After taking an unexpected year off from competing in the National High School Cheerleading Championship following Superstorm Sandy, the Pinelands Regional High School varsity cheerleading team is ready to bring it on again. Despite last-minute routine changes due to unforeseen injuries, the team placed second out of 15 teams at the Universal Cheerleading Association’s Northeast Regional Championship at the Ritacco Center in Toms River on Sunday, Nov. 24, earning the athletes a bid to the most prestigious cheerleading championship in the country. The team will compete for first place at the national competition at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., in February.
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| Photo by Ryan Morrill The varsity cheerleading team practices its competitive routine before regionals. |
The Pinelands cheerleading team has been nationally ranked since 2005 and has advanced directly from preliminaries to finals as one of the top two teams during the last five trips to the national competition. Although the girls earned a bid to the competition last year, they decided to skip the event after Sandy displaced many residents and the high school was used as an evacuation center.
“There were so many people who lost their homes here in Pinelands. We were at the eye of the storm,” said Marybeth Sundermann, head coach of the Pinelands cheerleading team for the past 19 years. “There was so much turmoil and so much going on that the coaches and team decided it was just a good year to take a break from nationals. Nationals is a really expensive endeavor, and to ask people to donate that kind of money when so many people had just lost so much was not something we were going to do,” she added.
It costs the team about $30,000 to attend the national competition every year, when factoring in registration, airfare, food and lodging, Sundermann said.
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| Photo by Ryan Morrill The athletes warm up their tumbling routine. |
A former Pinelands cheerleader, Sundermann was also dealing with serious health issues last year. She was in and out of the hospital battling Sjögrens syndrome, an autoimmune disease that had advanced and spread to all of her major organs. She had to take a medical leave and was unable to attend most of the team’s practices. Although her health is still a concern, she is back to coaching the team seven days a week.
“Cheerleading is what keeps me going. The parents and the kids are the light of my life, even though I’m tough on them,” she said.
The team has a strict cheerleading program, requiring the girls to attend practices all year, including weekends and holidays. As a competitive team, no one’s spot is safe and anyone can be pulled from her position if “something’s not hitting right,” Sundermann said.
“It’s a competitive sport. You earn your spot. It’s a privilege,” she explained.
When the team arrives in Disney for nationals, the girls are required to attend practices and to stay with the team at all times. The girls do not ride on rides or go shopping, and they do not spend time with their families until after the competition.
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| Photo by Ryan Morrill The girls show their school spirit while practicing their stunts. |
“It’s not Disney World to us when we’re there,” said Sundermann. “We are scouting other teams and practicing. It’s high stress.”
Tanya Rowe, mother of Bryanna Rowe, 16, a junior on the team, said the competitive nature of the sport is tough on the girls, but everyone accepts it.
“They love it. My daughter has wanted to do this forever,” said Rowe. “She’s happy to be on the team. She’s worked her butt off and has improved tremendously. Her self-esteem has gone through the roof. It’s healthy competition, just like life.
“The girls all love each other, and it makes me happy to watch them practice and compete,” she added.
The strict code encourages the girls to do their best since a stunt group that “clicks” might stop working as hard if the practice becomes “too comfortable,” Sundermann said. The team usually has three or four “alternates” in case of injuries. Those girls also have the opportunity to take the place of the others already on the team.
Former Pinelands cheerleaders, including assistant coaches Kelly Flannery and Nikki Oliver, are usually hired to coach the team since they are already aware of the strict program and understand its benefits. But the team’s motto, “We do things the Pinelands way, the right way, the only way,” is not just about cheerleading. "It’s about building character," said Sundermann.
The girls are held to a higher standard and are expected to leave a place cleaner than when they arrived. The girls are not allowed to attend parties where alcohol is involved, either.
“It’s not about winning a trophy. It’s about trust,” said Sundermann. “It’s about being there for your teammates, knowing you can depend on each other being at practice. It’s about being a family.”
Kelsey Edwards, 17, of Tuckerton, a senior on the team, called the girls her “second family.” Although there have been issues with rivalry and cliques during previous years, she said, this year’s group is very supportive of one another.
“I love the relationship we’ve built. I’m with this team more than my own family,” said Edwards. “If I need anything, I know I can come to them just like I could go to my mom. We support each other and know what everyone needs to cheer them up. We encourage each other to do their best. We all have the same dream,” she added.
As a cheerleader for the Pinelands school district since seventh grade, Edwards said she always looked up to the high school cheerleaders.
“Growing up, I always wanted to be one of them,” she said. “I wanted to go to nationals, be on ESPN and do interviews. So I’m very proud to be a Pinelands cheerleader.”
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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