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The East Palo Alto cheerleading team was founded nearly two decades ago in 2007 as part of the city’s only athletic association, the Greyhounds.
At that time, East Palo Alto resident Stephanie Swayzer was a child playing sports with the Greyhounds, said association founder Eric Stuart. Now, she’s helping take the cheer team to national championships for the first time ever.
“Cheer has always been my sport, I kind of fell in love with it,” Swayzer said. “I thought, if I can’t do it myself, I’d rather teach other athletes and see if they’ll fall in love with it too.”
And Swayzer has a feeling that they are, she said, reflecting on a handful of returning athletes, excited to compete for the first time.
The East Palo Alto Lady Dons cheer team qualified for the American Youth Football National Cheerleading Championship, and will compete in Kissimmee, Florida, in early December.
When the Lady Dons were first founded, kids mostly participated in sideline cheerleading for East Palo Alto sports teams. But the cheer program merged with the city’s Mastodons football team two years ago.
“Everywhere we went, they were there as well,” Stuart said.
Swayzer had the idea to begin participating in competitions this year, taking inspiration from her own childhood cheerleading experiences.
“When I went to Nationals at their age, I was shocked. I was surprised, happy, full of all different types of emotions,” Swayzer said. “I’m so excited to see how they feel when we get there, because none of them have ever been able to do this before.”
Before Stuart founded the Greyhounds, East Palo Alto didn’t have many athletic opportunities for local kids, and today, the opportunities are ever growing with a nationals-bound cheer team, and recently-approved city athletic field that will finally give the Greyhounds a homebase.
The kids are so dedicated to cheering that they’ve enlisted the help of their classmates to practice their routines at recess every single day, said Stuart, who is the vice principal of the East Palo Alto Primary School.
Evie Pulido, who is in fourth grade, has been equally dedicated, joining the team for three years in a row.
“I joined because I might have fun, but this year we’re going to compete and I’m excited to get our stunts to be better,” she said.
In response to questions about meeting new people, fifth grader Lauren Jackson said she has created friendships with all of her teammates.
“I’m excited to see what the nationals look like, what Florida looks like and to hang out with the girls,” she said.
Both girls said they hope to continue cheering in the future.
For many of the 10 athletes, the nationals will be their first opportunity to travel out-of-state and the team is fundraising via Gofundme to help cover travel, uniform and lodging costs.
Looking forward, Swayzer hopes to help grow the Lady Dons even more and welcome kids who aren’t currently participating in extracurricular activities, because the team is an opportunity for kids to learn skills beyond athletics, she said.
“It kept my head straight in school, because if I didn’t have good grades, I couldn’t cheer,” Swayzer said. “So I tell them, ‘You’re a student athlete, and you’re a student before an athlete.’”
After this season, she looks forward to more opportunities to compete.
“I’m pushing and trying to see how far I can take it,” Swayzer said.
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