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“One, two,” shouts a lone, deep, male voice at the back of a cheer formation. Two hops and the flyer steps into the bracing hands of her teammates, her own hands gripping their shoulders. The hands bracing her then boosting her up, as she tightens every muscle in her body, balancing herself as she stands high in the air. Despite her intense concentration on her balance, she maintains a charming smile at the crowd and advances to the shoulders of her teammates below. She waves and chants encouragements to the players and fans, positivity oozing from each syllable. Then the command “up down” comes and she free falls backwards, seeing nothing but the sky above, trusting in her base to catch her. Behind her stands the only male cheerleader on the team, arms extended, waiting to catch her as she falls back.

This man knows he is the only barrier to stop her from hitting the ground. This man is Thomas Daniels (So.). He’s known by many names. Some students call him “Shades” (because he wears sunglasses 24 hours a day). He would like you to call him Lamar, but his real name is Thomas Daniels. Daniels is a pursuing a theatre arts degree at Grand View University. He is involved in many clubs and organizations including Theatre Club, Swing Club and International Club. He is also the first male to be on the team.

“It’s been fun so far,” said Daniels who has been on the squad since August 2015. “You ever been to an all-girl birthday where there’s just two guys? Daniels asked. “Well, try being just one guy.”

He said despite being the only male, he is building trust and confidence with his teammates, enough to throw them into the air and catch them safely on the way down. In a way, he holds their lives in his hands.

Daniels’ journey to Grand View has been an adventurous one. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Daniels came to the United States when he was 3 years old and was raised for a time in Tampa, Florida, and Atlanta before moving to Mason City, Iowa. He was recruited as a wrestler by Grand View and wrestled during the 2014-15 season, but when the opportunity to become a cheerleader presented itself, Daniels knew he had to take it. It was something more beneficial for him than wrestling, which was causing a physical strain upon him.

“Wrestling puts a toll on your body, and it wears you down. I need my body,” Daniels said. “I miss it, but since my major is theatre arts, I needed some directional skills, and cheer seemed like the more prominent thing to do.”

To make the team, Daniels competed in a physically intense audition in which he had to give his all to prove himself capable.

“There’s no slacking in tryouts,” Daniels said. “I have to do everything they do, be attentive, precise and show everything’s cool.”

His hard work (and many toe touches) paid off. He made the squad, and instantly his coaches knew the potential he had not only for himself but also for the team.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better guy for our first one (male cheerleader),” said Angel Fazio, the assistant cheer coach. “He’s been so coachable. We had over 50 girls at tryouts, so I had to cut 30 people, which shows you how much work goes into cheerleading.”

Fazio, a former Grand View cheerleader, is in her second year coaching but has never worked with a male cheerleader before.

Recently NAIA rules have changed allowing co-ed teams to compete against all-woman teams during competitions. During the last regional competition, Grand View was one of the few schools without any males. However, despite the inexperience of working with a male cheerleader, Fazio said she trains Daniels like the rest — and it’s working.

“Not only is he helping us with stability and balancing,” Fazio said. “But also with timing and uniformity. Thomas is a vocal leader and his voice stands out from the rest when he calls cadence.

Fazio said having male cheerleaders is extremely valuable to a team because often they can single-handedly do a portion of a stunt that would otherwise take three women to perform. Having more male cheerleaders allows for more stunts to be performed with greater complexity.

“We haven’t been able to do (some stunts) in the past because our girls just weren’t strong enough; but now having guys who are just stronger and have a longer reach allows us to do more stunts,” Fazio said.

Daniels has only been a cheerleader for two months, but he continues to work on improving his technique and broadening his skills by listening to his coaches and captains. He has even received mentoring from another male cheerleader Rob Fowler, who was an NCAA National Championship winner for the University of Kentucky cheerleading team. Fowler, originally from Boone, Iowa shared his expertise with the team and offered bits of advice about form, unity and technique.

“Thomas is doing very well,” Fowler said. “If I can teach him the right technique, he’ll be able to lift a girl up there. He’ll be sore afterwards, but he’ll be flying high.”

Although he is new to the Grand View squad, Daniels is no stranger to being around and working with cheerleaders. While going to high school in Mason City, he was the school’s mascot and had the role of pumping up the crowd.

When he quit wrestling to pursue cheerleading, he faced scrutiny from friends and teammates and was the subject of stereotyping. Daniels didn’t let that dampen his spirit.

“Honestly, you can think whatever you want to, but I’m happy,” Daniels said.

Despite the initial misgivings and suspicions many others were glad to see him on the team including his new teammates.

“Because of his ability, we are able to step out of our boundaries and incorporate different people in the university into really appreciating cheerleading,” said Andi Bagley co-captain of the cheer team.

Other teammates, coaches and mentors alike agree that the potential for the Grand View cheer team is sky high with the incorporation of men into the program. No one is more confident in his role than Daniels himself.

“I’m fine being called a cheerleader. If you get the chance to be on a team that has a set of goals and you get to fire up the crowd, then let’s go,” Daniels said.

Daniels will not be alone for long however. His position and confidence has attracted interest from other men who are considering trying out for the squad. Destiny Collins (So.), a member of the Grand View basketball team is already in the process of joining the cheer squad.

“I saw (Daniels) during a football game, and I thought; man, they need one more to balance it out. Hopefully we get more guys to join,” Collins said.

Daniels is paving the way for other men to join and is bringing new energy to Grand View athletics. With a more balanced cheer squad, their potential for continued success is greater than ever before. As for Daniels, he just shrugs, smiles, goes back to work and says his favorite phrase: “Stay frosty, my friends. Stay frosty.”