Following in mother's footsteps
Cheerleader rallies Patriots like mom did 25 years ago
By BOB LABBE
For the Madison Spirit
bob0873@yahoo.com
Maureen Jankowski says seeing her daughter, Natalie, wearing the red, white and blue cheerleader uniform at Bob Jones High School is like looking at herself in high school.
Maureen remembers back a quarter of a century to when she, too, wore the cheerleader uniform of the Patriots. Maureen and Natalie are thought to be the only mother-daughter cheerleaders in the school's history.
Maureen Fallon graduated from Bob Jones in 1980. She played softball and was on the school's cheerleader squad. Natalie is a freshman at Bob Jones and, like her mother before her, played softball and is a member of the cheerleader squad.
"I didn't realize she was a cheerleader at Bob Jones until I began my tryouts for my position on the cheer squad," Natalie said.
"I still have a few of my uniforms I wore as a member of the cheerleader squad," Maureen said.
Natalie, 14, seems to be more advanced in cheering than her mother was at the same age. Much of that advancement comes from the fact that the makeup of a cheerleading squad is different than it was 25 years ago.
"The squad today practices all the time and they have what are called competitive squads," Maureen said. "The squad today is like a sport of its own."
Natalie said she loves being a cheerleader. It is a lot of hard work to be a cheerleader, but it is important at school. "Everyone expects us to be school leaders," she said. "At times, it is tough being a cheerleader because of that fact and the fact fellow students ask us lots of questions that they expect us to know the answers to."
After graduating from Bob Jones, Maureen attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville where she earned a degree in industrial engineering. While attending the university, she met her future husband, Lee Jankowski. Maureen and Lee have been married for 19 years. They also have a son, Brett, 10. Maureen works for Boeing as a software engineer.
Natalie is ninth grade at Liberty Middle School. She began her cheerleader work a year ago at St. John's Catholic School. Her handsprings and overall tumbling talents made her a natural at cheerleader. She chose to try out at Bob Jones and after day one of the weeklong tryouts, Natalie thought of quitting, but a friend encouraged her to stay with cheerleading. At the completion of tryouts, the names of those who passed the intense, physical squad preparations were posted at the school.
"Natalie and I drove to the school to see if she had made the squad," Maureen said. "We walked up to the display board and saw her name listed. We were both very emotional about the great news and we hugged."
Natalie said she looks up to her mother for help on being a cheerleader, especially for help with her hair and makeup. "My mother and father are very supportive," she said. "As for my mother, she is very loving and caring and seems to be a good friend."
Natalie has also made the junior varsity softball team.
Maureen said she is very proud of her daughter and "I am very proud of Natalie following in my footsteps."
© 2004 Huntsville Times. All rights reserved
