Lucas Campbell, a baseball player who is finishing his senior year at Castle View High School in Castle Rock, admits to getting grief from his friends when he decided to become a cheerleader.

However, it has all worked out, as Campbell got scholarship offers from Alabama and the University of Central Florida, and in the fall he will be joining the national champion cheer team at UCF.

“I used to be a gymnast and then I had to stop gymnastics when I was a freshman in high school,” explained Campbell. “I was in a math class with some of the cheerleaders. I was talking to them and they told me I should come try cheer. I went to one of their practices and ended up liking it.

“When I first started cheerleading, everybody was making fun of me for doing it. The first year I did it, we won state, we got to go to nationals and did well there. I got to be around girls all the time, I got a national championship ring and got a college scholarship out of it.”

Campbell also keeps busy during the COVID-19 pandemic with his landscaping business and offering guitar lessons.

COACH’S TAKE:

`Lucas is a phenomenal kid. He was one of the hardest-working kids I’ve had and one of the more respectful. The fact that he is a baseball player who got a scholarship as a cheerleader shows what kind of athlete he is.’

Jose Diaz,

former Castle View baseball coach

Q&A with Campbell

What is the hardest thing about missing your senior baseball season?

It’s frustrating and disappointing. You’ve been training for it for so long and looking forward to the things you are going to do, you’ve gotten better with a new team and coaching staff and we were all looking forward to a new program.

What would have been your goals if you had played this season?

I would have wanted to help out and be a leader. I was the only one with varsity experience coming back.

How does missing the season affect your college plans, if at all?

I was pretty set with the cheerleading offer. Colleges really don’t recruit out of Colorado for baseball.

What is your favorite sports team?

The Los Angeles Angels. I grew up in California.

What are your responsibilities as a cheerleader?

Cheerleading is different because you have your football, basketball and volleyball games, and then you have your competitive season as well where you are competing against other cheer teams. You have a routine you do where you are throwing girls up in the air and doing all sort of flips. At the games our responsibilities are to throw the girls up in the air and you have certain stunt you have to do during the game.