By Mallory Paruszewski, Senior Reporter
Michael Czapansky has always been ready to try new things when it comes to cheerleading. In his third year at Northern Oklahoma College he convinced two other male cheerleaders to try a Tarzan stunt. It is a two-person stunt, and in this case, it puts male cheerleaders in the air as flyers, with Czapansky as the base.
After a few tries, they realized it should probably just be for fun and that male cheerleaders should stay on the ground.
Czapansky started his first year as Northwestern’s assistant cheer coach in 2021 after graduating in 2020 from Northwestern with a major in agriculture and a minor in animal science.
He plans to stay here for as long as Northwestern will have him and continue to better the team with his experience.
Throughout high school, Czapansky played football until he had his first shoulder injury during his senior year at Pond Creek-Hunter High School in Pond Creek, making him unable to finish the season.
“I sprained my AC joint. I didn’t have to have surgery, but I had to do three months of physical therapy,” Czapansky said.
After Czapansky’s shoulder injury, he was planning to take a break and build his strength to walk-on to the Northwestern cheer team or the team at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa.
He ended up going to Northern Oklahoma College his first year because it was close to home and he wanted to get gen-eds finished.
During Czapansky’s second year at Northern Oklahoma College, he was still strengthening his shoulder and starting to work on his classes.
His roommate at NOC was on the cheer team and mentioned Czapansky’s plan to walk on somewhere to his coach.
While he was working out, the cheer coach at NOC offered him a scholarship to cheer.
After much consideration, Czapansky decided to attend an open gym, where the coach offered him a spot on the team.
Czapansky transferred to Northwestern for his junior year and continued to cheer as a Ranger.
When he started his classes in agriculture, he would always go to his academic advisor, Dr. Dean Scarbrough, to talk about classes and future plans.
“He was the type of student that never quit, no matter what kind of obstacle he might’ve come up against. He kept going, kept trying,” Scarbrough said.
Czapansky knew how to balance his studies and cheer so well that neither one caused conflict that impacted his college years. Scarbrough didn’t know he was a cheerleader until Czapansky mentioned it to him at a football game.
“He is very rare, one of a handful that cheers on the agriculture side,” Scarbrough said.
During Czapansky’s junior year at Northwestern, he had his first shoulder surgery. He had to have his rotator cuff repaired on his left shoulder.
By the time his senior year came, Czapansky’s shoulder was well enough to cheer for a fourth time. He had already left a big impact in the cheer world.
Kailie Martin, a former cheerleader, cheered with Czapansky for his last year and said she admires his dedication to the team.
“He is like a big brother, always puts his best efforts forward and is a good leader,” Martin said.
Czapansky originally planned to take the agricultural route for his career or become an athletic trainer because of his experience.
He had the thought that he would be a coach for football, but never a cheer coach.
While he was the assistant coach for the 2021-2022 year, he had the opportunity to coach a former teammate, Miguel Sanchez-Medina.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect him to be a coach now because I thought after cheer, he was done,” Sanchez-Medina said.
The friendships Czapansky made through cheer made it hard for teammates to take him seriously at times when it came to coaching. Yet the relationships he has built have made it easier to help the team overcome struggles. He knows the ability and knows how hard to coach.
Toward the end of last year, Czapansky had his third shoulder injury, and he had to have surgery.
The doctors had to cut and reattach his bicep tension and pulled a bone spur out of his rotator cuff.
His nickname more than anything shows his diversity because it’s how everyone sees him. Czapansky said he has always been called “Spanky” in college because his last name is hard to say. He embraced it, he said.
Students and professors all know him by his nickname.
He got his nickname during his freshman year of college when he checked into the dorms. The resident assistant looked at his last name and said, “You’re going to be called ‘Spanky’ now.”
“I love my nickname,” Czapansky said.