LYNN — Perhaps the best tribute Melissa McCular could give to her mother is that she’s followed in her footsteps.
Karyn McCular, 62, died of cancer last week, leaving behind legions of Pop Warner and Lynn Classical cheerleaders who relied on her for more than teaching them how to do their routines.
“She liked the kids, and liked being there for them,” said McCular, who formerly coached cheerleaders at Classical and now performs the same function at Essex Tech. “For the last week, people recognized me, and talk about how great she was.”
Karyn McCular became involved with cheerleading when Melissa was 8 years old and part of West Lynn Pop Warner.
“I began cheering, and I didn’t want to go by myself, so she went with me,” Melissa said.
Her mother followed her all through the different levels of the program. First, she became the cheerleading coordinator for West Lynn and then graduated to being the North Shore coordinator for Pop Warner. Part of those duties involved running the various competitions.
At the same time she was doing that, she became vice president of the organization, and soon joined the Eastern Mass. Pop Warner Board of Director.
When Melissa was ready to move to Classical, so was Karyn, and she ended up coaching there, too, until 2004. That’s when Melissa, a 1998 graduate, was there to take it over. But Karyn could never get it completely out of her system, even if family obligations forced her to turn the job over to her daughter.
“There’s a core group of girls she stayed close to,” Melissa said. “They talked about everything. For them, she was a friend, and she was a mother figure.
“Kids felt that could go to her for anything,” Melissa said. “She loved helping out people, and, most of all, she cared.”
Melissa feels some of that has rubbed off on her, too.
“I have that rapport with some of my girls too,” Melissa said. “You’re not just a coach. You’re teaching kids, and you’re molding them as well.”
Melissa feels her mother developed a lot of the empathy she had for people from her jobs as a nursing assistant, and then as activities director at Life Care Center for the North Shore in Lynn.
“Not everyone can connect with kids,” said Melissa, who is the oldest of three siblings (Matthew and Megan being the others).
These days, said Melissa, cheering is more athletic than it’s ever been.
“Our routines (for competitions) last two minutes and 30 seconds, and they’re jam-packed with moves. And it’s the same for games. Our team worked all summer with the football team. That’s what kind of shape these girls have to be in.”
Melissa McCular learned a lot about coaching from her mother. The biggest lesson she learned, she said, was how to handle people and situations.
“You have to have compassion and you have to care,” she said, “but you also have to let them know who’s the coach.
“And not everybody’s the same,” she said. “You have to have a different approach for different kids.”
