(Editor’s note: This is the third article in a series of CYO Varsity division cheer stories SILive.com will focus on leading up the Island championships in March.)

Even the best things take a little time to culminate and grow.

And, as anyone in the sports world knows, championships aren’t won in the beginning of the season. However, and perhaps more importantly, no team wants to peak at the beginning just to trail off and settle when it knows what it’s capable of.

That, perhaps, is St. Joseph-St. Thomas St. John Neumann’s recipe to success as it looks to earn back-to-back CYO Small Varsity Island and State championships in March.

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SJSTSJN looks to earn second consecutive CYO Island and State titles

“Last year, honestly, it didn’t quickly come together and it was only towards the end that we started doing upgrades and adding [new skills], and I feel like that’s happening again this year,” said SJSTSJN coach Antonette Scarola. “It’s slowly, slowly gelling and coming together [like last season], but when it clicks they’re a force.

“We also try to instill in them to never be content where they are,” added Vianna Passalacqua, with Jenna Malandruccolo rounding off the staff. “Whether it takes them a little bit longer or not, we want them to be wanting more even on their best day.”

With a motto of being “Saint Strong” this year, the squad had to regroup after losing five eighth-graders to graduation last year. But, with the addition of two fifth-graders and even a fourth-grader in a division that’s typically 6th to 8th, the coaching staff believes they’re setting up for future success.

“Any of our kids are worth the effort it takes to improve and be their best, so it’s more about having [them] realize what it’s like to be at a varsity level in a much quicker amount of time,” said Passalacqua. “We lost kids that we’ve had for several years and who the team was cultivated around, so we’re working on making sure our new faces have the same type of bonds and connections they did in years past.”

Besides their bond off the mat, one portion of the Saints’ routine that sets them apart from competitors is their first pyramid. The sequence, which sees a flyer flip up and land with a single base while two tumblers match the skill on the ground, is “really cool when executed right” according to Passalacqua.

Now, with less than a month and a half until the first CYO competition, SJSTSJN is focused on making each practice and performance better than the one before.

“[We want them] to push, push, push – to do the most and to give every single thing they have on the mat. They can’t not let themselves believe that they can’t be better than they were the day before,” emphasized Passalacqua. “We don’t put the emphasis on ‘you need to win,’ but on competing against themselves every single time. [Our last competition] wasn’t a great performance for them and that’s what they need to overcome now – not the second place, but that they weren’t at their best.”

“They have one job to do, and that’s it,” concluded Scarola. “That’s what we say to them when they go to competition. They have a job to do, so get it done well and be done with it.”

CHEERLEADER’S CORNER

The Staten Island Advance/SILIVE.com, to highlight some of the young cheerleaders spending multiple days a week practicing and preparing for competition, spoke with eighth-graders Laila Torres (backspot) and Isabella Barretta (main base) to get their thoughts on the season.

What’s your favorite part of the routine?

LT: The cheer because it starts us off strong and it gives us a good vibe for the rest of the routine.

IB: Probably the pyramid, because it releases all of our skills, we can do it really good and clean and it ends off our routine with a good hit.

What are you looking forward to the most during the season?

LT: Just bonding with everyone at competitions – it’s just a great opportunity to start friendships.

IB: I’m looking forward to hitting zero, trying to get first and being with my team for my last year.

What’s one pre-competition ritual you have?

LT: I shake out the jitters with my stunt group by saying ‘1-2-3-4 1-2-3 1-2′ – just shaking it all out helps us cool down and calm down before the routine.

IB: I always get Starbucks with my stunt group (a strawberry acai refresher with no strawberries) and all of us [go around] saying what we have to do for every stunt in order to hit.