From cheering for the Blue and Gold of Oxford to cheering for the Maize and Blue of the University of Michigan, Amanda Szabo has come a long way.
The 2003 Oxford High Shool graduate is one of the newest editions to the U-M cheerleading team.
The college freshman now spends her Saturday afternoons in the fall on the sidelines of Michigan Stadium, rooting the Wolverines on to victory before more than 107,501 screaming fans.
“I was so nervous,” Szabo said of her first home game, which was Aug. 30 when Michigan took on Central Michigan. “It was such a rush.”
According to U-M Cheerleading Coach Pam St. John, each year 60-70 students tryout for the co-ed team and 32-38 are selected.
“It is very difficult for female athletes to make the team,” she said. “They must be good tumblers and good stunters.”
St. John had nothing but praise for Szabo.
“Amanda has very good overall skills and presents a very collegiate image,” she said. “Amanda is a very hard worker and as a freshman shows a lot of potential. She is well liked by her peers and her coaches.”
To keep in top form, Szabo said she and her fellow team members practice six hours a week and lift weights twice a week.
But Szabo is no stranger to the hard work and dedication it takes to become a good cheerleader.
Prior to the U-M, she cheered at Oxford Middle School for two years and high school for four years, with the last 2? spent on the varsity squad.
OHS Varsity Cheer Coach Kristy Gibson-Marshall “was really tough on us,” Szabo said. “She really worked our skills. So when I got here, I had the skills I needed.”
Szabo further honed her skills by teaching cheerleading at the Oxford-based Elite Gymnastics for 1? years and spending this past summer working as a cheer camp leader for the Howell-based Champion Cheerleading.
When she’s not cheering for the Victors, Szabo is majoring in Kinesiology (the science or study of human muscular movements) and contemplating a career in sports medicine.