(Editor’s note: This is the sixth article in a series of CYO Varsity division cheer stories SILive.com will focus on leading up to the Island championships in March.)
While the CYO cheer divisions have changed over the years, specifically in age range, it’s fair to say the varsity division is usually made up of seventh and eighth-graders.
But, while most teams opt to include sixth-graders, it’s almost unusual for anyone younger to compete at the higher level save for special circumstances.
Not for Our Lady of Good Counsel’s varsity cheer program, however.
With ten girls ranging from 4th to 6th grade on its 16-member roster, the Knights are used to having its younger members having to fill big shoes.
“Even though it’s challenging in some ways, our younger girls are very mature for their age and are always putting in 100 percent,” said coach Kerri Ettinger. “They want to be just as good as the older girls and look up to them, so they work hard while enjoying it.”
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With 16 girls ranging from 4th to 8th grade on their roster, the Knights are focused on building their bonds on and off the mat as competition approaches.
While there were some growing pains in the beginning, especially with what coach Michelle Pizzo referred to as “body awareness” and “positioning,” the coaching staff agreed there were a few benefits in having the youngsters competing on the varsity level.
“When some things are said or done, it can be hard for the younger ones to understand because they aren’t as mature – like with body positioning and awareness, that’s something you just get with age,” said Pizzo. “But, in the long run, it’s good for them because they have that much more time to develop their skill because they’re competing at that higher level [from early on].”
But, being that OLGC is on the smaller side in terms of class size, it helps that the Knights are close both on and off the mat.
“The benefit of being in a small school is that everyone is like family and they do a lot of things with each other [in and out of cheer],” added Pizzo. “And, coming into the season, our goal was to focus on teamwork and having them form that second bond really early on – so that we could hit our skills while supporting each other.
“They know what it feels like to really work together and celebrating each other’s successes, and I feel now we’re very strong as a team because we did that early on.”
With 16 girls ranging from 4th to 8th grade on their roster, the Knights are focused on building their bonds on and off the mat as competition approaches. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)
But, on the mat, the coaching staff attributed their focus on tumbling to being their strongest suit. And, with half of their roster opening their second section with tumbling passes while the other half completes a braced switch-up, it’s fair to say the Knights can impress when it all hits.
“We’ve had tumbling in past seasons, but not as many girls tumbling at the same level,” said Pizzo. “But we’ve really focused on it this year, and the girls have really committed themselves to upping their tumbling skills.”
Now, with CYO competition just weeks away, the Tompkinsville school aims to keep pushing itself to the limit and being their best – in other words, according to Pizzo, “hitting everything a little bit higher and stronger.”
“They’re willing to keep rising to the occasion, going to each competition and taking their own notes and making new goals on what they need to do to get better,” said Christina Lema, who rounds off the staff. “It’s not just us pushing them to get better – they push themselves and each other.”
“And, as long as I’ve been coaching, it’s never been about winning,” concluded Pizzo. “These girls are so proud of what they’ve done and have that fight in them, so they just want to keep going while enjoying what they’re doing.”
With 16 girls ranging from 4th to 8th grade on their roster, the Knights are focused on building their bonds on and off the mat as competition approaches. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)
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-grader Leila Ettinger (backspot) and fifth-grader Penelope Lema (base/flyer) to get their thoughts on the season.
Why do you love being an OLGC cheerleader?
LE: The friendships you make over the years – like some of the girls I haven’t known for that long, but we’re so close because we spend so much time together.
PL: Like Leila said, you can grow closer to all your coaches and your other teammates and make a lot more friendships.
What is your favorite skill to perform and why?
LE: I would say roundoff back handspring tucks, because it feels really cool to just be in the air.
PL: I like stunting, especially my 360 extension because it’s really cool. I also feel sometimes it can be a really hard stunt and we still do it, and it shows how good of cheerleaders we are.
What’s one pre-competition ritual that you have?
LE: In third grade, my friends and I came up with a list of songs that we changed the lyrics to so they’re cheer-related, and we listen to them before every single competition [laughs].
PL: One thing we do before competition is a prayer to God and asking Him to give us confidence [on the mat].
With 16 girls ranging from 4th to 8th grade on their roster, the Knights are focused on building their bonds on and off the mat as competition approaches. (Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)(Annie DeBiase for the Advance/SILive.com)