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Lisa Welsh
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By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
You know you’ve seen him. THAT guy at CHEERSPORT and many major competitions along the southeastern seaboard is hard to miss with his big blonde wig, gold makeup, mardi gras beads and cheetah vest.
After seeing him three years in a row at CHEERSPORT, CHEERMaD wondered what the story was and we tracked him down after last weekend’s Xtreme Spirit~ Elite International Championship.
Under all that fierceness is Rick Hamlin of LaGrange, Georgia. During the six years he’s been a cheer dad, the father of Tiffany, 10, a Level 4 Allstar on three Cheer Alliance teams, has developed quite a following.
“At first, I wasn’t familiar with cheer moms and dads, as far as what they do,” he said. “But in my first year, some of the dads wanted to paint their faces for the competitions (like they do for the big college or professional games), he said. “I saw how the kids reacted; how they performed when they saw us.”
“So I kept doing this little thing and dress up in a crazy or unique kind of way, just to see the kids, as I walk down the hallway, turn around and give a smile,” he continued. “That’s what’s it’s all about.”
When he’s not “acting goofy,” at competitions, Rick is a law enforcement officer in a job where he says he’s seen the worst in people.
“I carry gun every day and I see a lot of really bad things,” he said. “There is so much bad in the world but then you go to CHEERSPORT or Athletic Championships and you see all these kids who are so involved in something so good. How can we not support them?”
Most of the time, two other Cheer Alliance Dads join Rick.
“They get dressed up as well but maybe not as much as I do,” he said. “I do it every time, I don’t care where it is, what we’re doing. If the kids are expecting me to be there, I’ll be there. I schedule my work around competitions.”
And while his job in law enforcement requires a level of seriousness to keep order in his community, Rick says Allstars keeps Tiffany and her friends out of trouble.
“It makes my heart swell, to see her do what she does. She just loves it, but I thought a little change might be good,” he said. “Nope. During spring break she wants to be in the gym, not go on vacation. That’s where her heart is.”
Tiffany as Cheer Alliance CHEERMaD
Rick said he managed to get Tiffany and some of her friends to the beach but they didn’t stay long.
“One of her friends said ‘The beach is nice, but the gym is where I’d rather be.’ To get a kid to say something like that is what it’s all about. There are so many venues for kids to get into trouble,” he said.
But he doesn’t just dress-up and where a blonde wig for Tiffany and her friends.
“If a team drops a stunt or doesn’t do a great job, I try to bring their spirits up when they’re done,” he said. “I’ll take a (walk) by them and the next thing you know, they are smiling and want to take a picture with me. It reminds them to not take it so seriously,” he said.
Some of those kids are on special needs teams and give him as much joy as he tries to give.
“Last Sunday, I walked around the corner and a little girl in a wheel chair saw me and screamed and just wanted to hold me. It made me so happy that my appearance made her jump for joy. I thought to myself ‘this is what it’s all about right here.’”
As much as he enjoys his following, Rick says he wishes more parents would get involved and offers CHEERMaD his assistance.
Tiffany and CHEERMaD Rick at Cheer Alliance's Father~Daughter Dance.
“I’m all for any kind of way to get more parents involved because this is all for the kids. I’m not ashamed, I’m not embarrassed to do what I can do for my kids. Underneath this wig, I’m bald as an egg,” he said.
“But if you go to Worlds, look for the blonde wig because that’s the only way I’m way I’m coming.”
By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
You know you’ve seen him. THAT guy at CHEERSPORT and many major competitions along the southeastern seaboard is hard to miss with his big blonde wig, gold makeup, mardi gras beads and cheetah vest.After seeing him three years in a row at CHEERSPORT, CHEERMaD wondered what the story was and we tracked him down after last weekend’s Xtreme Spirit~ Elite International Championship.
Under all that fierceness is Rick Hamlin of LaGrange, Georgia. During the six years he’s been a cheer dad, the father of Tiffany, 10, a Level 4 Allstar on three Cheer Alliance teams, has developed quite a following.
“At first, I wasn’t familiar with cheer moms and dads, as far as what they do,” he said. “But in my first year, some of the dads wanted to paint their faces for the competitions (like they do for the big college or professional games), he said. “I saw how the kids reacted; how they performed when they saw us.”“So I kept doing this little thing and dress up in a crazy or unique kind of way, just to see the kids, as I walk down the hallway, turn around and give a smile,” he continued. “That’s what’s it’s all about.”
When he’s not “acting goofy,” at competitions, Rick is a law enforcement officer in a job where he says he’s seen the worst in people.
“I carry gun every day and I see a lot of really bad things,” he said. “There is so much bad in the world but then you go to CHEERSPORT or Athletic Championships and you see all these kids who are so involved in something so good. How can we not support them?”Most of the time, two other Cheer Alliance Dads join Rick.
“They get dressed up as well but maybe not as much as I do,” he said. “I do it every time, I don’t care where it is, what we’re doing. If the kids are expecting me to be there, I’ll be there. I schedule my work around competitions.”
And while his job in law enforcement requires a level of seriousness to keep order in his community, Rick says Allstars keeps Tiffany and her friends out of trouble.
“It makes my heart swell, to see her do what she does. She just loves it, but I thought a little change might be good,” he said. “Nope. During spring break she wants to be in the gym, not go on vacation. That’s where her heart is.”
Tiffany as Cheer Alliance CHEERMaD
Rick said he managed to get Tiffany and some of her friends to the beach but they didn’t stay long.
“One of her friends said ‘The beach is nice, but the gym is where I’d rather be.’ To get a kid to say something like that is what it’s all about. There are so many venues for kids to get into trouble,” he said.
But he doesn’t just dress-up and where a blonde wig for Tiffany and her friends.
“If a team drops a stunt or doesn’t do a great job, I try to bring their spirits up when they’re done,” he said. “I’ll take a (walk) by them and the next thing you know, they are smiling and want to take a picture with me. It reminds them to not take it so seriously,” he said.
Some of those kids are on special needs teams and give him as much joy as he tries to give.
“Last Sunday, I walked around the corner and a little girl in a wheel chair saw me and screamed and just wanted to hold me. It made me so happy that my appearance made her jump for joy. I thought to myself ‘this is what it’s all about right here.’”
As much as he enjoys his following, Rick says he wishes more parents would get involved and offers CHEERMaD his assistance.
Tiffany and CHEERMaD Rick at Cheer Alliance's Father~Daughter Dance.
“I’m all for any kind of way to get more parents involved because this is all for the kids. I’m not ashamed, I’m not embarrassed to do what I can do for my kids. Underneath this wig, I’m bald as an egg,” he said.
“But if you go to Worlds, look for the blonde wig because that’s the only way I’m way I’m coming.”
