THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411120065
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARITY GENT, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Given 50 guesses as to what two Lakeland High School wrestlers do in the preseason, you would probably never guess.
Instead of lifting weights, junior g3cgcheer Gent Brian Barnes and senior Ellis Temple are lifting girls. Wrestlers Barnes and Temple are also cheerleaders, the first male cheerleaders in the school's history.
Before tryouts last spring, Brian, 17, and Ellis, 18, knew nothing about cheerleading. With the help of Peter Dowle, a cheerleader at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach, the pair learned stunts, chants and lifts. The stunts came easy; the cheers, the guys admit, took longer to learn.
Lakeland students and faculty first caught a glimpse of what Barnes and Temple knew about cheering in early September at the school's first pep rally. Long hours of summer practice paid off, and the crowd loved the show.
``It was the best pep rally Lakeland has ever had,'' said U.S. history teacher Richard Ewell.
Both boys admit they felt a little nervous at first about cheering. ``I wasn't nervous about the student reaction,'' Barnes said, ``I wanted all the stunts to be executed just right.''
Temple said he considered cheering because he wasn't interested in football. Lakeland's other male fall sport, cross country, was not for him.
Barnes got interested in cheering at last year's pep rallies as he watched the girls. He transferred to Lakeland last year from Florida, and two friends from there inspired him to try out for the squad.
Barnes believes he and Temple have helped the squad gain support around the school. ``The cheerleaders are given more respect, and the guys add diversity,'' he said.
Girls on the squad agree with Barnes. ``These guys add more than respect, they add strength,'' said varsity cheerleader Kristie Rountree, a junior. ``We can do stunts that we could never dream of before.''
Male cheerleading is different from female cheerleading. ``We are not allowed to move our hips or legs,'' Temple said. ``We do sharp cuts and mostly use megaphones.''
That's OK with Barnes.
``I'm glad we're not allowed to move our hips,'' he said. ``The girls do the dances a lot better. It would take forever for me to learn the moves.''
Besides helping the squad, both guys say that cheerleading has helped them. Temple is staying in shape and Barnes has developed a more cheerful attitude.
``Being a cheerleader means you have to always smile,'' Barnes said. ``Now I smile even when my day is going badly.''
Both young men will cheer during boys' basketball season while also wrestling. Temple plans to cheer in college and Barnes plans to cheer for Lakeland next year. He hopes that other males will join him in the fall. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Ellis Temple, above, and Brian Barnes, below, encourage the crowd to
cheer during a football game. They are Lakeland's first male
cheerleaders. Both are also on the school's wrestling team.
by CNB