Diamondettes look to even more successes

By David Jablonski Managing Editor

It was a special day for Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC owner/director Nicole Marie Placca on Saturday, June 3, when she received an award from Cranford Mayor Brian Andrews at Diamond Gymnastics Academy in Cranford.

“The award recognizes the program for offering baton twirling, which is very rare for the area, and the mayor acknowledged the team for their championship in Wildwood,” said Placca in a recent interview with LocalSource.

“We’re the only baton-twirling program in the area, the official one in the area,” she explained. “We’re the first studio since Ms. Pat’s in Union. Batontwirling isn’t a common sport, so all the students who come to me are relatively novice. I’m really building athletes from nothing.”

The number of trophies she and her students possess demonstrate just how successful her efforts have been.

Diamondettes is the first private baton and dance program to be established in Union County since the decade-run Patti's Dolls ran out of Union,” Placca said.

“Classes take place conveniently in many Union County locations, in particular the main home of Diamondettes, which is Diamond Gymnastics of Cranford,” Placca said. “Recently, Sunburst Gymnastics of Union has been holding consistent classes as enrollment grows.”

From left are Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC owner/director Nicole Marie Placca and Cranford Mayor Brian Andrews, holding an award he presented to her on Saturday, June 3, at Diamond Gymnastics Academy in Cranford. Also in the photo are Placca’s Diamondettes who are standing and kneeling to one side holding trophies they won this season. The award recognizes the program for offering baton twirling, which is very rare for the area, and the mayor acknowledged the team for their championship in Wildwood.

Looking to increase the availability of her program throughout the county, she added that there is something unique about what she has to offer that makes it a good fit for girls of all ages and athletic abilities.

“Our program greatly differs from the commonplace youth athletic programs in that we focus on individuality and tailor instruction in real time to adapt to each child,” Placca said. “We reward the imperfections just as much as the successes, because they are necessary to the learning process.”

Placca, who is a baton-twirling coach at Union High School and also teaches high school Spanish, said, as an educator, she sees first-hand that the social and emotional needs of youth need to be focused on and she ensures that every class session is devoted to not only teach twirling, but to motivate and emphasize social and emotional needs.

“Unlike many performance groups, our program adapts the skills to meet the abilities of the child; therefore, our program makes it possible for those with no prior skills to succeed, while those with performance skills enhance their current abilities with a learning baton,” she said.

She said the basis of the program is that of celebrating individuality and giving each student what they personally need to experience success in terms of their own needs.

“We strive to show everyone that they can be an athlete and that athleticism comes in all forms,” she said.

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