wordplay: JJ
image: Sean Hartgrove

As the Colorado Rapids soccer club holds steady in the middle of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer circuit, 18-year-old cheerleading phenom Jacklyn Sutton holds a steady pose on the sideline during the teams’ home games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Sutton is in her third year as a Rapids cheerleader and the ambitious, perky blonde – an individual national cheerleader champion and former member of the 2005 Colorado cheerleading champion Chaparral High School – already has her big eyes on a bigger prize.
 

“I’d like to finish with my college degree in business,” Jacky said.  “And I’d like to be under way with a sports bar.” And where would she like to open her  future sports bar? “Cherry Creek,” Jacky replied. If that’s not ambitious, I don’t know what is.

But ambition has never been lacking for Jacky. The blonde bombshell – who played volleyball and ran track in high school, among other athletic endeavors – began her cheerleading career as a junior varsity walk-on her freshman year. Two years later she was taking her team to state and making a national name for herself. Thanks to a high school stunt coach who worked with the Rapids, as well, Jacky soon found herself in the halftime spotlight at DSG Park.

“My stunt coach told me to try out because I had the talent they were looking for,” Jacky said. “I made it that first year and stuck with it and I’ve been having fun ever since.”
Despite the ambition, Jacky likes to have fun with friends, going to the swimming pool, bowling at the Brunswick Zone, or playing pool and air hockey with the boys.

Jacky certainly is, after all, kinda like one of the boys. She loves soccer, she adores football and in high school she played – get this – rugby. Then there’s that sports bar dream of hers.
 “I have a lot of guy friends that are really into sports and I just kind of caught on to what they were doing,” Jacky said.

When, exactly, Jacky hangs out with her friends remains a mystery. Aside from her job cheerleading during Rapids’ home games, Jacky is studying business part time at Arapahoe Community College, and spends much of her time training and teaching cheerleading to other young girls at Alpine All-Stars in Parker.  And, speaking of All-Stars, Jacky and the rest of the Rapids cheerleading squad will get a real taste of the limelight July 19 when MLS brings the All-Star game to DSG Park. “I love being in front of people and performing and the adrenaline rush is amazing,” Jacky said. “I think I actually perform better in front of a big group of people.”

That’s good, because DSG Park has already nearly sold out their tickets for the All-Star game, which will pit the best players in the United States against Scottish champions and 2007 UEFA Champions League participants Celtic FC. Oh, did I mention it will be aired live on ESPN? Talk about getting your face out there.
 
“Mostly I’m all about getting out in the public and letting everyone know who I am and what I’m about,” Jacky said. “That and I love being a role model for little girls.”  Surely this petite blonde has enough ambition to make Madonna green with envy. And at 18 years of age, the future looks bright for Jacklyn Sutton. “I just think that no matter how many people might put you down, you just have to overcome everything that they say you can’t do and prove
them wrong,” Jacky said. “Strive to be better than what they think you can be. That’s what got me through high school and that’s what got me to where I am today.
Good advice, indeed.

July 19th @ Dick’s Park

ColoradoRapids.com