Unlike other fans who are content with cheering their team from a couch or stadium seat, cheerleader Kaitlyn Baran has always wanted to be in the action.
“I’ve never been a fan in the stands,” she said. “I love being down in the action and really motivating the players and just being a big family.”
Baran, a senior exercise and sports science major, started cheerleading when she was 4. As she became older, she became more serious about cheerleading “in a great way” when she started training.
“I started to realize that there were a lot of different components to cheerleading like tumbling, so I went from just standing on the sidelines doing cheers yelling ‘Go team go,’ to being placed in the weight room and in a gymnastics facility really training,” she said.
Baran eventually became the junior varsity captain of the cheerleading team at Steel Valley Senior High School in Munhall, Pennsylvania and was the first junior in the school to ever become the captain of a varsity squad. She also won an MVP award at NSU and enjoys competing at the collegiate level as a back spotter, who is the tallest in a cheerleading stunt group.
“If we’re doing a basket toss, I reach contact on the flyer first,” Baran said. “I’m really in a lot of control of the stunt. I control the angle, stability. … The back spotter is also responsible for counting and making sure that everybody in stunt group remains on the same page and goes on the same count so the stunt can flow.”
I sat down with Baran so the NSU community can get to know her better.
What do you love about cheerleading?
“I love being challenged. I love being faced with a new tumbling pass or stunt and trying to nail it. I will
not leave the gym until I hit my skills. It’s like a competition, and I love that. It’s so exhilarating and I get
such an adrenaline rush from it.”
What’s your favorite part of any cheer routine?
“Definitely pyramids. It’s definitely our wow factor. Tossing girls up on top of other girls and having them do different flips in the air and just hearing the crowd’s reaction is awesome.”
What has been your most memorable moment cheerleading at NSU?
“My sophomore year we attended the 2013 Universal Cheerleaders Association College Nationals and it was the first time in a few years that NSU went, so that was really great. We made a statement.”
Do you have any pre-routine rituals or superstitions?
“I don’t have any rituals but right before I compete, I’m dead silent. I’m one of the most vocal on the squad but I don’t know if something comes over me right before I’m on. I get in my zone. … I don’t speak. I’ve gotten like that ever since I was 10. It happens every time. I just do it subconsciously.”
Who is your favorite athlete?
“I would have to say Hines Ward. He was a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, my favorite team. I grew up watching him.”
If a movie were made about your life, who would play you?
“I would have to say Sophia Bush. From how I’ve seen her in public, we’re pretty similar in how we carry ourselves.”
What are you goals for the future?
“I just applied to graduate school to get my doctorate in physical therapy [at NSU]. Right now, I’m not exactly sure what I want to specialize in. I think I want to do geriatrics.”
What’s one of your strengths?
“I work hard. I love the challenge. I love being presented with a new skill that looks really hard and tough and mastering it. I love progressing constantly.”
Weaknesses?
“I get frustrated easily. I’m used to being on a high-level team where things happen very quickly and you’re expected to hit it the first time, so when it doesn’t necessarily go that way, I’m quick to get a little discouraged. That’s definitely a weakness that I’ve been trying to work on.”
If you could play any other sport at NSU, what could it be?
“I would have to say softball. I played softball in high school. I played second base and I loved it. I love the game.
What’s your favorite post-competition meal?
“Any kind of pasta and fresh Italian bread.”
