Following months of discord, the Malibu High School cheerleading squad looks to start anew with the hiring of head coach Mary Perry.
Perry’s 14 years of professional cheerleading and choreographing experience include cheerleading with the Oakland Raiders and seven years of coaching throughout the Los Angeles area.
The hiring of Perry follows the December firing of former cheerleading coaches Celia Whiteford and Barbara Mills.
Mills and Whiteford were fired by Malibu High School principal Mike Matthews after it was reported the coaches were allegedly permitting mistreatment of MHS cheerleader Sarah Ysordia, who is legally blind and partially deaf.
The alleged mistreatment of Ysordia was brought to the attention of the administration by an MHS student, unrelated to the cheerleading squad, who allegedly overheard negative comments made by the coaches and other cheerleaders about Ysordia. What exactly was said by the squad or reported by the student is unclear.
Principal Matthews said it was more than one incident that led to the termination of the coaches, not just what may have happened with Ysordia.
“It was not just one issue, but several issues dating back to a year,” said Matthews, in an earlier interview for a local paper.
Mills and Whiteford, who were unavailable for an interview, have been coaching at MHS for the last 3 years, with this season having each of their daughters, seniors Allison Mills and Cat Whiteford, co-coach the team.
The firing of the two coaches came as a surprise, said Allison Mills.
“We had no warning. For the last three years, Mr. Matthews has only been complimentary of the team,” said Allison.
“I loved this girl. I pushed her to be good,” said Celia Whiteford, in a previously published interview.
Ysordia granted a full interview to the MHS school paper; however, the school district asked that the story not be published. She declined to be interviewed for The Malibu Times.
This is not the first time the cheerleading squad has had problems. Last year, in February, the entire cheerleading squad was cut in half when the Junior Varsity team quit. Members of the JV team say they quit because of poor leadership, as well as other problems with the coaches and the rest of the squad.
Matthews and Brian Banducci, MHS athletics director, were made aware of the problems by the cheerleaders’ parents.
Banducci said the cheerleading team’s problems were not athletic ones.
“There was some kind of misunderstanding,” said Banducci. “If someone doesn’t want to be apart of a team, then that is their decision.”
Since the firing, according to Matthews, the cheerleading squad has appealed to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Superintendent, Neil Schmidt.
Matthews said he is legally restricted from saying anything further on the matter.
The 2000-2001 cheerleading season has by now come to a close. Perry plans to have cheerleading workshops this March, in search of cheerleaders who will make up next year’s squad. Perry said she does not plan to dwell on the past, and instead looks toward the future.
“I said I would be glad to take this job if I can move forward, and not backward,” explained Perry.