Teen Dashes Down the Bleachers to Lift Spirits of Crying Cheerleader

When Addie Rodiguez broke down into tears during a cheerleading routine, it only took a little boost to lift her spirits once more.

The 9-year-old was performing with her Central Catholic High School cheerleading team at a football game in San Antonio, Texas. During a special portion of the routine, the fathers of the cheerleaders are supposed to come in from the stands and hoist their respective daughters onto their shoulders.

Addie’s father, however, could not be there.

25-year-old Abel Rodriguez was at a military base in California for Air Force training.

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When the the little girl started crying at the thought of her missing dad, an ROTC senior high schooler named Matthew Garcia dashed down through the bleachers so he could lift her into the air himself.

“(Addie) was kind of shocked and scared at first, but then when he knelt down to tell her, ‘I’m going to pick you up, too,’ she was really happy and thankful,” Addi’s mom Alexis Perry-Rodriguez told TODAY. “She said, ‘He saved my life, mom!’ He made her feel so good about herself.”

Lift Up The Good News: Click To Share – Photo by Alexis Perry-Rodriquez