At Cheer Tech Spirit Nationals, in Wildwood, New Jersey, FloCheer had the pleasure of getting to know the Ryker brothers. Jonathon (Jon) and Sean are local celebrities in the world of cheer in the Northeast. As we walk through the venue they can hardly walk 10 steps without being hi-fived by a fellow cheerleader, greeted by a coach or admired by a female fan. It would be normal for these guys to become big headed, but you’ve never met such outgoing, helpful and hardworking teenage young men. Jon and Sean have been attending cheer competitions the majority of their lives. Their mom, Angel Ryker is currently the marketing director for Spirit Brands and both their parents do the photography at the events, so the boys have been tagging along for years and years. Ironically there are no girls in their family…only boys with one more boy - a younger brother!

Every year there are more and more guys joining the sport of competitive cheerleading, but what sets these two apart from most is that they are diehard football players and are currently being recruited by some of the top schools in the nation to play college ball. Jon, #4, is the kicker for his high school and younger brother Sean, #15, is a running back. In between helping their parents at the competition, assisting FloCheer, stunting with super cheerleaders Emily Bott and Katie Baby and making sure to give plenty of attention to the ladies, they made time to answer some questions for FloCheer. We couldn’t have been more impressed!

Introduce yourself to us...what's your name, when's your birthday, where do you cheer, where do you go to school, what grade are you in?

JON - My name is Jonathan Ryker, my birthday is March 2nd, I cheer for Titan Cheer Corp. and I'm a Senior at Hammonton High school.

SEAN - My name is Sean Ryker, I just turned 16 on October 28th. I'm a Sophomore and I attend Hammonton High School in New Jersey.


How did you get into cheering and how long have you been doing it?

JON - I got into cheer by watching all the comps that my mom had taken pictures at. I began to develop interest and then my friend Austin's dad opened up a gym two years ago so I had to try it out.

SEAN - This is my fourth year, but third season. I had an entire year to just practice some skills. I first got into cheerleading by working at competitions, and seeing all the crazy flips and stunts happening and I knew I wanted to join. So my boss ( Glenn Kingsbury) opened up a gym for his son and I joined Titan Cheer Corporation.


Tell us about your first cheering experience? What level was it?

JON - Unlike most I went straight to Level 5 - haha it might sound crazy but I went from nothing straight to five.

SEAN - My first time ever competing is something I'll never forget. We didn't do so hot - like how many new teams start up, but I had so much fun out on the floor. I wanted to go on again. Being a boy and cheerleading is so much different than a girl since we are rare, so my first year ever I was placed on a Level 5 team.

When you think about that first season of cheering...what was it about cheer that hooked you and made you want to come back for more?

JON - When I think about that first season cheering the thing that really hooked me were all the connections that I had made. I met so many great people at different comps and they have become great friends.
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Photo: Vicki Dill

SEAN - Thinking back I know that my desire to become a better cheerleader and wanting to achieve my goals were really the main reasons why I came back. I always strive for greatness and I always want to get better so I kept coming back for more. Not to mention there are a lot of pretty girls in cheerleading and I had to come back to them!


Outside of cheering what other sports or hobbies do you enjoy?

JON - I do many other things besides cheer. My first love is and always has been football. I also do track and field. Powerlifting is another thing that I put a ton of effort into.
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SEAN - I love football just as much as I love cheer. Football is a huge part of my life and I want to play until I die. I'm so involved in football that when I'm not playing, I'm coaching a peewee football team for the Atco Lions. I also play baseball, and track. I love to exercise and stay in shape because being in shape is the most important thing in life.
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We know you guys play football and you cheer. How do your football teammates treat you and what do they think about you guys being on a cheer team?

JON - It’s always the basic go-to joke, “Hey Jon - where’s your pom pons at? Did you forget your skirt at home?” They bust on us but realistically they know that all the stunts and tricks we do with the girls, that they would look kind of silly if they ever tried to do it. They don’t torture us too much. It’s always on a playful level. We don’t really get made fun of because they know how hard it is. 

SEAN - We all know that deep down they want to join the team because we’re around girls all the time so it always goes back to that.


In football you’re working primarily with guys and then you go to cheer practice and it’s like 95 percent girls. What’s the difference between working with guys versus working with girls? How do you treat your teammates differently? 

JON -

I think girls are easier to work with because I think they listen more. I think when you’re yelling and screaming at the guys on your football team it just goes in one ear and out the other. But in cheerleading you all have to be on the same page or something could go really wrong. In football it’s more individualized and they don’t really have to listen to you.

SEAN - It’s a whole different mindset too because when you’re with girls you want to act respectful and nice but when you’re with the bros on the football team you don’t really care what you say or what you do - you just do what you want.


Do you think that either sport has helped you with the other sport? Has cheer helped you with football or has football helped you with cheer?

JON - I think football definitely helped us with cheer because we started out playing football - I only started cheer two years ago. I think all the lifting and the hand cleans in the weight room really helped with the tosses with the girls - it’s pretty much the same exact motion. So that really got things, as soon as I walked in the cheer gym, it really made everything click so much faster.

SEAN - I know cheer really helped out with football. I developed a sense of balance and I’m more agile on my feet when running with the ball. So it’s always good to have versatility.
Click to see Q & A with Jon & Sean:


What are your cheer strengths?

JON - My strength in cheer is definitely coed stunting. My background in other sports made it easy to pick up stunting.
***Stunting with Emily Bott

SEAN - My cheer strength has to be stunting. I picked up coed stunting so quickly from weight training for football, so coed stunting was second nature for me. I like to think I'm a good dancer and have a great smile when I perform, but others might say differently.
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What are your cheer struggles?

JON - My struggle is 100% tumbling. Going from nothing to Level 5 is extremely hard because I missed all the basics of tumbling.

SEAN - I struggle with tumbling the most. I think too much and have a mental block so tumbling is very hard for me. Also I don't like to tumble during football season to avoid unnecessary injuries, so I stunt when we tumble in our routine.


When stunting with a flyer - what makes you want to stunt with someone over and over?

JON - When stunting with a flyer I am very picky. No matter what I'm doing I am always a perfectionist. I never stop doing anything until it is perfect.

SEAN - If a girl can make my job easier by jumping up for me, and staying tight when it comes to doing the tricky coed stunts, then she'll be my favorite flyer, and we can stunt forever.
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Tell us about your favorite Worlds experience.

JON - My favorite Worlds experience would have to be when I traded shirts with kids on the Bangkok team. The stunts that they did were ridiculous!

SEAN - Even though I love every second of being at Worlds, my favorite experience has to be staying at the All Star Sports Resort. The vibe and energy that happens there is truly something incredible. I learned how to do insane coed stunts from the best stunters all around the world on the football field, and I watched people do these tumbling passes I've never seen before. The atmosphere at the All Star is the best because everyone is so friendly and kind to you regardless of which team you're on or who you are. It's like a party everyday.
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What's your plan for after high school? Do you have any aspirations to cheer or play sports in college? What do you want to study?

JON - I plan to pursue my dream of playing Division One football. That's been the goal ever since I put the helmet on and I'm sticking to it. I want to study Physical Therapy wherever I go as well.

SEAN - Since I'm only a Sophomore I haven't decided if I wanted to cheer in college, or play football. It's going to be a hard decision for me to choose between my two favorite things in the world. I wish I could do both, but it will be a Senior year decision. I want to attend med school and become an anesthesiologist.


What's your advice for other guys who might want to cheer but are afraid what other people would think?

JON - My advice for other guys who might want to cheer would be do whatever makes you happy. You can't go your whole life worrying about what people will think about you. If you want to give something a try then do it. You could learn to love it.

SEAN - My advice for other guys who want to cheer is to just do it. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks but you. If you want to cheer, then cheer. Don't let anyone else destroy your happiness. It's your life.
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When your started cheering...what surprised you the most about the sport?

JON - When I first started cheering what surprised me the most was how hard it actually was! Nobody really understands how hard it is to put together a routine until you're on a team. In all the sports I've played I've never been so stressed than when we're trying to put together a routine.

SEAN - I was surprised how much energy I needed to get through a routine. I thought two minutes and thirty seconds was going to be a breeze. I had a wrestling background of giving it my all for a minute and thirty seconds a round so I had a lot of stamina, but I was wrong. Cheer drains you physically. After my first full out routine I couldn't breathe. I can go through a full five hour football practice without breaking a sweat, but I feel dead after two and a half minutes of cheer. I thought I was in top shape before I came into cheer, but I was mistaken so it's important to stay healthy during the season.


Tell us three things that most people wouldn't know about you.

JON - Three things most people wouldn't know about me.
1. I collect NIKE Sneakers
2. There's nothing I like more than cookie dough.
3. I may play a ton of sports but I still get it done in the classroom. I have a 4.3 GPA.

SEAN -
1. Most people wouldn't know that I'm colorblind.
2. They also wouldn't know that I love everything about the 60's, 70's, and 80's, like the music, cars and the lifestyle.
3. And lastly they wouldn't know that I have a pet turtle named Marvin.