

“It comes with a responsibility,” added Vang. “It’s fun. We’re there as fans, but we’re also there to get your fans hyped for your team.”

Because fans are so emotionally invested into games, that can be difficult. This football season has had more downs than ups, as TMB has lost four out of seven games, and cheerleaders can sense when the fan base might not exactly be as into a game because of what is happening on the field.

“Sometimes the vibe is just not there,” Vang said. “We still have to be peppy and excited, but it’s also hard when no one else is.”