While it is typical to see new faces on the field, track, court or in the pool each season, it can be unusual to see a familiar face taking on a new role.
Imani Outlaw was a four-year player for the St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team. The Cincinnati native graduated from St. Bonaventure in the spring of 2017 with a degree in childhood studies, and she decided to come back for graduate school.
However, with all four years of eligibility used, Outlaw was unable to play basketball as a Bonnie any longer. She decided to take on a new challenge: cheerleading.
“It was really hard for me to learn everything because this is my first year cheering ever, so it was really different,” Outlaw said. “I have to put in a lot more time outside of practices because I lack experience that a lot of other girls have.”
Despite no prior cheer experience, Outlaw has had a blast since joining the team.
“Coach Abbie Bricker and our cheer captains, Chelsea Didas and Erin Miller, have been really welcoming and supportive,” Outlaw said. “They have also been patient with me since cheerleading is very new to me.”
Not only has Outlaw gone through a transition period, but also the women’s basketball team transitioned to life without their energetic guard. Women’s assistant basketball coach Andrea Mulcahy said it was not surprising that Outlaw tried taking on cheerleading.
“At first, it was a little different seeing her on the sidelines instead of the bench, but now I am used to it,” Mulcahy said. “She’s always had great energy and even talked about how she used to want to be a cheerleader. It’s fun seeing her at all our games.”
The team aspect of basketball and cheerleading is Outlaw’s favorite part about both sports, and she likes to be able to come together with her teams to perform, on and off the court.
“I do sometimes miss basketball while I’m cheering, but I love cheering on my former teammates with my new, current teammates,” Outlaw said. “It’s such a different perspective, but I love it!”
While basketball practices take up a lot of time during school, cheerleading is no pushover either, requiring Outlaw to learn all the routines, stunts and chants the cheerleaders perform throughout games.
“We always want our former players to stay connected to our athletics programs and she certainly has done that,” Mulcahy said. “She is a great example of what makes [St. Bonaventure athletics] so special through her connection and loyalty to the athletics programs.”
Despite being a Division I athlete for four years, Outlaw said cheerleading has challenged her body in ways basketball never had.
“In cheer, I use muscles that I didn’t know I had!” Outlaw said. “It’s a lot of flexibility, which I lack a lot of, although I’ve gotten a lot better. You can just ask my basketball teammates.”
Outlaw also said she struggled a bit picking up and learning choreography for cheerleading, as it is something she never had to do for basketball.
“I don’t understand counts whatsoever, and so I struggle with dance moves a lot,” Outlaw said. “Also, I am trying to learn some tumbling so my teammate Mary Welch has been really helpful with that. “
With both men’s and women’s basketball in the thick of Atlantic 10 conference play, Outlaw has been doing a lot of cheering for her friends and former teammates, and she will continue to pump up the players as they try to get into March Madness.
