Male’s meal ticket is cheering

BUXTON — Dave Johnson says he’s a pretty good soccer player, but he’s banking on cheerleading to get him a scholarship to Hawaii Pacific University.

Johnson, a senior at Bonny Eagle, is one of about a dozen male high school cheerleaders in the state. The 18-year-old captain last month led his team to its third consecutive state championship.

“They (students) don’t give him a hard time because he’s very athletic,” said Jeff Frankland, the Bonny Eagle cheerleading coach.

Instead of ridicule, students have enjoyed watching Johnson throw cheerleaders in the air, hold them in the air and do backflips across the gym floor.

“It’s evolved into a sport,” Johnson said. “It isn’t just going out there and saying `rah, rah.’ ”

Johnson began learning gymnastics when he was 5 years old. By the time he turned 8, he was winning gymnastics competitions around New England.

Johnson joined the squad when he was a freshman and there was one other male cheerleader on the team. Last year, there were three males, but this year, Johnson is alone, surrounded by 14 girls.

“I believe he is by far the best male that has come through Maine,” said Frankland, a former cheerleader at the University of Maine.

Last week Johnson videotaped himself performing routines and sent the tape to Hawaii Pacific. He’ll hear from the school in April.

Heidi Deininger, sports services coordinator and coach of the cheering squad at Hawaii Pacific in Oahu, said nearly 300 male and female cheerleaders from around the country apply for the few open spots on the squad of 10 men and 10 women. The school provides full-tuition scholarships to cheerleaders.