Utica Community Schools issued the following announcement on Mar. 3.
Brendan Ryan has gained much success throughout his dance and cheer career, most recently as an NFL cheerleader with Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams.
“I have been dreaming of becoming a Los Angeles Rams Cheerleader since 2018, in my sophomore year of college, when the Rams became the first NFL cheerleading team to have male dancers on the squad,” Brendan said. “I cannot even begin to describe how proud I am to be a part of an organization that broke down barriers and changed the professional cheerleading world forever.”
But before he could hold the Vince Lombardi trophy, or toss the blue and yellow confetti around with his teammates, Brendan had to make his own history closer to home, as the first male dancer on the Eisenhower Dance Team as well as the first male dancer on the University of Michigan Dance Team.
“Brendan has opened so many doors for other younger male dancers,” said Eisenhower Dance Team Head Coach, Rachelle Kiehle. “He is truly a role model.”
“I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have a platform to inspire a younger generation of dancers in the same way that my idols, that I now get to call my teammates/friends, have inspired me,” Brendan said.
Behind the success Brendan has accomplished is his mother, Kathy Ryan, who has been Brendan’s biggest cheerleader since day one.
“I would not be who I am today if I didn’t have a strong, confident and brave role model like her to look up to,” Brendan said.
“While my rookie season as an NFL cheerleader was more than I could have ever asked for or imagined, one of my absolute favorite parts was getting to bring my mom and younger brother along to the Super Bowl.”
As a former coach, Kiehle said Brendan brought so much energy to the team and that he was continuously encouraged every step of the way by so many around him.
“Brendan will continue to go far in whatever he sets out to accomplish because he never gives up. No matter how hard things get, he will always persevere,” Kiehle said.
Living out his dream as a Los Angeles Rams Cheerleader, Brendan urges current students to continue dreaming big and pushing themselves to accomplish their goals.
“I cannot stress enough how much everything will work out one day, even better than you could possibly imagine,” said Brendan.
“I know for a fact that I am someone today that my younger self would be so proud of.”
Original source can be found here.
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