A Season of Champions

By Ben Rosenbaum

How can a cheerleading season seemingly cursed with numerous complications and bad luck transform into a year marked by success? Just ask the SHS varsity cheerleading team, which surmounted many obstacles on its journey to this year’s cheerleading nationals in Florida.

One problem to overcome was the loss of ten seniors from the 2008-09 varsity team. “[At first] we were extremely concerned because the seniors that we lost were basically the core of our team last year,” explained senior Mary Gliatta. Because of this sizable decrease in the already small team, which Gliatta attributed to the “unpopular” reputation of being a cheerleader, the varsity team had to accept younger cheerleaders who would normally cheer at the JV level. These promotions came as a shock to the younger cheerleaders who made the varsity team, including freshman Dejana Lebron, who was “really surprised because freshmen rarely make the varsity team.”

Cheer Regardless of Year

Because the varsity squad took on more inexperienced cheerleaders, practices were devoted to teaching basics. “It was difficult in the beginning because they had a lot to learn. It was kind of like going ‘back to basics,’” recalled captain senior Claire Jaffe. This need to focus on fundamentals deprived the varsity captains and seniors of valuable improvement time. “We had to adjust a lot, learn to work with the situation, and try as best we could,” explained senior Alexandra Newman.

Freshman Lindsay Leboyer felt the pressure. “We had a lot to live up to. We had to work really hard,” she said. Feelings of frustration and confusion led to low expectations for the season and many team members were “pessimistic in the beginning,” said sophomore Sara Pattiz.

Overcoming The Obstacles

Despite these challenges, the varsity cheerleaders achieved success this season, winning most of their local tournaments. “It was very hard to go through but we did overcome it…. It was a really good feeling to know that all of the work we did had paid off,” said Lebron. The County Center tournament, the team’s first big win, was a substantial catalyst, turning the team’s feelings of disappointment into excitement for the remaining competitions of the season.

The team had many other local victories. This progress can be attributed to “dedication, hard work, and [the ability to] get along and work together,” according to Gliatta.

Not So Cheery

Pattiz, however, believed that mindset was the most important factor in their success. “I would say [we had] an attitude change,” said Pattiz. “When we’re all really positive, things work out better for us.”

However, the season took a turn for the worse in the weeks leading up to the national tournament in Florida. The varsity team was burdened with financial hardship, injury, and uncooperative weather. On the day of the regional tournament, which served as a qualifier for Nationals, the roads were covered with snow and driving was dangerous “to the point where we had no way of getting to regionals,” said co-captain senior Haley Nerenberg.

To add to this disappointment, the team was also “in a lot of physical pain because [their] injuries were really getting to [them],” said Nerenberg. This problem led the team to an innovative method of qualification, which ended up landing them a spot in Florida for the national competition. “We spoke to the head of the competition and he told us we could make a video of our routine and mail it in so that’s what we did, and they ended up giving us a bid for Nationals,” said Gliatta.

Bring It On

The team was confronted with more bad news by their coach at their annual holiday party. “Our coach told us that we couldn’t go to Nationals because of financial reasons,” said Nerenberg. Nevertheless, the team persevered by selling ads in an ad journal to raise funds. “We really tried to bust our butts to get as many ads as possible and we were able to raise all the money we needed,” added Nerenberg.

The varsity team eventually made it to Florida after much hard work. Although the team did not make it past preliminaries, many team members still felt that it was a great experience. “I’m really glad we got to go because seeing it in person and being there really helps [the younger cheerleaders], and now that they’ve seen what else is out there, they can establish big hopes and dreams and know what they have to accomplish in years to come,” said Newman.

A Season to Remember

Despite the problems, “we knew we were starting off as the underdogs this year, so we had to work extra hard,” said Gliatta. “We were extremely fortunate to have three great coaches who were able to really motivate us. With their help, along with the team’s positive attitude, we were able to have a really successful year.”