By Alex Nicoll

Staff Writer

 Silent but spirited, he can go from busting out some smooth dance moves at pep rallies to helping cheerleaders in their chants at football games. A staple within the Coppell High School community, he represents the spirit of the Coppell Cowboys.

 The memorable mascot of Coppell, that has been commonly referred to as Cowboy Carl since 2012 CHS graduate Caroline Robertson donned the uniform, is a known face in this town, but few know much about him.

 “I am really in to school traditions, and I wanted to be Cowboy Carl because I love going to football games and pep rallies to cheer on our team and support our school,” current Cowboy Carl , senior Suzanne Roberts, said. “I love being involved, and I wanted to help spread the school spirit and pride around, and Carl let me do just that. I could go to all the games to cheer on our school while upholding a great tradition of being the mascot.”

 Students only see Carl at games or pep rallies, but behind the scenes, there is more to Cowboy Carl than meets the eye.

 The process for trying out to be the mascot involves participants creating and performing their own skits.  A panel of individuals, consisting of cheer judges from the National Collegiate Athletics Association and American Cheerleaders Association, judge them. Participants who make the cut then attend an NCAA or ACA sanctioned mascot camp of their own choosing.

 The mascot is underneath the cheerleading department and reports to CHS cheerleading coach Tiffany Ganss.

 “They go to mascot camp because [the cheerleaders] do not attend a traditional cheerleading camp,” Ganss said. “Usually when we went to camp for the cheerleaders the mascot would come with us, but we go to a private camp now.”

 At these camps, trainees gather music and skit ideas that they take back to their schools and use throughout the year.

“Over the summer I attended mascot camp to learn all the rules and compete for the All American Mascot,” Roberts said. “During the school year I made skits for every pep rally that usually includes mixing music, making the dances, bringing in different students from each of the school groups and making props.”

 As if this was not impressive enough, the mascot also has yearly requirements they must meet.

 “[Cowboy Carl] has to attend every football game, but for basketball I leave it up to [Roberts] because it is a smaller venue,” Ganss said.

 While most students recognize Cowboy Carl at games or school functions, many do not realize he acts as an ambassador for the city of Coppell. Carl can be seen at other events in the city, including city parades and going out to the middle and elementary schools to perform customized skits for students.

 “[The skits] would depend on if they have any requests,” Roberts said. “If there is a certain event going on I would try to make the skit that included something about the event. Otherwise I would probably just reuse one of the skits from the beginning of the year.”

 To those who work close with Cowboy Carl, he offers much more than just an amusing act.

 “He is really energetic and interacts with the crowd a lot,” junior Silver Spur Jack Sullivan said. “He is really fun to hang out with on the sideline even though he has to be silent.”