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Lindsey Matko will cheer at VCU. Courtesy photo

Since she was six-years-old, Lindsey Matko, daughter of Laurie and Tom Matko of Southwest Roanoke County has been putting on a smile and using her outgoing personality to cheer on sports teams. But now she's doing a personal cheer of her own, celebrating what she has worked for most of her life.

Matko dreamed of getting into college and cheering at the college level and last April everything was on the line as she tried out for the Virginia Commonwealth University's cheerleading team, which is currently ranked 2nd in the nation.

"Tryouts were pretty intense," Matko said. The coach would bring girls aside and cut them as we went. It was pretty intense."

Her practice over the years paid off and now she will be attending VCU in the fall and cheering along side of fellow VCU Rams.

"I had been working for this my whole life," she said. "This year my first goal was to get into college and then really, just make the cheer squad. I probably decided the schools I was applying to based on their cheerleading team. VCU was the only one that had my major."
Matko has looked up to her Uncle, a homicide detective for the city of Richmond for as long as she can remember, which is why she has chosen to study Criminal Justice and Homeland Security. She also considered the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.

"When it came down to it I decided to go with VCU."

Matko cheered at Cave Spring High School on the Knight's cheerleading squad both competitively and on the sidelines. She made first team all districts all four years at CSHS. But most importantly, Matko cheered and coached for Cheer Storm All-Stars in Roanoke, a travel cheerleading team that competes against other traveling squads.

"I've gone all the way to Dallas, Texas and Florida. It’s a lot different from high school cheering- a lot more competitive."

Under the direction of Belinda and Lanny West, Matko's coaches at Cheer Storm All-Stars, her team has won national championships multiple times.

She gets the opportunity to coach girls eight to twelve years of age and also coaches a special needs squad.

"It's a really rewarding job, knowing that you are helping them," Matko said. "It's still growing. We had about seven on the team this year, but it was just a great experience. The kids love it and they don’t normally get the opportunity to do that kind of stuff. I love working with them. It's who I am and I've worked so hard for it. It's great to know its finally paid off."

Matko had her first practice with VCU on June 7. She traveled to VCU for the practice and drove back home to make it to her high school graduation this morning. See is excited not just about her cheering career, but also getting to know her fellow cheerleaders at VCU and being independent.

"The girls are great. What's really unique about it is that everyone comes in from different places and when we get onto the mat we just blend together. All the girls were especially nice and welcoming. I'm just really looking forward to being out on my own and being independent," she said.

This summer Matko will be attending cheer camps and more practices with her new cheer team, but she says she owes it all to her All-Star coaches.
"I really credit them to where I've gotten today. If I didn't have them, I probably wouldn't be cheering in college today. And of course my parents- they paid for it."