This season, the Keene State College Cheerleading team was told they would be getting a new coach—they would have never guessed they would be getting two.
Halfway through the season, Heath Haskell, the team’s first coach, was unable to make a full commitment to the team and the women were left without a coach. The women said they were devastated, thinking their only hope of attending nationals was gone.
Luckily, KSC alumni Nicole Dick came to the rescue.
“Nikki puts all her heart into the program, you can tell she wants to be there and wants to help the program become better,” senior co-captain, Trisha Gunning, said.
With the help of their new coach, the women trained and practiced three to four times a week, eager to get to the Universal Cheerleaders Association Nationals, held at Disney in Orlando, Florida.
Brian Cantore / Photo Editor:
The KSC cheerleading team watches the men’s basketball team play a recent home game against Southern Maine on Saturday, Feb. 1.
The week before the trip two cheerleaders were named ineligible to attend, leaving the team with only twelve members and lots of changes to make to the routine. In Orlando, they competed against eight other teams in the Open Division and came out with a ninth place finish.
Although the squad expected to do better, it is a young team made up mostly of underclassmen, and the women said nerves got the best of them.
Senior captain Breanna Vacca explained, “This competition was a real eye-opener for the team and especially the freshmen. For some girls, it was their first competition ever. I think it was good for the younger girls to see their future competition so they can prepare better and know what to expect in the future.”
Since some members of the team have never done competitive cheerleading before, the transition from high school cheerleading to college cheerleading was quite a change.
“The stunting is a lot more difficult and there are a lot of new people, and only a few upperclassmen who actually know how to do the stunts at the college level. We know we have a lot of potential and we really want to make the top three for the next three years,” freshman Gabriella Pace said.
Their coach had been to nationals, but she attended the National Cheerleaders Association competition in Daytona, Florida—not the UCA competition held in Orlando.
“I was very nervous, I didn’t know what to expect. It was my first time going to nationals as a head coach to a competition I had never been to,” coach Dick said.
Dick continued, “But once the day came, the nerves were gone. Everything was going great and all the girls were getting along.”
On the other hand, when the final performance came, the team fell short of Dick’s high expectations.
“Thursday night we performed at the basketball game and everything hit and looked great and the girls were very engaging with the crowd, and Saturday morning comes and warm-ups also went very well. Once we hit the mat things just fell apart,” Dick said.
With two more competitions ahead— one in Connecticut and another in Massachusetts—the girls hope to end the season on a fun and positive note.
Dick plans on returning next year and wants to see the younger girls stick together throughout the years and start traditions.
“You know, you always get attached to that first group. I really want to see this select group of freshmen carry on. I want to see them continue and finish together their senior year and earn the respect they deserve from the student body.”
Kendall Pope can be contacted at kpope@keene-equinox.com
