A big part of the Warriors cheer squad is Madelyn Romero.
Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain

 

Madelyn Romero is a junior leader on the Socorro Warriors cheerleading squad. She has been cheering since her eighth-grade year.

Question: How did you get involved with cheerleading?

Answer: My mom and I both grew up dancing and when there were openings on the team here, tried out and made the team.

Q: What does it take to be a good cheerleader?

A: Honestly, it takes passion. You have to sacrifice a lot to do this. At the same time you have to have a very peppy personality. Be willing to learn things too. In the beginning for example I didn’t want to learn stunts and now I love it. Like any sport you have to be open minded.

Q: What type of stunts do you take part in?

A: Myself and a couple of the other girls are bases. Meaning we lift the other girls up on their feet and sometimes flip them in the air.

Q: How much practice goes into your routines?

A: It takes a long time. Several years of practice helped to get us to the point we’re at now. We work all the time to get better.

Q: What draws you to cheerleading?

A: I absolutely love it. I’ve been into the spirit as well as some of the volunteering we do. I love the school spirit which is something we could use a lot of right now. Being a part of that and being able to stand out in front of my friends. Trying to make my classmates happy and bring more spirit to our school.

Q: How do you plan on improving your cheerleading skills going into the final year and a half with the Warriors?

A: We have competitions coming up soon which will definitely test what our team can do. Other than that just practicing and pushing myself every day. I just want to be the best that I can.

Q: Who is your favorite athlete?

A: I’ll go with Peyton Manning. My favorite team is the Broncos and he brought us a Super Bowl. I grew up loving watching him.

Q: What is your favorite Olympic sport?

A: I like gymnastics. It’s similar to what we do. I love watching everything from floor routines to beams. Women gymnastics is great to watch.

Q: If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

A: Not to be so shy. Growing up I was not very sociable or vocal and joining the cheer team has changed all of that.

Q: What would you tell a younger cheerleader coming up to do in order to be successful?

A: I would tell them anything is possible. Have fun with it because if you do then that is when you can really achieve your goals. It doesn’t matter what shape or size you are. You can do it.

Q: If you could have dinner with one famous person in history, who would it be?

A: Beyonce. I grew up loving her music. I know all of her songs. She pretty much put a ring on it for me.

Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain Sports Editor