GREEN RIVER — Green River High School senior Damien Holmes signed his national letter of intent to cheer at Dickinson State University.
Reflecting on his journey to his decision, it was apparent that at first cheer wasn’t really that appealing to Damien Holmes.
Holmes’ friend invited him to cheer practice in the eighth grade, but with no other male members of the team, he wasn’t that interested. A year later, another invitation came in the fall for him to join the GRHS cheer team as a freshman.
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With a few other guys on the team, Holmes took the opportunity and ended up making friends for life and finding a new passion for cheer.
The GRHS cheer team went to nationals during his sophomore year and ended up doing well. It was in that moment that Holmes’ eyes were opened, and he decided cheer was something he wanted to do in college.
Holmes reached out to schools on Instagram in his recruiting efforts with little expectation of them messaging back.
However, he ended up making a connection with DSU during his junior year. At the beginning of his senior year, they checked back in on him and invited him out for a visit.
During his visit, he met the team and the coach and was immediately impressed with what DSU had to offer. He looked at several other schools before making a decision, but his ultimate factor in deciding where to go was the quality of academics.
“Dickinson is where I feel I’ll succeed the most and where I’ll have the most support,” Holmes said.
Holmes said he looks forward to competing next season, meeting new people and having the college experience.
Holmes said he wasn’t sure about what he wanted to study, but he plans to figure that out soon. He enjoys math and woodworking.
