mined which school had the best mascot
Young noted that not
Cooper Mendoza puts his heart and soul into giving the
best performance as the Waddles mascot.
“Every mascot has their own unique traits
from the way they walk, to interactions
with the crowd and overall movements.”
A component of Mendoza’s Waddles
is his outfits. The costume for waddles
allows him the freedom not only to
move freely, but to also wear outfits cor-
relating with the event he participates in.
Home loans that
“If it’s a football game, I’ll wear a foot-
ball jersey. For pink-out, I’ll wear pink,”
said Mendoza. “It is fun. I have a lot of
stay home.
different outfits.”
Mendoza’s Waddles has gained much
recognition and awards. Most recently,
Waddles won the Dave Campbell’s Texas
High School Football (TXHSFB) Mascot
Costume Challenge. The contest deter-
Home loans that
stay home.
FALL 2021 19
performs with.
in the Lone Star State. The contest had
65 mascots participate, with six rounds.
Mendoza gained lots of support at the
beginning of the challenge at the SMU
Cheer camp in early June and later at
the Texas A&M Cheer Camp using a QR
Code.
Earning best mascot in Texas and
winning All-American awards have
been the achievements that Mendoza
mentioned being most proud of.
“You get there and there’s a lot of
people (both participating and in the
crowd). Usually there’s up to five other
mascots there,” said Mendoza.
Waddles performed at the Citrus
Bowl in 2019, along with 60 other mas-
Home loans that
cots from across the country. Mendoza
practiced 2-3 hours for three days prior
year, said Young. stay home.
to the event. The plan is to go back this
What sets Waddles apart from the
rest of the competition is being a duck
and the goofiness that is put into the
character Mendoza noted. Being the
only duck in a sea of lions, tigers and
bears makes a difference.
“Being in this city, no matter what,
you are a duck too,” said Young. “I feel
like that’s a unifying thing and some-
thing (Mendoza) has going for him”
Waddles and the Duck Crew partic-
ipated in the July 4 parade. He also
made an appearance at the Taylor Press
3-on-3 Tournament. Young noted that
with more events opening, Waddles will
continue to attend to boost Duck pride.
Being a mascot requires lots of hard
work, time and endurance. Just like
the cheer team, Mendoza has his own
routines, bits and music track that he
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only does Mendoza have a birthday and
Christmas wish list, but Waddles also
has one for props. Among the items
Waddles is wishing for are a plunger,
referee doll and most importantly, a
t-shirt cannon, said Mendoza.
“Driving Taylor Duck pride is the
focus for him right now,” said Young.
“We want our community to feel con-
nected, being that we are all ducks. This
is one way he can give back and contrib-
ute to that goal.”
Although his high school career is
just beginning, Mendoza has big plans
for post-graduation. Collegiate-level
mascot performing and competition has
become an interest for the young duck.
Mendoza mentioned his favorite colle-
giate mascot being the Oregon Duck.
“Like any activity or sport, Cooper is
working on generating his resume for
college,” said Young. “His goal is to be a
collegiate mascot for a large university.”
For now, Waddles is the main duck on
Mendoza’s mind. With more opportu-
nities such as games, competitions and
events, Waddles can continue to shake
his tail feathers with the cheer team for
the Taylor community. Mendoza noted
that although his schedule is busy, he
finds ways to manage his time well.
“I have different things set up for dif-
ferent times,” said Mendoza. “If I have
homework or something (else), I’ll just
do it later in the day.”
As busy as being a mascot for a town
may be, Mendoza is involved with more
than just being Waddles. Aside from
being on the varsity cheer team as a
freshman, he is also working to be on
the basketball and soccer teams.