Shaffer to perform in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

San Benito High varsity cheerleading coach Lena Lico is going to have a special treat on Thanksgiving Day.
And no, it has nothing to do with eating a turkey. Lico will be watching one of her cheerleaders, senior flyer Taylor Shaffer, perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
“I’m excited for her,” said Lico, a former Baler cheerleader herself. “I believe this is the first time in the history of our school we’ll have someone in the Macy’s Day Parade.”
Shaffer, 17, got the invitation to perform in the event after earning All-American status at a Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) Camp in July. Only the top 12 percent of cheerleaders who attend these camps are invited to be a part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
A four-time UCA All-American, Shaffer was invited to perform in last year’s London New Year’s Day Parade and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as a sophomore, but passed on them because of what the costs would entail.
“This time I did some fund-raising and of course this being my senior year, it kind of made sense to go this time,” Shaffer said. “I’m so excited, it’s pretty hard to describe. I can’t wait.”
Shaffer is turning the trip into a weeklong vacation with her mom, Lynn, who owns Bella Charm, a women’s boutique shop on Prospect Avenue. Shaffer has a pretty busy itinerary in New York, as all the cheerleaders who are in the parade must attend meetings in the morning leading up to the event.
In terms of the performance on Thanksgiving Day, Shaffer said the routine won’t be supremely challenging since the cheerleaders will be in constant motion.
“We’ll be walking and moving the whole time, so we’re not going to be doing stunts like we do at the football games,” she said. “There’ll be some dancing involved, and it’s going to be a great time.”
In order to earn All-American status from the UCA, cheerleaders must perform a routine in front of the judges, consisting of a dance, jump and stunt. The dance and jump portion of the routine is done solo, while the stunt is performed with teammates.
At 5-foot-2, Shaffer said she is actually on the tall side for being a flyer — the person in the air in a stunt. Like all flyers, Shaffer has had her fair share of bumps and bruises, including a terrifying fall during a practice session in her sophomore year.
It took Shaffer a year to get over the mental wounds of that accident, which didn’t leave Shaffer with any broken bones but was terrifying nonetheless.
“That one scared me, but I knew I had to get over it,” she said. “I was the only junior flyer on varsity last year, and the rest of them were all doing full downs (the maneuver in which Shaffer was injured on, when one does a twist in the air). I told myself I could do it, and finally I did.”
It’s no surprise Shaffer overcame her fears, because when she puts her mind to something, things get done. To say Shaffer has a lot on her plate would be a vast understatement.
In addition to being a 4.0 student and captain of the cheerleading team, Shaffer is the president of the local chapter Future Farmers of America Fundraising (FFA). She also works at her mom’s shop twice a week, and, on top of that, does community service.
“I’m crazy busy all the time,” Shaffer said. “Even though it’s challenging, it’s rewarding. I know it will serve me well in the future.”
Shaffer never did cheerleading before entering high school. She did gymnastics from ages 6 to 12, and the skills she developed in that sport made her transition into cheerleading a smooth one.
“Taylor came in as a freshman and was amazing,” Lico said. “She ended up being a captain that year on the JV team, and she’s really developed all of her skills since then.”
Although cheerleaders need a certain physical skill set to perform risky acrobatic moves, they need to be equally vigilant in maintaining a positive attitude even in the midst of tough circumstances.
After all, they’re not called cheerleaders for nothing.
“I was raised to always stay positive and to believe in myself so you can make others believe in themselves,” Shaffer said.
Lico said San Benito has had several members of the team go on to cheer in college, including 2013 graduate Taylor Lawrence, who is now on the competitive co-ed cheer team at BYU.
“We prepare our girls to make the jump to college (cheerleading) if they want to,” Lico said. “Taylor is capable of cheering in college.”
Shaffer is looking at schools like UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, just to name a few. Wherever Shaffer decides to attend college, Lico is confident she will leave a lasting imprint.
“Taylor hits it on all the marks,” Lico said. “She’s simply one of the best in everything she does.”