Cheerleading brings on nationals

Hundreds of people sit in silence as the music is cued. A team of 15 girls wait patiently for their moment to shine. As a mix of energetic music begins, the Assumption College cheerleaders blast onto the mat and make a memorable impression on the judges. They know that they only have the next three minutes to prove themselves, so they must give the routine everything they've got. "Right before you go on, you either want to pee your pants or throw up. Once you actually set foot on the mat, everything fades away and you just know exactly what you have to do," senior cheerleader Stephanie Camerlengo says. She continues, "The best feeling in the world is when you're done and you've hit the perfect routine-you feel like everything was worth it!"

Exhibiting strength with precise choreography, tumbling and stunts, the cheerleaders did just that and earned a second place title at the United Cheer Foundation's Pot of Gold Nationals on March 21.

The team hopes to repeat their good fortune as they head to Daytona Beach, Florida on April 9 and 10 to compete in the 2009 National Cheer Association/National Dance Association Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship. Last year, the girls earned 12th place in the nation under the All-Girl II division.

This year for the cheerleaders, though, just getting to competition in Daytona has been a journey in itself. Upon returning in the fall, "we didn't think we'd have a team," said Erika Geyer, a junior. The cheerleaders experienced difficulties when their old coach left the team, which fell apart as a result. Captain Erynn McDavitt, a senior, shared the same view. "At the beginning of this year, there was no doubt in my mind that I was done cheerleading," she said. Disheartened, but not defeated, the girls needed a reassembled team and a capable coach to guide them.

Their answer came in the addition of Matthew Holdridge, co-owner of the Bay State All Stars. The gym coaches four teams of locally and nationally recognized cheerleaders and dancers. "Matt has changed the team in every way possible. He has given us a mentally and physically stable coach to learn from, talk to, and confide in whenever needed. He is amazing," said co-captain Kailyn Getchell, a senior. The experience is a welcome contribution to the Assumption squad. "He has given us all of the tools in order to succeed, and now it is up to us to pull together as a team and perform to the best of our ability," McDavitt said.

The tools McDavitt speaks of include a combination of dancing, gymnastics, stunting, endurance, stamina and trust that are necessary components for success. The girls' work doesn't go unnoticed by their coach, who enthusiastically notes their progress as "significant"; however, they often feel that is unnoticed by the people who question whether cheerleading is even a sport, undermining the hard work they accomplish. To those people Getchell responded, "We have full out, in season practices seven months of the year, three days a week for two and a half hours each night; we have mandatory work outs during the week." She added, "And if someone gets hurt, they have to suck it up; there are no replacements in cheerleading."

The combination of skills necessary is a far cry from what cheerleading used to be. "It's no longer poodle skirts and pompoms on the side lines; it has undergone a transformation that not many people know of," McDavitt said. She continued, "People think that lifting girls in the air is easy, in all honesty, it takes an abundance of strength, trust and timing to get it right." There are no poodle skirts in sight when six girls are in the air, lifting one another while they are suspended themselves, and being supported by their base 15 feet below.

Holdridge added that, "It's not just going to cheer at a game," and often times people only get to see that component instead of the intense national competitions.

Holdridge is also certain that if the girls hit their routine at nationals, they will go on to do very well. "I'm very confident in them," he said. There are two days of competition, and the girls must execute everything perfectly in order to move on to the finals. They've been moved to the tougher Division II competition category and are competing against teams that have more resources and most likely didn't disband over the summer. Nonetheless, they're taking it all in stride and know that their new strength as a team will see them through. "They're a cohesive unit," said Holdridge.

Although they saw success at the Pot of Gold Nationals, the cheerleaders always see room for improvement. "We have changed our routine around a lot. We have taken our weakest points in the routine and made them as strong as the rest," Getchell said. Speaking for the team, Camerlengo added, "It's all about proving it to ourselves that we deserve to be on the mat for day two [of competition].