Ethan Cunningham tumbles his way onto Cedarville cheer By ~aggie Fipps Ethan Cunningham stands out in the crowd. Maybe it's his confidence that exudes from his friendly demeanor. Or his distinct style, complete with a Trader Joe's tote bag. Or his lnstagram profile, which features pictures of him and his girlfriend alongside images from classic movies like "A Streetcar Named Desire." Or his love of kombucha, which he detailed with the same love as a wine connoisseur. Ethan Cunningham "I kept sipping on it, and the more I drank it, the more I enjoyed it," Cunningham said . Or perhaps his most interesting hobby, cheerleading, which he came to enjoy as slowly as kombucha. Not only is Cunningham the only mate member of Cedarville's cheer team, but his college cheer experience is his first ever in the sport. He stumbled into tumbling in third grade, as he dabbled with the bars, mats and beams at gymnastics. Here, his love for stunting grew, which incidentally is an integral part of cheerleading. However, growing up he didn't get to use the skills much 24 CED.RS Photograph by Julia Mumford except as an occasional party trick. Evidently, tumbling is like riding a bike, once you learn, you never forget it. A friend convinced him to come to an open gym for the cheer team at the beginning of this school year. "I was just messing around and the coach said, 'Can you please join?"' Cunningham said. Cunningham was indecisive. Did he have enough time or talent to commit to a sport? Finally, he came down to a crucial question . "What's the worst that could happen7 So I said yes," Cunningham said. The core aspects of cheer are different depending on the context. At Cedarville, they cheer on the sidelines at basketball games and incorporate chants, dances and pompoms to spur on large crowds. "Our ultimate goal is to support the pep band and the student section's efforts and get the energy going at games," said Abigail Pleiman, cocaptain of the team. They also do shows at halftime or school events that feature tumbling and stunts, which is where Ethan's role is crucial. "He's been good for stunting and tumbling," said Ashlyn Staggs, the other co-captain of the team. "It's nice having guys for strength . Usually, they're better for basing and Ethan can tumble, so that's a good asset." Cedarville cheer is considered a sport at Cedarville University, with a 10-person team for the 2022-2023 season . However, its numbers and events have dwindled over the years with changes in coaching . "It used to be more fun stunting and more people who like to tumble and are willing to put in the commitment for it," Staggs said . "It does take commitment if you want to be a good team cohesively working together. I think that people who are in charge want it to be more of a stunt-based thing , and I hope they can eventually get there ." As Cedarville began to build the program up, the 2022-2023 team was comprised of a lot of new faces, including Cunningham. "A lot of people start out really young, but with a fresh set of people who've never cheered before, it's teaching the basics and being able to do it well," Staggs said. With the potential for growth comes the potential for frustration and failure . Cunningham's optimism has served him well as he develops as a teammate and athlete. "Whenever I would mess up doing tumbling or some flip, I would think 'Gosh, I'm the worst person ever at this'," said Cunningham. "And other times I would do things that I had never done for a stunt and I'd be like 'Oh my gosh! This is great I'm doing really well."' "I had to get over this hump of thinking you're not going to be good at everything as soon as you start doing it." In cheer, mental blocks can become impenetrable after someone Spring 2023
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