SAN ANTONIO -- There's something besides touchdowns worth cheering about at Steele High School football games. She carries pompoms, and is the newest addition to the Knights cheerleading squad.
Linsday Mayle graduated from Steele in 2008. The 21-year-old has down syndrome, and still shows up to all of the football games to cheer for her alma mater.
She used to cheer from the stands. Then senior cheerleader Taylor Schulmeier gave Lindsay a pair of pom-poms. It didn't take long after that for Mayle to find a spot cheering from the sidelines.
"I had these extra pair of pom-poms and I was telling her for like a month straight I would get them to her," Schulmeier said. "And so finally I gave her the pom-poms and every single game she had them with her."
Then came the cheerleading uniform, and the squad got behind Lindsay 100 percent.
"I'm so proud of Taylor. I'm proud of all the girls because they have just embraced Lindsay and taken her under their wing," said cheerleading coach Kristy Lovett. "And she is just a part of the team - there is no separation, there is no difference."
Lindsay's family also couldn't be more proud.
"Oh it is touching my heart," said Joanna Mayle, Lindsay's mother. "You know I cry but that's a mother's right. Mothers cry when they're happy, and these are happy tears."
Lindsay's older sister said she is the best cheerleader. Ever.
"I've seen lots of cheerleaders in my days but I'm very partial to my sister," Ashley Mayle said. "I think she does a great job."
Her favorite player also appreciates the added pep from the sidelines. Lindsay's brother, Matthew Mayle, is number 20.
"After every game Lindsay comes up to me and I just grab her by the hand and I give her a little kiss," he said. "As we go on walking, give high fives to the fans, I have Lindsay right there next to me, just holding her hand.
"It's emotional for me just because she has been through so much and just to see where she is now and see the things that she's doing now," he said. "It's just such a blessing."
