Former cheerleader introducing Waelder girls to her passion

Cheerleading used to be what Michelle Malcik considered her “life.”

Malcik cheered throughout high school for McAllen, and even tried out for the Texas State all-girl cheer squad. She said she was “devastated” when she did not make the second cut for the squad.

Malcik, a special education teacher for Waelder ISD, now has a second chance at cheerleading. She is the faculty advisor for the Waelder pep squad, which she eventually hopes to upgrade to a cheerleading squad.

“I was approached about the pep squad two years ago, and I couldn’t resist,” Malcik said. “In addition to cheering on the Wildcats, I want to teach the girls self-confidence, team support and a love for the game.”

The Waelder pep squad is open to girls in all grades – K-12. However, most of the students are K-6.

The pep squad has been in existence for two years now. Members of the squad sit together along the front two rows of the Waelder side at sporting events, and they hold up signs of encouragement as well as lead cheers.

“I was excited when I first heard about the pep squad,” sixth-grader Isabel Vela said. “I hope we have a cheer squad by the time I get to high school.”

Vela’s wish may come true sooner than she anticipates. Malcik hopes to have a cheer squad for the next school year, which is music to the ears of many members of the pep squad, including sixth-grader K’Deja Monroe.

“As long as we have a squad of some kind, I’ll be on it,” Monroe said.

Monroe and Vela aren’t the only pep squad members who hope to have a cheer squad. Fellow sixth-grader Katie Benitez also wants one.

“I hope to be a flyer,” Benitez said. In cheerleading, the flyer is the person at the top of a pyramid or stunt. Malcik did not fly when she was a cheerleader.

“I lacked the coordination to be a flyer,” she said. “I love tumbling, though.”

Malcik has a background in gymnastics, which made tumbling easier for her. Tumbling consists of backflips, cartwheels and other types of gymnastic activities.

Malcik’s gymnastics background also helped her in the pole vault and swimming – in which she also competed in high school. But the pole vault and swimming just didn’t hold a candle to cheerleading.

“My favorite part about cheerleading was cheering in front of large crowds,” Malcik said. “When you lead the crowd in cheers, you feel like you’re helping the team win. I used to get in trouble in track practice for getting some of my track teammates to perform pyramids with me.”

Malcik is working toward getting her pep squad to feel like they’re helping the team win. While there is no tumbling or stunting involved yet, the pep squad girls enjoy what they do at the Waelder boys basketball games.

“I like helping the team stay motivated,” sixth-grader Keshaya Moore said.

“I like to get my cheer and my spirit on,” fifth-grader Asiuna Ford added.

Although the regular season is over, the pep squad will still have an opportunity to lead their crowd. That’s because the Wildcats are in the playoffs.

While there are many cheers, some of the girls like one more than the others. But some, like second-grader Nickolete Jefferson, have no preference.

“I like all of the cheers,” Jefferson said. “I love cheering, and I also like to dress pretty.”

In addition to her desire to be a flyer, Benitez said her favorite cheer is “Cookies and Cream.” A couple of other pep squad members expressed their favorite cheers.

“My favorite cheer is ‘W-I-N’,” sixth-grader Kanya Walker said.

“I like ‘Who Rocks the House’,” third-grader Dulce Mata added.

Mata also expressed her gratitude toward Malcik.

“Ms. Malcik is the best cheer teacher,” Mata said.

While many of the girls enjoy the cheers they learn and perform at basketball games, fifth-grader Bre Montgomery made one thing clear about Malcik.

“Ms. Malcik hasn’t taught us any crazy cheers,” Montgomery said.

In Malcik’s quest to upgrade from a pep squad into a cheer squad, she said the biggest obstacle isn’t teaching the girls how to tumble or build pyramids. The biggest obstacle for Malcik is money.

“We need funding,” she said. “We hope to get some money from fundraisers, and a little funding from school to help get it started.”

In addition to giving Waelder a home-court advantage at its home basketball games, Malcik wants her girls to have a positive experience with the pep squad – and possibly cheerleading.

“I want these girls to have something positive in their lives,” she said. “Cheerleading was once my life, and maybe it will become that way for some of the girls.”

Sounds like cheerleading might become Malcik’s “life” again.