Harlingen South cheerleader Joshua Briones will be taking his talents to a new mat in the fall.
Briones signed to join the cheer squad at Trinity Valley Community College on June 4. He’ll be continuing his competitive cheer career, which began eight years ago, in Athens, Texas. The Trinity Valley Cardinals won their 12th National Cheerleading Association national championship in April.
“I’m truly thankful and blessed to be signing to one of my dream colleges. It’s truly amazing, and I can’t wait for this journey,” Briones said. “It felt amazing with all my family and friends that could experience that with me. They’re my biggest supporters, and it was truly a blessing for it to finally come.”
Briones was a three-year varsity cheerleader at South and served as the captain his junior year. He does all-star competitive cheer with Valley Cheer Elite based out of Pharr. Briones said the COVID-19 pandemic made it harder to find a place to cheer collegiately, but when he got an opportunity with TVCC he took advantage of it.
“Usually you go to clinics and you showcase your skills, and the college coaches look at you and go from there. This year because of COVID, there weren’t many clinics,” Briones said. “I went to one of (TVCC’s) open practices. The coach gave me a tour and it was super nice, and I got to practice with the team and it just felt like home.
“I loved it at Trinity Valley. The environment was so good, everyone was so nice, and that’s why I chose it,” he continued. “Trinity Valley, even though it’s a community college, is like a DI college in the cheer world. … (The team was) so nice and encouraging, and I got to show off what I could do and they were, like, ‘You’re so good.’”
Briones said his technique, tumbling and jumps helped him impress. He’ll be competing on a “dead floor” at the college level, meaning there’s no bounce in the mats. He’s been practicing his skills nonstop in his back yard to get used to the added difficulty and is happy to have it pay off.
Briones hasn’t nailed down what he’ll be majoring in yet. He wants to do his basics at TVCC and boost his GPA, then when the time comes, he plans to transfer to and cheer for Texas Tech. Briones is considering a career in business or as a speech therapist.
With an exciting future ahead and big goals in mind, Briones is ready for his next chapter to begin.
“I’m looking forward to being a part of the Cardinal family because there’s so much history behind it,” Briones said. “I’m going to continue to work hard and always reach for my goals, because that’s what my parents taught me.”
