NORWICH – The Norwich cheerleading team – a team that has almost been cut from the school budget multiple times – boasts their most recent accomplishment of sending two seniors to the national and global stages.
“I look back at everything these girls have done for the school and their community over the past years and I am just so happy that the school was able to keep us going,” said Norwich head coach Marie DeSarro. “These are great kids, not only do they cheer at every football game, boys and girls basketball games, they do so much in their community too.”
Some of the remarkable things the NHS cheer squad has done for their local community include raising over $7,000 for the Relay For Life of Chenango County, volunteering every month at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church soup kitchen, volunteering at the United Way’s Day of Caring and Hygiene Drives, helping at St. Paul’s Catholic Church putting food baskets together at the holidays, purchasing gifts for two girls last year at during the Christmas holiday, running many food and Toys-for Tots drives, cheering and walking at the Broome County Walk to End Alzheimer’s event just to name a few.
Now the team and two seniors are seeking the communities help as two individuals have been granted the ability, and therefore will be taking to the roads to see just what the sport of cheerleading has to offer them on a national and world level – however, these experiences are not free.
Each year in late August – prior to the start of the high school football season – coach DeSarro takes her squad to the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) cheerleading camp at Brant Lake Camp in Brant Lake, New York.
At this three day camp, the team partakes in full-day routines of cheer-related classes, where they learn a dance routine, cheers, sidelines, and stunts.
DeSarro explained that one of the camp highlights each year is the All-American tryouts. Each team that attends the cheer camp is allowed to pick up to six cheerleaders on their team to tryout to become an All-American.
“It’s a pretty prestigious cheerleading honor to be an All-American. In front of the entire camp, they have to perform jumps, a cheer and a dance routine, and are judged by the UCA staff. Later in the camp, the All-American’s are announced,” said coach DeSarro.
2016 saw the NHS varsity cheerleading team produce five cheerleaders who tried out: sophomore, Mya Loughren; junior, Karissa Prindle; junior, Kalliann Harrison; junior, Shelby Rose; and senior, Samantha Hall. Of the five who tried out in front of the entire camp in an attempt to earn the honors of All-American, Norwich would have two girls that made the cut. Shelby Rose – who impressively tried out in 2015 and is now a two-time All-American – and Samamtha Hall.
Once an individual is awarded All-American, the UCA honors that accomplishment by offering several different vacation spots that these cheerleaders can attend to continue to further along their careers in the sport.
“The trip that most All-Americans want to take, is to London, England. They spend a full week in London sightseeing and bonding with other All-American cheerleaders from across the U.S.,” said coach DeSarro.
However, the stage continues to grow for these approximately 800 All-American cheerleaders, as during the final stages of their trip to London, they are required to perform in the London New Year’s Day parade, one of the biggest parades in the world. Taking to this world stage this year will be senior Samantha Hall, when she embarks for England in late December, 2016.
“it (will) be a really good experience and great to meet new people,” said Samantha Hall. “I've had the chance too but I let the senior go instead.”
Now as a senior herself, Hall will get the chance to represent her school and her sport on the world stage. Notably, 2016 marks the third consecutive year that NHS has helped send an All-American to London.
