By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
SANTA MARIA — Amber Loredo didn’t make the first cheer squad she tried out for during the seventh grade. She let that motivate her, and now she’s a part of Santa Maria history.
Loredo became the first Santa Maria high school cheerleader to earn a scholarship to cheer at the collegiate level when she signed with Central Methodist University on Thursday at the Cougars’ gym. She started thinking about college cheerleading as a sophomore because of encouragement from coaches, family, friends and supporters in the community, and she’s thankful to have reached her goal.
“It’s very surreal for me,” Loredo said. “My coach (Vanessa Rivera) was, like, ‘Amber, you have to do college cheer.’ She saw a potential in me that I didn’t see at first. I had a feeling that I was going to keep going because I love cheerleading a lot and it’s something I’m really good at. I think I’ll be a good asset to the team.”
Rivera, Santa Maria’s cheer sponsor and a Cougars alumna, has known Loredo since she was a little girl attending cheer camps. She believes Loredo’s passion for cheerleading and work ethic will help her transition seamlessly to gracing the sidelines and competition floor for CMU.
“She’s very social, she’s so spirited and she’s literally the whole definition of a cheerleader. I’ve always said that about her,” Rivera said. “She’s super spirited. We gave her the spirited award twice at the end-of-the-year athletic banquet because she goes out there and she pumps up the crowd. Her jumps are insane. She’s just a leader, and she’s really good at what she does and she gives 110 percent all the time.”
Loredo was a four-year varsity cheerleader for Santa Maria and served as the co-captain as a junior. She also earned the captain title in eighth grade after not making the team the year before. She doesn’t have much experience with the tumbling and stunting that comes along with competitive college cheerleading, but she’ll be learning those skills from the best in Fayette, Mo.
The CMU competitive cheer team sat atop the Heart of America conference and was nationally ranked by the NAIA this season. The Eagles announced Wednesday they’ll be moving from the NAIA to the National Cheerleaders Association, saying it is “one of the most prestigious associations across the competitive cheerleading platforms,” and setting their sights on the well-known NCA Collegiate Nationals competition in Daytona Beach, Fla.
“I know college cheer is very different from high school cheer. There are more crazy stunts and tumbling, you have to be very loud in the big arenas, but I can adapt to things quickly and I know that I can do it. I’m so excited to learn,” Loredo said.
Rivera said she watched Loredo mature throughout the years and that she’s confident the recent graduate will do well as a student and athlete in the next chapter of her life. She called Loredo an inspiration for other Santa Maria cheerleaders and children in the tight-knit community.
“She’s the first cheerleader to get signed, so it’s, like, wow, and I’m so lucky and fortunate that I was part of it and I could be there for her,” Rivera said. “I always tell the girls, ‘You have little girls looking up to you.’ And the fact that she can go out there, it’s good for kids in a small community because they can say, ‘Oh, look, she’s from Santa Maria.’ I have full faith in her, and I know she’s going to do great.”
Loredo will be studying criminal justice at CMU. She was added to the cheer squad’s texting group chat last week and said she’s enjoying getting to know her future teammates. She’ll get to continue cheering on some Santa Maria classmates who will be competing for the Eagles in basketball.
“I never thought I would be moving 15 hours away … I’ve never been away from my family, but I won’t be alone anyway. I think it will be really good for me,” Loredo said.