Justin Dreywood and Brandy Vanderpool perform a "chair," a stunt new to the Brockport cheerleading squad this year. It takes a male's strength to complete this full extension lift.

Usually one thinks of gender barriers in sports as being challenged by girls - young women who want to play non-traditional sports like ice hockey, football or wrestling. In Brockport, four young men are challenging the concept of what a cheerleader is, at least locally, by being part of the varsity basketball cheerleading squad.

At the college level, male cheerleaders are par for the course; many teams have a one-to-one or nearly one-to-one ratio of male and female cheerleaders. But male cheerleaders are a much rarer species at the high school level.

Locally, Greece Olympia, Wayland-Cohocton, and Newark have male cheerleaders. This year marks Brockport's first fielding of male cheerleaders in seven years; there are four boys on the 26-member squad.

Varsity coach Theresa Hutchings purposely recruited males for her team this year, her second as the varsity coach. "I knew there were a lot of guys out there who would love to do this," Hutchings said, "but they're not willing to take on the razzing and teasing that's out there."

That razzing and teasing is the same type of thing that female athletes have long endured when engaging in a sport that's deemed less than feminine. The vocabulary used by the hecklers may be different, but the meaning is the same - don't challenge traditional concepts of male and female athletes, or be prepared for the name calling.

Some of the taunts Brockport's newest cheerleaders have to deal with - "Do you wear a skirt?" "Are you making your daddy proud?" "Are you gay or something?"

The Brockport guys don't let the comments get them down. In fact, it makes them more resolute to do a good job.

Teammate Becky Thomas agrees. "Our dedication has increased because they're putting so much into it."

"The flak mostly comes from other schools' teams and fans," Hutchings said. "We ignore it and do what we're there to do."

The four Brockport boys weren't given an automatic berth on the team - they had to try-out along with the girls. Try-outs included jumps, basic stunts and two cheers. The only thing the guys don't do that the girls do is dance.

Two-hundred pound sophomore Justin Dreywood played football for Brockport in the fall, but on a dare from his sister, Nicole, herself a Brockport cheerleader, he tried out for the basketball cheerleading team.

"We kind of argued this summer," Justin explained, "about which was harder - football conditioning or cheerleading conditioning. She dared me to try it and find out for myself."

Justin and the other young men on Brockport's squad - Eric Harvey, Travis Cholowsky and Fidel Rodriquez - have found out that cheerleading is a lot more physically demanding than most people realize.

"The first week I had muscles that really ached," Justin said, "because they weren't muscles that were used in football."

Having guys on the team adds a new dimension to the types of routines the Brockport squad can perform. The guys provide the strength for lifts and throws that can't be done on an all-female squad. "They're definitely going to improve our performance," Hutchings said. "It makes us more versatile."

Brandy Vanderpool appreciates having guys on the squad for the first time since she's been a cheerleader. "It's a lot better, we can do bigger stunts." Some of those bigger stunts are crowd pleasers (while turning parents' hair white), but the emphasis remains on safety, Hutchings said.

Brockport's cheerleading squad hasn't been a competitive threat in many years, Hutchings said, and she credits her immediate predecessor, Pam Setek, with starting the long process of building a competitive program. Bringing guys to the sport is part of that building effort.

A co-ed team does create some unique situations for the coach and students to handle. There is a lot of close body contact which can bring about some awkward moments. "We had a long talk at the beginning," Hutchings said. "about what is appropriate and what isn't. And we're all handling it pretty well."

Besides changing the dynamics of the performance, has the boys' presence changed the dynamics of team camaraderie?

"Well, it's changed some of what we talk about when we're just hanging out," Lindsay Anderson said. "But it hasn't changed it too much." Actually, the male cheerleaders have all been impressed by how accepting the female cheerleaders have been. "The girls really welcomed us," Justin said. And Travis added that the experience has been "ten times better than I expected it to be."

Fay Dreywood, who has long been the mother of a female cheerleader and who is experiencing her first season as the mother of a male cheerleader, feels that cheerleaders constantly fight a negative stereotype. "I think that girl cheerleaders have had to fight to be taken seriously. They're kind of written off and not given the respect that other dedicated athletes are given. Now the boys are here and they're going to have to fight the same battle."

At this point, Brockport's male cheerleaders don't see this season as a one-time fluke. They'll be back next year, and they expect other guys will be there, too.