Larios Leads A New Team

With the arrival of new head cheer coach, Special Education teacher Kenny Larios, the cheer team has seen some changes, but none of them more significant than the addition of boys to the team. 

Larios said that the idea behind allowing boys to be on the team was the fact that it enables the team to broaden their stunts and routines that require greater strength.

Larios has some first-hand experience when it comes to being a male cheerleader. After finding out he could no longer wrestle in 2007 due to health issues, he went to the school’s cheer coach and asked if he could sit in on a few practices. He eventually decided that cheer was something he wanted to try. 

“It was the first time I tried new things. It wasn’t an ‘I want it,’ it was an ‘I did,’” he said. He then went on to win the state title with his school in both 2007 and 2008, along with two consecutive national titles in 2009 and 2010. After graduating from Heritage High School in 2010, Larios went to cheer for Washington State until graduating with a degree in Elementary Education in 2015. 

Going into his first year coaching the team, Larios seems excited, noting that he is looking forward to seeing the progress and the memories build from day one of practices, as well as working together to improve. “They’re eager to win and they want to go far,” he said of the team.  

But Larios isn’t the only one excited about the upcoming season. “He’s making the season seem like it has a lot of potential,” said senior and varsity cheerleader Alison Sawyer.  She added that Larios is also introducing stunts and cheers from when he was in high school and college.

So far, the team has introduced two male cheerleaders to the team: junior Shawn Metcalf and sophomore Jacob Henderson. Both of the new cheerleaders will participate in the first cheer competition which will take place on Sept. 25.

Editor’s Note: For Fluco Beat journalist Angelica Carter’s recent student profile of Shawn Metcalf, click here.