LAKE WALES, Fla. - Happy New Year Royals sports fans and welcome back to Royal Talk, Warner Athletics’ Q & A with Warner student-athletes. In this edition we sit down with Michael Claypool of the cheerleading squad under the direction of third year head coach Courtney Hall.
After a year of playing football at NCAA-II Lenior Rhyne College, Michael chose to leave and attend Clemson University. The sophomore from Fort Mills, SC then found his way to Lake Wales and Warner University. Here is more of our interview with Michael Claypool:
1) What were some of your concerns leaving a large school like Clemson and coming to Warner? Why the move?
Clemson was really big with a lot of activities, and I was afraid Warner was going to be way too small for me. I have found out that you pretty much stick with your five closest friends anyway, so the size of the school really doesn’t matter. I came to Warner for a couple of different reasons. One, I felt like Clemson was just a holding tank; it got me away from football and got me used to the normal college life. I went to Haiti over Christmas break and found out about an agricultural system called Aquaponics. This wasn’t offered at Clemson, and I wanted to study it. It just so happens that this system is at HEART. Couple that with Warner’s personal interest in students, and here I am!
2) When did cheerleading become a part of your life?
Cheerleading became a part of my life this summer. I worked as an intern at a church with Pastor Matt Roe at First Church of God in New Philadelphia, Ohio. They brought our youth group to HEART for a few days. Jason Roe kept trying to get me to come here, and actually tricked me into trying out in front of all of my kids. Kind of embarrassing!
3) Did having a football background help you in regards to cheerleading? (i.e...stunting, etc…)
Surprisingly yes. Football weight training is all about explosiveness and power. Power cleans are really similar to tossing a girl, so that strength training really helped. But the girls don’t like me to say I need to explode more and use more power. They like to be tossed high gently. Explode just sounds dangerous.
4) What are some of the differences in preparation between football and cheerleading?
Cheerleading is obviously a different culture than playing college football at Lenior-Rhyne. One thing that I really did not realize is how much of a team sport cheerleading really is. I know in football, it’s important to have a team and each person do their part. In cheerleading, if someone moves too far in, out, up, or over, someone falls. You really have to trust your teammates; there is very little room for error.
5) Has there been anyone on the squad that has helped with the transition?
The guys have helped a lot; particularly Edrick and Daniel. These guys both cheered and played other sports in high school. They have helped teach me how to handle being a guy on the squad and taught me how to do different things. Helen also has helped me a ton and has taught me some of the more complicated stuff. And I can’t forget to give a shout out to Mary Beth. She has fallen because of me so many times, yet she still lets me stunt with her. She has been very patient.
6) How would you describe your experience here at Warner so far?
I have really enjoyed being at Warner. It has been a great academic experience. I have enjoyed that the professors actually know my name and are willing to help me learn. It is because of the professors I have had this semester that I am thinking about grad school and possibly going to get my PA in the future. The students are awesome, too. There are a lot of cool people here. We really should be proud of our school. It’s an awesome place.
7) Is there anything you have learned about being in college and playing a sport? (Love it, hate it, pros, cons)
Football was a lot of time. We had two-and-a-half hour practices, not including weightlifting and watching game film and practice film. It was really hard to balance football, school and trying to have somewhat of a social life. I also came down with mono; trying to handle all of this while having mono was not the best experience of my life.
Cheerleading has kept me active and has made me have good time management. I have enjoyed the workouts and enjoyed having a team, as well.
8) What would you recommend to a freshman entering college and playing a sport?
I would say, “DON’T GET BEHIND!” You have to manage your time, because once you get behind in a class, it’s really hard to get caught up. Academics are the most important thing in college. If the school you are going to play at doesn’t have what you want to major in, you’re going to be in trouble once you graduate. Just pray about it and walk in the peace God gives you.