"I pretty much thought after high school I'd be finished,” said Sofie Tate.
Sofie Tate expected to hang up her pom-poms after graduating from Columbus High School in May of 2015.
But, the story of the cheerleader with only one leg didn’t stop there. It wasn’t Sofie’s birth defect, but her talent that got her noticed by someone in Lincoln.
“She's very, very good at what she does,” said Terry Lange.
Nebraska Wesleyan University Cheer Coach Terry Lange saw Sofie cheering on the local news a few years ago.
“An individual with the limitation that she has, with what she was doing, it was just phenomenal to watch her perform,” said Lange.
Last spring Coach Lange offered Sofie a chance to try-out for the NWU cheer squad. The other girls were shocked when Sofie crutched into try-outs.
"I didn't know if it was even possible,” said Caitlyn Skuodas.
Caitlyn Skuodas and the rest of the girls trying out were quickly convinced that one leg or two, Sofie is the real deal.
Sofie made the squad and her teammates now forget that she is different.
"Honestly most of us don't even notice that she's not walking on two legs like everyone else, she just does her thing,” said Skuodas.
Sofie admits she sometimes imagines what life would be like with two legs.
“Just walking and dancing and cheering sounds fun, but honestly if this is the worst thing that happens to me, like we'll be good, because it's not too hard at all,” said Tate.
As much as having two legs would be great, life on one leg is Sofie’s normal.
“I just kind of do what I do, I don't try to impress people,” said Tate.
She may not try to impress, but she surely inspires.
“I can't tell you the amount of people who tell her she is an inspiration, because what she does is amazing,” said Skuodas.
Sofie says even though cheerleading comes naturally, she does have her limitations just like everyone else.
“I can't do a lot of things. I can't carry my own plate in the cafeteria, I can't text and walk, like some stuff you just can't do and that's totally okay,” said Tate.
Maybe we should all take a page out of Sofie’s book and be our own cheerleader.
