Paoli High School had no male cheerleaders for 22 years until three curious guys gave it a shot in 2022, and only one of them continued cheering for the rest of their high school career. Little did a young sophomore know his curiosity would one day lead him to cheer at his dream college.
Senior Coy Busick started his cheer career for basketball in the winter of his sophomore year.
“I first started cheering my sophomore year during basketball season because our cheer coach, Heather Nichols, asked if I would like to cheer. She just asked if I would come to a practice, and I said sure. And I tried it and I somewhat enjoyed it. So I did it for my entire sophomore year, and decided to do it for the rest of my high school career,” said Busick.
Busick utilized his sophomore year to learn about cheer, gaining an understanding of the basics of stunting and chants during his first year with the squad. The following year, when Busick was a junior, he began to gain recognition from various colleges and attended different camps.
“I first started getting colleges reaching out to me in my junior year, asking if I would come to some of their clinics. My first clinic was at the University of Southern Indiana, and then I attended a clinic at Butler. After that, my junior year was over,” said Busick.
After his junior year, Busick gained lots of experience and confidence heading into his senior year. During his senior year, he attended numerous camps with Butler, and then he received an invitation from his dream school, Indiana University.
“I went to a lot of Butler camps, and then even IU had a couple of camps. I went to an IU camp in October and then one in February. When I went to the first IU clinic, I knew I wanted to go to IU to cheer. So I started doing private lessons with a couple of their cheerleaders,” said Busick.
After his camps, he began taking private lessons with the cheerleaders, once or twice a week, from January through the beginning of April.
“Since the beginning of Coy’s cheer career, he has always been motivated to do better each practice. He comes from a football-playing environment where the structure of practices can be more rigid than at an after-school cheer practice. Coy was always concerned about improving himself and those around him. Once he got hooked up with college-level cheerleaders, and he was motivated on his own to do better, I thought he might just have a shot,” said PHS Cheer Coach Heather Nichols.
On April 12, Busick found himself among 25 other guys vying for one of six spots on Indiana University’s co-ed squad.
As part of this tryout, you were required to send a video featuring two or three stunts, performing the fight song, and an introduction about yourself and your reasons for wanting to be on the team.
“At one point in the tryout, the coaches would send four of the guys out at a time, and they picked a random girl from everybody who was trying out, and you had to stunt with them. After that was done, we stunted with five to six different people. It felt more like an open gym, where two or three guys would stunt with six or seven different girls just so the coaches could see how versatile you were and see what stuff you can do with more than just one or two people,” said Busick. “This is where I felt I stood out among the rest of the candidates because I could stunt with anyone.”
At around 5 p.m., the teams were announced, and Busick fulfilled a dream of his by making the team.
“When I found out I made the team, I was super excited because ever since this whole cheer journey has started, cheering at IU was always my big goal because it’s such a big school and it’s super close to home, so my family and friends would be able to come watch me,” said Busick.
One of the first people he texted the news to was his high school coach.
“I cried my eyes out for him. Here is a kid who stepped so far out of his comfort zone and dealt with people making fun of him for doing something so different; it all paid off. He earned this opportunity, and no one can take that away from him. I am so proud of him,” said Nichols.
Since earning a spot on the team, his college lifestyle will be completely different. This summer, as a part of the cheer team, they will have their first team practice starting June 19. At the end of July, the cheer team will attend a UCA team camp in Wisconsin.
“Our team gets to go and work out together, but we’re also required to work out outside of those specific times. During the summer, while most kids are enjoying their summer break, the cheer team comes together two to three times and performs stunts. And then we go to a UCA camp in Wisconsin. But other than that, it’ll be a lot of time management compared to other college students because I also have to balance my normal school plus the cheer and team lifts, along with everything else that goes with being a college student,” said Busick.
As a member of IU Cheer’s Co-ed team, known as the Cream squad, Busick is one of 12 men and 12 women. This group will cheer at all home football and men’s basketball games, as well as any postseason games the cheer team travels to. Additionally, they will attend a few girls’ basketball games, as well as a game or two for volleyball and softball.
“The thing I’m looking forward to most is improving and being able to cheer in front of a large crowd and experience what it’s like on a game day at IU,” said Busick.
Busick is exceptionally grateful for all the help he has received throughout his experience, as well as the opportunities he has had.
“One thing I’ll take away is all the experiences and great people I’ve met throughout the journey, and also the important time management skills that it takes,” said Busick.
