Morris High School senior Calvin Warren is a unique two-sport athlete in cheer and football, which makes this story interesting.

“Calvin is the first male cheerleader we’ve ever had at Morris and all the little kids just love him, and he’s the star of every show,” said co-cheer coach Maggie Guynes, who is assisted by Lisa Merrill. “He is also a cheerleader who plays football, so he cheers for us in competitions and in basketball and we cheer for him during football.

“Tumbling is his specialty. He makes it look effortless and he does things you could never imagine. He made All-State this year and has taken on more of a leadership role for us.”

So how did this unique combination come to pass?

“My dad was a big football fan and was always encouraging me to give it a try and I resisted. Until one day I saw Aaron Rodgers playing for the Packers and that turned me into a Cheesehead and got me hooked into playing,” laughed Warren. “Later, I started watching videos of people doing flips and I wanted to learn how to do that so I’d drag my mattress outside and work on learning tumbling.

“As to cheer, I have two brothers, and mom always wanted one of us to get into cheer and we all said no. But then she told me that if I went into cheer, I’d be able to tumble and that sold me. I started in eighth grade and have been doing it ever since.”

Warren helped lead Morris cheer to state in both competitive cheer and Game Day competitions this year, and as a team leader, he knows what it takes.

“I think a leader has to have good judgment skills and has to keep a clear head when other things try to knock you off your path, and needs to be able to lift the team up no matter what the situation. I think I’ve brought a lot of energy to the team as a leader this year by helping keep morale up.”

Warren has applied and tried out to get into Navarro College in Texas, considered by many to be the premier cheer college in the nation. He has also had interest from Navarro rival Trinity Valley, as well as Southern Nazarene in Bethany. He also cheers competitively with Twist and Shout Cheer in Tulsa where they have won several national competitions.