A dabble in cheerleading his senior year at West High School launched David Schuch in a whole new direction.
Just completing his fifth and final season cheering for the Central Michigan University Chippewas, Schuch recently took sixth place in the Partner Stunt Competition at the 2006 College Cheerleading and Dance Team Competition, held in January 13-15 in Orlando, Fla. His partner for the past year has been Renee Verscheure, a sophomore at Central and a native of Rochester. The duo presented a one-minute routine that they choreographed themselves to judges, one of 21 other colleges putting their best pair forward.
"Partnering is hard, you're throwing non-stop," said Schuch, a 2001 West High School graduate who is captain of the Chippewas cheerleading team. "She's got to be flexible and you've got to be able to work together." "She gets points for smiling and looking like she's not scared, so she gets all those points for us," he added of the scoring process.
Joining the CMU team as a freshman, Schuch has transformed his interest in and aptitude for cheerleading into a full scholarship to Morehead State University in Kentucky. After completing a degree in secondary special education and physical education this spring at Central, he will head to the cheerleading powerhouse in the fall to pursue a master's in special education.
During the three-year period there, which will include time student teaching, Schuch has one main goal: be part of a national championship team.
Morehead State is already a 21-time national champion and coach Tony Nash actively recruited Schuch during a summer cheerleading camp. Schuch will begin next season with a starting spot on the Eagles' squad and a determination to be part of a first place team next January.
"I want to win a national team title," said Schuch, who played football and baseball for the Titans and was also a member of the school's power lifting team.
"I think that's much more prestigious because when the team is on the floor you have 16 people doing the same thing," he added.
While partner cheerleading is physically challenging for the duo, a team event requires exact timing, teamwork and precision among 16 people. One allure of having just two people in the spotlight, however, is that the routines allow more flash.
"It's kind of cool because you can do a lot more things when it is just you and one girl than you can with a team," said Schuch, though he does not plan to pursue partner competitions at Morehead.
Schuch and Verscheure were also part of the 16-person Central Michigan University cheerleading team that placed 14th overall out of 19 college teams at the Orlando competition. Cheerleading since middle school, Verscheure praised Schuch's leadership and work ethic.
"He's really dedicated and works really hard toward what he wants," she said. "I think I've learned pretty much everything elite from him." "I trust him completely -- you kind of have to in order to do the stunts we do," Verscheure added.
In addition to a nearly year-round cheerleading season, Schuch has taught at cheerleading camps for the past five summers. He has worked with students ages four through college, honing his teaching skills for a future special or physical education career that he hopes might take him overseas.
"I love teaching," Schuch said. "Especially with special education, I like that if I could make one kid laugh one time that day, that may be the only time they laugh that week." Since the tentative beginning in the sport five years ago under the direction of then-coach Lori Tulgetski, cheerleading has taken Schuch a long way. He has gained scholarships, trophies, leadership and teaching experience plus jobs, things he never imagined after cheering four games for the Titans.
"I tell you what, there's no way I would have gotten a scholarship in football or baseball, I wasn't good enough," he said, adding of his first years at CMU: "It's a great place to start to learn how to cheer and compete on a national level. I just came in at a good time."