TCU cheerleader Taylor Fox has beaten the odds and will be returning to the sideline this season after two separate shoulder surgeries threatened her cheer career.
The surgeries, including a labrum repair on her right shoulder, should’ve prevented Fox from donning a TCU cheer uniform ever again.
“I wanted to be a cheerleader since I was four years old, so it was really just the drive” Fox said. “TCU Cheer is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It was never really an option for to give up; it was always just if, not when.”
As cheerleading has evolved over the years, the risk of injury has increased.
According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (NCCSI), the majority of catastrophic injuries to female athletes from 1982 to 2002 were from cheerleading.
TCU Cheer head coach Mickey Farris said that Fox worked hard in physical therapy to strengthen her shoulder and to make sure she would get back on the field.
“The main thing, like any injury, is nursing it,” Farris said. “She did take the time to do the physical therapy, rather than just sit [around].”