Being athletic has always been a part of sophomore Jordyn Garcia’s life.

From t-ball to competitive cheer leading to softball conditioning and cheer leading at sport games. From the age of 4 to being 16 in high school, she’s always been involved.

Garcia loves it. She loves the adrenaline she gets during those two or three hours when playing softball. She admires the independent aspect of being responsible for pitching and/or catching the baseball. The constant focus and running around the field required for the sport is what motivates her as she gets ready for softball practice.

“My dad put me in it and I just stuck with it because it was fun,” the sophomore said.

When she was around eight years old, Garcia decided to take up cheer leading.

“I don’t like that people keep saying that it isn’t a sport because it requires as much agility as anything else,” Garcia said.

Strength. Perseverance. Skill. Patience. Presentation.

According to Garcia, cheer leading requires a lot of memorization and teamwork. Her favorite thing about football season is being a huge support to the football players. Admitting that at times the large crowd that football brings overwhelms her at times, but having her friends beside her reassures her of the fun they have.

Too tall. Too big. Afraid of heights.

Garcia’s a base in cheer leading, meaning that she’s under the person who is being thrown up in the air. She believes that the position allows her to show off her strength and be trustworthy enough to have someone depend their safety on her job.

The sophomore has a tendency of being responsible and supportive.

Despite her freshman year incident where she broke an ankle right before they began playing softball, Garcia tried her best to go out and watch the games, for both cheer leading and softball.

“That was really devastating for me,” she said. “I was really looking forward to being on a high school softball team, but I just ended up sitting out for a long time which was horrible.”

Conditioning again for softball, she hopes to actually play this year.

Garcia will continue to have the loud and peppy demeanor she needs to support the football players in front of large crows, then work hard to stay focused on the softball field.