Football Mini Cheer Clinic slated in Fostoria

FOSTORIA --- Melissa Mason has hosted 16 mini cheer clinics as Fostoria High School's cheer coach, and she shares in the joy of the participants. "You know how they say the Grinch's heart grew three times that day?" she said, referring to the Dr. Seuss character who stole Christmas. "That's how mine is every time we have a mini cheer. The smiles on the girls' faces and screaming and enjoying it ..." The next mini cheer clinic is scheduled for 5-6:30 p.m., Sept. 26 and 28 in the gym at Fostoria Elementary School, with the participants then scheduled to join the high school squad on the sideline during the first half of the Redmen's Sept. 29 football game against Eastwood at Memorial Stadium. Registration is open through Sept. 15 for boys and girls entering preschool through sixth grade, and the participants need not attend school in Fostoria. The fee is $25 per child, with each receiving snacks, a T-shirt and a pair of pom poms. Matching shirts are available to parents at $15 each. Mason, who hosts clinics before each football and basketball season, said the events typically draw more than 100 participants. "What's really nice is, during the football season, they get to go out with the (high school) cheerleaders, on the other side of the fence, and they get to cheer with all of the cheerleaders, out by the football field and the football players," Mason said. "It makes them feel like a real cheerleader -- 'Hey, I'm down here. Mom and dad are up in the stands watching me and taking pictures. I'm a cheerleader.' Mason and the high school cheerleaders do the instructing during the clinic sessions. "They do cheer motions and jumps, and then cheers," Mason said, noting that the youngsters learn about 15 cheers before taking their skills onto Dick Kidwell Field at the stadium. "They love it," Mason said. "They smile. They wave. I think the parents get into it just as much as the kids. They put them in little skirts and they do makeup on the girls and they do little tattoos on their cheeks. It's really cute. I love it." Registration forms are now available on the Fostoria High School cheerleading Facebook page, as well at fostoriaschools.org. For more information, contact Mason at 419-422-5460.