A Revere High School alumnus has traded in his helmet and football pads for a scarlet and gray cheer uniform. Joe Pearl is one of few walk-ons that have made The Ohio State University Cheerleading team. He is also one of few Revere High School graduates that have made the college’s cheer team.

Pearl at first was not serious about joining the team. He mentioned that over the summer he and some of his friends were joking around with the idea. He then talked to Revere High Schools Cheerleading coach Kelly Staats. Staats helped him with some of the basics for cheerleading. When he arrived at Ohio State University, he went to a practice and decided to try out for the team. With no experience in cheerleading, Pearl explained that he had to find a way to get himself prepared for college cheerleading.

“When I got to school, I got in contact with Ohio State University’s head coach, Ben Schreiber. He notified me of any upcoming OSU cheerleading clinics and let me shadow a practice to get the gist of what they do. Through the clinics and going to practice, I became acquainted with some of the team members. In their free time, they would go to local gyms, and they would teach me how to stunt and tumble,” Pearl said.

Lexi Fye, Joe’s partner from camp explained what her first impression of Joe was.

“Our coach set us up as official camp partners, which was interesting because we were both new to partner stunting, which is the style of collegiate stunting. I was excited to just start something new, and I was glad I had Joe by my side going through the first camp of collegiate cheer with me,” said Fye.

Assistant coach for Ohio State University’s cheerleading team, Siobhan St. John has been coaching at Ohio State for two years. She commented on Pearl’s performance during camp.

“At camp this past July Joe did a great job learning and adapting to all that camp entails. He was focused and driven to do well, which he did,” St. John said.

There are certain requirements that athletes must meet to succeed at their sport ; Pearl happens to fit those requirements. He bases his success on how he prepares, not only physically but mentally as well.