“Team NorthWest” after a competition this year: (front) Alexis Dobrom, Briana Smith, Kristen Fiori, Brittany Dintinger, Paige Swisher, Savanna Sanfillippo, Megan Hutton, Chrissy Martini, Sara Furch, (middle) Kim King, Anna Kerekes, Fieraro Desinor, Marisa Niedermaier, Juliana Costa, Sydney Bentz, Christina Conte, Saysha McRae, Janiece Calderon, Briana Torres, Devon Young, Cassie Gyorffy, (back) Gina DiAntonio, Becca Butler, Taylor Chamberlain, Allison Dertouzos, Emily Baum, Haley Miszak, Katie Korchick, Bri Diaz, Alyssa James, Bryanna McRae, MaryLou DeMonte, Julia Quick, Tatiana Takacs, Mekka Baez-Mitchell, Nina Innocenzi and Laura Petrangeli. Not pictured are Hamilton West’s Mady Francis, Alissa LaMorte and Alexa Ziccardi.“Team NorthWest” after a competition this year: (front) Alexis Dobrom, Briana Smith, Kristen Fiori, Brittany Dintinger, Paige Swisher, Savanna Sanfillippo, Megan Hutton, Chrissy Martini, Sara Furch, (middle) Kim King, Anna Kerekes, Fieraro Desinor, Marisa Niedermaier, Juliana Costa, Sydney Bentz, Christina Conte, Saysha McRae, Janiece Calderon, Briana Torres, Devon Young, Cassie Gyorffy, (back) Gina DiAntonio, Becca Butler, Taylor Chamberlain, Allison Dertouzos, Emily Baum, Haley Miszak, Katie Korchick, Bri Diaz, Alyssa James, Bryanna McRae, MaryLou DeMonte, Julia Quick, Tatiana Takacs, Mekka Baez-Mitchell, Nina Innocenzi and Laura Petrangeli. Not pictured are Hamilton West’s Mady Francis, Alissa LaMorte and Alexa Ziccardi.
Nottingham and Hamilton West cheerleading squads form “Team NorthWest”
By Ken Weingartner
If “north” is figuratively “up,” then the Nottingham and Hamilton West cheerleading squads have given new meaning to north by northwest.
Thanks to practicing together occasionally, the two squads have picked each other up and helped each other enjoy success. They have become, in the words of the team members, a family known as NorthWest.
Last month, Nottingham won the Small Group Division championship at the Colonial Valley Conference’s Cheerleading Classic at West Windsor-Plainsboro North. It was the Northstars’ second consecutive title in the division. Hamilton West finished second in the Medium Group Division.
“Melinda Haines, Nottingham’s head coach, and I previously worked together at Nottingham when I was teaching there,” said West coach Jayme Canavera, who is in her second year as the squad’s head coach after serving one season as an assistant. “We figured that having another team as an audience would help each other with constructive criticism and overall performance.
“We scheduled a couple practices together, and West’s cheer team definitely benefited from it. Having another team cheer you on during a routine got both teams excited and pumped up. The teams were extremely respectful of each other and exchanged phone numbers and social media. From there it kind of took off.”
Nottingham senior cheerleader Paige Swisher says the girls “instantly clicked” the first time they met.
“We have become one big family that we call NorthWest,” Swisher said. “We support each other in everything. All of us act alike, we love to have a good time, there is never any drama, and honestly the only thing that’s different between us is the schools we attend and the colors we represent.”
Teammate Marissa Niedermaier, also a senior, added, “Ever since those practices, we have supported each other whether it is on Twitter, at competition or at games. In the hallway, we started a ‘NorthWest’ chant. Then, we started a ‘When we say North you say West. North …West North …West’ chant between performances. We went crazy for them when they took the floor, and they did the same for us.
“I am very happy that our squads became so close this season. I love being a part of NorthWest.”
Both teams started practicing in the spring for the fall season. The girls worked through the summer on conditioning and to learn their routines, then practiced at least two hours daily Monday through Friday after school begins. Saturdays, of course, were dedicated to cheering at football games.
During the winter, practices are held on days when there are no basketball games.
“I enjoy going out and cheering in front of a big crowd,” said Swisher, who has been a cheerleader for four years and got started when her brother began playing football. “When the crowd gets pumped, so do you; it’s an immediate rush of excitement. That is going to be one of the biggest things I will miss next year.”
Haines, who cheered through high school at Rancocas Valley and college at Southern Connecticut State, and choreographer Ricki Braithwaite put together the routine for the cheerleaders at Nottingham. The team, selected from four days of tryouts, typically has 16 to 19 girls.
“We create everything based on the team I have and mold the routine around their strengths and weaknesses,” Haines said. “Then I change the routine 30 to 50 times before we actually perform. It’s never a finished product until the girls actually take it to the mat.
“I love choreographing and seeing the progress the girls make. I love to watch their expressions and reactions when they hit a stunt or do something that thought they couldn’t do. Most of all, I love watching how the skills and life lessons that cheerleading teaches makes them into better more educated and more capable young woman.”
The Northstars’ CVC group title in 2012 was their first ever, although the squad had won special awards previously.
“That is my favorite memory,” Niedermaier said. “Our goal last year with a new coach was to win that first place in our division. We believed in ourselves and our team and knew we had a shot. When the second-place team was announced, and our name wasn’t called we began to stand up as tears of joy rolled down our faces. At that point, we knew we won, and we just wanted to celebrate.”
Niedermaier began cheering her freshman year, with a nudge from her mother.
“She knew I would enjoy it,” Niedermaier said. “Now that I have cheered the past four years, I couldn’t imagine going through high school without cheering.”
Over at West, the fall varsity cheerleading squad had 21 girls, selected from a three-day tryout in the spring, and 17 girls on the junior varsity squad. The winter varsity squad has 13 members, with 15 on the JV.
Canavera and assistant coach Cassie Bunda selected music for the squad’s dance routine and added words for the competition cheer. They then got input from captains Janiece Calderon, Kristen Fiori and Madysun Francis, as well as other team members, in coming up with the cheer motions and dance routine.
“We like having the ability to make a routine that matches the team’s personalities,” Canavera said.
“Our coaches gave us the music, and we would all try different things and whatever we all liked we added to the routine,” Fiori said. “It was pretty easy because we had all three of our ideas.”
Fiori, who is a senior at West, started cheering when she was 5, first for the Pop Warner Hornets. She cheered all four years at West, but was limited to the fall season the last two years because of a bad back.
“Cheerleading is my favorite thing to do, so there are a ton of things I love about it,” Fiori said. “I think what I enjoy most is being able to support, encourage and cheer on my team and my school. I love being able to keep people’s spirits up and always believe in everyone just like they should believe in themselves.
“Being part of the West cheer family left me with so many amazing memories that I will keep with me the rest of my life.”
The memories being created extend to the coaches too.
“This team, year after year proves to be a family,” Canavera said. “I spend a lot of time with these teams, more time than I spend with my family and friends throughout the fall. I wouldn’t change it because it’s really fun.”
Both Nottingham and West are involved in community service. Among the projects at Nottingham were donating school supplies to the Trenton Housing Authority for underprivileged children, doing a drive for the Yellow Ribbon Association to send supplies to troops in the Middle East, and a holiday food drive.
“We also have a couple girls who are in the Top 10 of their class,” Niedermaier said. “We are a very well-rounded squad.”
Haines said this year’s squad has been her closest ever. “They always stood by one another and took each other into consideration. They had each other’s backs on and off the mat. Like any close relationship, they fought like siblings but always made up and loved each other later. The team’s best quality is definitely their ambition to always be better.”
At West, the charity work has included raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation through the sale of “Hornet Fans are Cheering for a Cure” pink T-shirts. The squad also has volunteered at Special Olympics events and sang holiday songs at a local nursing home.
“I try to keep my eyes out for volunteer events for the team to participate in,” Canavera said. “It’s important for them to be involved in their community and to give back to a community that provides us with such great support.”
Support that, as the Nottingham and West cheerleaders have discovered, can come from any part of town.
“The relationship between NorthWest is so awesome,” Fiori said. “Instead of us being rivals, we actually got to know each other and made a lot of new friends. We all love the relationship that we have.”
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