FINALLY – a little love for the fellas
Former Campbellsville Tiger Cheerleader lands on Baltimore Ravens Cheerleading Team
Lex18 (Lexington, KY)
April 8, 2016
The chances of a college student becoming a professional athlete are less than two in 100. But David Veramontes has overcome those slim odds after an intense tryout, being selected recently as a 2016 Baltimore Ravens cheerleader.
Growing up, Veramontes had a goal of making it to the National Football League (NFL) as a player. But with the cards that he was dealt, he proudly takes that for which he has worked so hard.
The Tucson, Ariz. native graduated from Amphitheater High School in 2006 as a four-sport athlete with football, cheerleading, wrestling and men’s volleyball. Right out of high school, he attended Pima Community College where he played football for one semester.
After that semester he decided that the military would be his new path — the Air Force to be exact. His job for the next four years would be a F15 Avionics System Specialist where he maintained jets and other aircraft.
For his first year of enlistment, Veramontes traveled around the majority of time, until finally finding a permanent station in Alaska’s largest city — Anchorage.
“It was one of the best and worst places to live,” recalled Veramontes. “The scenery was impeccable, with so many outdoor activities like fishing and snowboarding.”
While in the northernmost U.S. state, he was part of an alert team – a squad that had to always be within an hour of base just in case there was an airborne threat to the mainland.
While serving his country he also found other work — as an assistant coach at Bartlett High School, where his team won the state title in Alaska. That experience fueled an old competitive fire and he decided to go back to school and play football. The only question was where.
“I knew I wanted to go back to school and play, but I had no idea where,” said Veramontes. “I had a friend who was playing NAIA baseball so I started looking around in that league. To this day, I have no idea how Campbellsville got my number but it was a blessing in disguise.”
Campbellsville was a perfect place because it is a military friendly school —being recognized for exhibiting leading practices in recruiting and supporting post-military students.
Mid-season as a Fighting Tiger, he decided he wanted to be a cheerleader again – not knowing he’d be rewarded for his efforts.
His first year back in cheering, Veramontes and Audrey Wunderlich were the 2013 Mixed Partner Stunt champions.
Wunderlich, who was named Ms. Campbellsville in 2014, knew Veramontes was destined for greatness after meeting him for the first time.
“From David’s first practice, I knew that he was different from most of the guys I’ve ever cheered with,” said Wunderlich. “He came to Campbellsville for football, but found his calling on the cheer team.
“David was so vital to the cheerleading program at CU because his drive and determination to always improve, always serve his team better, and to never settle created a contagious attitude among the team. When I look back at what I consider a highly successful college career, I can credit many winning moments to David’s attitude and drive.”
Veramontes states that his defining moment at CU was the lifelong friends he made without ever realizing it.
“I truly built friendships at CU that will last forever. Some of my very best friends live in Campbellsville and that’s something I hold dearly.”
At Campbellsville University the athletics department mantra is “More Than a Game”. As a servant leader, you’re a servant first – you focus on the needs of others, especially the community and team members, before you consider your own. Wunderlich witnessed Veramontes undeniable growth.
“My favorite thing about cheering with Dave was watching him grow,” said Wunderlich. “Sure, he came onto the team as the ‘old man’ or the ‘war veteran’, but cheering at CU really developed his character. Through the investing of truly outstanding coaches, professors, and leaders at CU, I saw Dave develop into a servant leader.”
With 134 academic credits, Veramontes left Campbellsville to pursue a job in Charlotte, N.C. with American Airlines. He wanted to follow his passion of working on aircraft as he ventured to work on large international planes as well.
He learned about the Baltimore Ravens cheerleading tryout in early February of 2016 and never looked back.
“I knew I was good in college, but I wanted to know if I was good enough to make it to the pros,” said Veramontes. “There came a moment when I thought, ‘I would rather try and fail, than to never try at all.’”
Veramontes hadn’t stunted or had anything to do with cheerleading for a solid two years while working in Charlotte. He went into tryouts coming out of a cold-turkey phase but he started tryouts, full steam ahead.
The first and second day included more than 200 participants. At the first tryout he had 15 minutes to come up with a stunt for his tryout with a veteran cheerleader. The second tryout was much like the first and it was also with a veteran cheerleader.
After about a week he was called back for the group interview. He felt the interview went well, but he was still nervous when he had to call a number to see if he was invited back for the final tryout.
“The last tryout consisted of different stunts the coach was calling out to everyone,” said Veramontes. “They wanted to see if we could listen to counts and stay constant in our routines and formations.
“We waited around for a couple hours for others to finish and by the end of the day I was a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader!”
The cheerleading team is comprised of a cheer and dance squad for the Baltimore Ravens. Unlike other NFL cheerleading squads, the Ravens are co-ed, with the female cheerleaders working on various dance moves, and the males working on stunts, as in traditional cheerleading.
“When he first told me he was going to try out for the Ravens cheerleading team, I didn’t doubt for a second that he would make it,” said Wunderlich. “I don’t say that just because he is a talented athlete. Who wouldn’t want such a positive, kind, and servant-hearted person on their team? I knew once the Ravens’ coaches met him, they would be sold.”
Growing up, Veramontes had a goal of making it to the NFL as a player but making it as a cheerleader is just as thrilling.
“I made it to the NFL — from Campbellsville to the Baltimore Ravens,” retorted Veramontes. “It is such a surreal time in my life and a lot of that is owed to hard work and CU.”
Vanessa Adkins, the 2015 Mid-South Cheerleading Coach of the Year, is in her 10th season as head coach at Campbellsville and is awestruck for Veramontes.
“I’m so proud of David and all that he has accomplished,” declared Adkins. “This is something that he has wanted for a long time. He has worked extremely hard to get to this level. To see your student-athlete reach their goals after college is something that makes a coach proud. Hopefully, this is something that our current and future cheerleaders will use as motivation. This couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
The NAIA boasts 260 colleges and universities, representing 60,000 student-athletes while the NCAA has 460,00 student-athletes at more than 1,200 schools. David Veramontes knew what he wanted from an early age, the end result might be different than what he first imagined, but he fulfilled his dreams nevertheless.
