Victoria Heppner is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Shadow Ridge High School for AZPreps365.com. 

When Kaleb Krug casually did a backflip at Shadow Ridge's homecoming football game his freshman year, he practically secured a spot on his school’s cheer team.

Krug, now a junior, was asked by multiple cheerleaders and their coach if he would be willing to join the squad after they saw the potential that he had.

Krug agreed to join, but had no idea what to expect. This was his first time being on a sports team and it happened to be on a team made almost entirely of girls.

“I’ve never really done sports in my life but I have always been sort of athletic,” Krug said. “This is the first team that I have been on and it’s good to feel included.”

Krug joined the cheer team halfway through his freshman year and has stuck with it since, being one of the only boys on the squad since he began.

Krug said that being on the squad was awkward and almost scary at first but he acknowledged the confidence it has given him. “I’ve always been awkward around girls,” Krug said, “but by being on the team I have been able to gain self confidence in interacting with people.”

Although this is Krug’s first time cheering and playing a sport in general, he has adjusted well despite the workload that school and cheer presents to him.

“At first I had a lot of trouble balancing school and cheer because it was the first time that I had ever done school and sport,” Krug said, “but now in my junior year, I think I have been able to get it down pretty well.”

Now that he has been on the squad around two years, Krug has perfected being a student athlete with the help of the support from those involved in his life.

He credits his parents and sister for supporting him and his choice to be on the cheer squad and said he would not be where he is without the encouragement from his parents. He praised his parents for being someone that he can look up to.

“They are some of the most hardworking people that I have ever met,” Krug said. “They always find time for me and my sister and no matter what is going on in their lives and they always push through.”

He also thanked his friends for being supportive through the process. “All of my friends support me,” Krug said, “they just think that it’s kind of goofy because I am a bit of a cowboy.”

Though being on a cheer team may seem goofy to others, Krug is serious about his position on his team and making himself and those around him better.

Krug has stepped into a role of supporting others this season after three boys, all of which play football, joined him on the squad this year.

Krug (second from right) with his three teammates that are on the football team, (from left to right) Justin Hernandez, Julian Verdin, and Jason Hernandez. 

The three football players had no experience with cheer when they joined the squad, much like when Krug joined his freshman year, and Krug felt that he had to help them as they became immersed into the squad.

“I kind of had to be the guy to step up if one of the boys doesn’t understand what it is they need to do,” Krug said. “Coach Daye always asks if I can go help them out if they are struggling.”

Krug stepped into a leadership role on the team this year with more boys joining the team but had to face an extremely difficult obstacle before getting there.

Krug suffered a shoulder injury this March from a dirt bike accident and was forced to cease all athletic activities in order to recover.

Krug admitted that the recovery was a tough process but he knows that he has come out stronger and is ready to compete this season.

“I knew that because I was the only boy that had been on the team for two years,” Krug said, “that I had to step up and be the best version of myself that I could be. So I just pushed myself twice as hard.”

Instead of giving up on his love and passion for cheer after suffering an extreme injury, Krug pushed himself and became stronger, faster, and more focused in his efforts with the squad.

He used this injury as an opportunity to grow rather than let it bring him down and he has seen improvement in his stunts and routines.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how much he has grown as an athlete,” cheer coach Daye Smalley said. “He has come such a long way since the shoulder injury and continues to keep getting better.”

Krug said this is the strongest he has ever felt and hopes that this strength will continue to help him and his team perform well, and possibly get noticed by college coaches.

Krug expressed interest in cheering in college and said his dream would be to cheer at Arizona State University as well as enroll in its engineering program.

“I would like to join the Air Force as an officer and I know that engineering may be my one way into that,” Krug said, “but I love doing cheer so much so I would like to continue doing that in college.”

The future looks bright for Krug as he continues to compete for his high school team, which placed second last year, and as he looks ahead to the opportunities cheer presents to him.