March 30, 2019 at 06:21PM
ALBUQUERQUE — Happiness is Elizabeth Rodriguez.
It is the West Las Vegas freshman cheerleader's most distinguishing quality, and it can sometimes make her Lady Dons teammates a smidge jealous. But it can also be infectious.
"She's always happy, all the time," said Diana Rodriguez, Elizabeth's mother. "The girls are like, 'Sometimes I wish I had what Liz has.' She's never sad. They'll say, 'Sometimes, I'll be having a bad day and I see Liz, and she just makes my day better.' "
But Elizabeth Rodriguez's place on the West Las Vegas varsity cheerleading squad is based on more than just her ray-of-sunshine smile. It's also her dedication and passion for the sport, in which she started competing as a sixth grader at West Las Vegas Middle School. That Rodriguez has Down syndrome is merely a part of her story.
"She is one person that I can tell you that we can give her something, and her mom says she works on it all night long," West Las Vegas head coach Isabel Cavazos said. "She is in her room or the living room or somewhere and she is hitting that motion or doing whatever it is we are teaching her every night.
"And she picks [it] up. She picks up. You can teach her stuff and she knows."
Elizabeth Rodriguez knows the team's sideline cheers during games and she calls out a couple of cheers for the team to perform. She also is an invaluable member during the spirit competitions, including Friday's State Spirit Competition that determines the state champion. Elizabeth Rodriguez was as flawless as her teammates in their performance.
Not even the buzz of thousands of spectators in The Pit threw her off, although her mom worried that Elizabeth might be overwhelmed by the atmosphere and not get off on the right foot. In this case, it was the right foot Elizabeth needed to remember to raise first for her lift stunt to finish the performance.
"I was like, 'Please, go up on the right foot,' " Diana Rodriguez said. "I was just watching her legs because at home, she was doing her leg the opposite. We stayed up practicing late and we walked her through which leg to go up on. And I'm new to cheer, and I don't even know it. But coach tells me what to fix and we do it."
Elizabeth, though, was much more direct about her performance.
"I did fine," Elizabeth said with a smile as she watched another team perform.
Diana Rodriguez said her daughter always enjoyed music and dancing growing up, so cheerleading seemed like a natural fit. She said the sport was not as daunting a task at the middle school level as it is now.
"She's been a dancer, and she's pretty good at picking up moves and stuff," Diana Rodriguez said. "She's done really good, so I figured I let her try it."
Elizabeth's combination of hard work and spirit makes her a perfect complement on a team that is trying to win its third straight state title. The leaders of the group are the 12 seniors who have competed at the varsity level since the eighth grade and played a large role in the program's run of three state championships over the past four years.
Cavazos said the seniors' leadership has been key in integrating Elizabeth into the team. If anything, they dote on her like older sisters, as they often room with her when the Lady Dons go on overnight trips and keep an eye on her during competitions.
Then again, it's hard not to find her, because it seems like she finds a way to make her presence known.
Cavazos said that when the team went to Aztec's Heart of The Tiger competition three weeks ago, Cavazos and the coaching staff asked organizers to turn on a song and let Elizabeth dance.
"They took her out there and they let her dance, and the seniors went out there and went through her stunts," Cavazos said. "She was rocking out there!"
As much as Elizabeth loves cheer, she also has dabbled in baseball and basketball. She was a member of the Lady Dons C-team this season and was named the homecoming freshman princess in the fall. Diana Rodriguez said Elizabeth wanted to try out for volleyball, but she nixed that idea because she was afraid of the first time her daughter took a hit to the face.
So, instead, Elizabeth joined the school choir and will compete in the state competition next week. And to think she has three more years.
"I thought she would just be on the team," Diana Rodriguez said. "I never expected any of this."
ALBUQUERQUE — Happiness is Elizabeth Rodriguez.
It is the West Las Vegas freshman cheerleader's most distinguishing quality, and it can sometimes make her Lady Dons teammates a smidge jealous. But it can also be infectious.
"She's always happy, all the time," said Diana Rodriguez, Elizabeth's mother. "The girls are like, 'Sometimes I wish I had what Liz has.' She's never sad. They'll say, 'Sometimes, I'll be having a bad day and I see Liz, and she just makes my day better.' "
But Elizabeth Rodriguez's place on the West Las Vegas varsity cheerleading squad is based on more than just her ray-of-sunshine smile. It's also her dedication and passion for the sport, in which she started competing as a sixth grader at West Las Vegas Middle School. That Rodriguez has Down syndrome is merely a part of her story.
"She is one person that I can tell you that we can give her something, and her mom says she works on it all night long," West Las Vegas head coach Isabel Cavazos said. "She is in her room or the living room or somewhere and she is hitting that motion or doing whatever it is we are teaching her every night.
"And she picks [it] up. She picks up. You can teach her stuff and she knows."
Elizabeth Rodriguez knows the team's sideline cheers during games and she calls out a couple of cheers for the team to perform. She also is an invaluable member during the spirit competitions, including Friday's State Spirit Competition that determines the state champion. Elizabeth Rodriguez was as flawless as her teammates in their performance.
Not even the buzz of thousands of spectators in The Pit threw her off, although her mom worried that Elizabeth might be overwhelmed by the atmosphere and not get off on the right foot. In this case, it was the right foot Elizabeth needed to remember to raise first for her lift stunt to finish the performance.
"I was like, 'Please, go up on the right foot,' " Diana Rodriguez said. "I was just watching her legs because at home, she was doing her leg the opposite. We stayed up practicing late and we walked her through which leg to go up on. And I'm new to cheer, and I don't even know it. But coach tells me what to fix and we do it."
Elizabeth, though, was much more direct about her performance.
"I did fine," Elizabeth said with a smile as she watched another team perform.
Diana Rodriguez said her daughter always enjoyed music and dancing growing up, so cheerleading seemed like a natural fit. She said the sport was not as daunting a task at the middle school level as it is now.
"She's been a dancer, and she's pretty good at picking up moves and stuff," Diana Rodriguez said. "She's done really good, so I figured I let her try it."
Elizabeth's combination of hard work and spirit makes her a perfect complement on a team that is trying to win its third straight state title. The leaders of the group are the 12 seniors who have competed at the varsity level since the eighth grade and played a large role in the program's run of three state championships over the past four years.
Cavazos said the seniors' leadership has been key in integrating Elizabeth into the team. If anything, they dote on her like older sisters, as they often room with her when the Lady Dons go on overnight trips and keep an eye on her during competitions.
Then again, it's hard not to find her, because it seems like she finds a way to make her presence known.
Cavazos said that when the team went to Aztec's Heart of The Tiger competition three weeks ago, Cavazos and the coaching staff asked organizers to turn on a song and let Elizabeth dance.
"They took her out there and they let her dance, and the seniors went out there and went through her stunts," Cavazos said. "She was rocking out there!"
As much as Elizabeth loves cheer, she also has dabbled in baseball and basketball. She was a member of the Lady Dons C-team this season and was named the homecoming freshman princess in the fall. Diana Rodriguez said Elizabeth wanted to try out for volleyball, but she nixed that idea because she was afraid of the first time her daughter took a hit to the face.
So, instead, Elizabeth joined the school choir and will compete in the state competition next week. And to think she has three more years.
"I thought she would just be on the team," Diana Rodriguez said. "I never expected any of this."
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