Published: July 15, 2008 11:44 pm            

Something to cheer about

College on the Horizon for two ex-DHS captains

Dalton High athletic director Ronnie McClurg said it’s rare for cheerleaders from his school to have the opportunity to extend their careers to the college level.

This summer, two senior captains from last year’s team made college squads, with Carson Swanson heading to Georgia Tech and Lindsay Joyce to Georgia Southern.

“I’m very proud of them,” McClurg said. “It’s not an easy thing to do, to go and compete at that level and make the squad. We haven’t had a lot of ladies from DHS make it to the college level from one squad, so I was really excited for them and their families. Both are quality young ladies that will represent their universities very well because of their leadership qualities and intelligence.”

Dalton High cheerleading coach Tammy Poole, who cheered for Middle Tennessee State University, has been with the Catamounts for three seasons and has a relentless commitment to her squad, McClurg said.

“I try to talk to all the girls about college,” Poole said. “And I model the program around college. At DHS, the football games have more fans than some colleges. So I’m running the sidelines and doing the same things that college coaches do. The way I run the practices, they’re a little prepared. And I also tell them about open workouts and clinics.”

Swanson had her tryout with Tech in Atlanta in late April along with what she estimates were 60 other girls. Twenty-three made the squad.

The following week, results of who made the squad were posted on Tech’s Web site. Swanson checked with her mother and grandmother and was relieved to learn she had made the squad, although initially she was stressed out.

“My name was at the bottom of the list because they put the names in alphabetical order,” Swanson said. “I was scrolling down and didn’t think I saw my name, but I finally did and got real excited. It was a relief because I had been in a bad mood after tryouts because everything was out of my control.”

Swanson said she chose Tech because it’s a smaller school that is close enough to home that her family can attend the games. Also, she’s a big fan of the city of Atlanta.

She’ll have a challenging work load mixing in pre-med studies with cheering and plans to take advantage of the school’s joint-enrollment program with Emory, where she’d like to eventually transfer.

She will cheer for the football, basketball and volleyball teams. The squad will also perform at the National Cheerleader Association championship at Daytona Beach, Fla.

She’s looking forward to cheering at the football games, but admits she’s a little nervous about the prospects of appearing on national television.

“It will be exciting being on the football field in front of all those people,” Swanson said. “It’s a little nerve-wracking to think about being seen by everyone on TV, and it will be weird getting that first phone call from someone saying ‘Hey, I saw you on TV,’ but it will be fun.”

Joyce had her tryout with Southern in Statesboro in late May and found out the good news three days later from her parents, who checked the school’s Web site. She was at Dalton High when she heard the news.

“I was real nervous,” Joyce said. “I didn’t know if I had made it or not and it was a lot scarier than when I tried out in high school.”

Joyce was one of only nine girls to make the squad out of what she estimates were 40 at the tryout.

Southern was her school of choice because she likes the small-time college atmosphere and she was a fan of its cheerleading squad, she said. Though she’ll be nearly five hours away from home, she’ll see some familiar faces in Statesboro.

Catamounts football and baseball standout Mackie Sheets will try out for the baseball team, and football and track and field standout Cameron Hudson expects to be a walk-on for the football team, which Joyce will be cheering for.

“Cameron will make (cheering on the college level) normal because I know him,” she said.

Both Joyce and Swanson expect intense practices and a heavy workload. Poole, who has already experienced what these girls are about to go through, has some advice for them.

“They have to make sure they stay focused,” Poole said. “Between school and cheerleading, there are so many things thrown at you, with appearances in the community, pep rallies, pre-game activities that last all day and extra practices. It’s important to stay organized. They should think of it as a job.”

        

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