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Caleb Betten, the Iowa-grown offensive lineman had a great future in college football out of Pocahontas High School. He initially committed to play football at Iowa Western before suffering a meniscus injury. Betten decided to hang up the cleats, but he still wanted to be an athlete. A couple of his buddies were on the successful Reivers cheerleading squad and told him to try it. He picked up co-ed stunting, where one male acts as the base for one female flyer. It didn’t take long for him to quickly realize he was a natural at putting out high energy on the mat.
From football to cheerleading
“Cheerleaders train a lot differently, but I would say the strength that football brought me helped me excel quickly, making the transition,” Betten said.
Betten went on to transfer to Iowa Central Community College for athletics as the Tritons have a well-known cheerleading program. Contrary to some reported beliefs, Betten did not receive much backlash for joining a female-dominated sport.
Betten’s favorite memory from cheering at Iowa Central was winning three National Cheerleading Championships (NCA) at the infamous Daytona NCA Nationals. He made it his first year being one of 11 starting men. Betten also made many friendships that lasted years after he graduated. Betten graduated with three college degrees, and now does insurance work for Berkshire Hathaway.
“I had a lot of good memories at Iowa Central, but I would say winning our first NCA National Championship my first year was best,” Betten said.
During Betten’s cheerleading career, he started looking at other schools. He was flown out by schools such as Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Iowa State University. These enticing opportunities had him contemplating his next steps in life. However, Betten ultimately decided to enter the work world.
From college athlete to successful Ankeny coach
Betten moved to Ankeny in 2022 to work for Farmers Insurance. Cheerleading loomed in his mind and he knew he still wanted to be involved with the sport. He reached out to the athletic office at Ankeny High and came in to witness a varsity cheerleading practice.
“I remember Coach Caleb intimidating me at first. You could tell he was very educated about the sport. He expected a lot from us from the moment he met the team,” Senior Mailee Narotam, a three-year varsity member said.
“Caleb pushed me to be better than I thought I could be. He put me in touch with many college coaches, and just opened many doors for me,” Senior Zuri Harker, a two-year varsity member said.
In September of 2022, Betten convinced the current Ankeny coaches to put together a competition stunt group for the year. After hours of practice of elite stunting with five girls a routine was born. It was practiced for two months before being competed at the State Championship and taking home third place.
The Ankeny competition team only grew from there. Betten became an official coach of the varsity football, basketball, and competition cheer teams, which only bolstered his already rampant success.
The following year Ankeny competed in the 4A stunt group division which consists of five people on the mat performing college-level stunts for one minute. and the 4A Game Time Spirit (GTS) division which consists of a team of about 20 showcasing stunts, tumbling, the fight song, and personalized cheers and choreography for a minute and a half. This was the second year for stunt and the first year for GTS. With hard work and serious expertise from Betten, the stunt group won first place in the 2023 state competition. After a season of constant war for first place with the Hawks’ rival, Ankeny Centennial, the Hawks secured the win.
“Coming in being the new guy and just trying to earn everybody’s respect winning state was necessary,” Betten said.
In the 2024 season, the anticipation for what Betten would put together next hung in the air of the Iowa cheerleading world. Two breathtaking routines were created with the help of expert coach and former ISU cheerleader Kylie Suda.
“Winning is definitely pretty cool for the school, the community, and all the kids that put all the work in,” Betten said on the topic of another exciting season.
A college-level stunt routine was competed in four times, the athletes hitting the routine perfectly each time. All three of the main bases being new to the group as the previous bases were all seniors made this even more impressive. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the support and coaching that Betten guided. Betten sees great growth in the future for the Ankeny competition program, as that is the standard held at AHS.
“The program is going to continue to keep growing when it comes to difficulty and skills. I have athletes with great work ethic,” Betten said.
This story was originally published on The Talon on November 21, 2024.
