Sports There’s No “Me” in “Pink Ladies” Exceptional team effort of the NVOT Winter Cheer Team leads to another successful season

Big North Championship since November. When first learning their routine, the girls worked to figure out what works best for them as a group and test their limits.

In every practice and competition, the girls have the physical challenge of dancing, transitioning, stunting, tumbling, and jumping over and over again: “When doing a routine full out, your legs feel like jello. You kind of black out,” said junior Allie Tama. No matter their struggles, the girls always keep a smile on their face.

a cheerleader gets hurt, they must keep performing.

Aside from practices and competitions, there are other experiences that make the Pink Ladies such a strong team. “The bus rides to and from competitions is such a surreal feeling,” said senior Angely Velez. “We played the same exact songs on the bus before every competition to hype us up. On the way back, especially if we won, everyone would sing and dance in the bus aisles.”

By Kara Long, Staff Writer

The NVOT Winter Cheer Team, also known as the Pink Ladies, finished their 2023 Big North season with a final record of 8-0, winning their division. The girls placed fourth in the playoffs, bringing them to the Big North Championship on February 17 where they placed second to Fair Lawn High School. As the Pink Ladies finish their final performance of the 2023 Winter cheerleading season, not only do they step off the mat with a trophy, but they end the season with an unbreakable team bond and unforgettable memories of their team.

Just a little over a week later on February 25 the Pink Ladies attended the Reach the Beach National Competition in Maryland where they placed second to Broughton High School in North Carolina by just one point.

But the girls did not achieve this success through individual accomplishments. Unlike many teams at NVOT, cheer depends on every teammates’ equal participation, effort, and involvement to make the routine work—nobody sits the bench. “Cheer never has an MVP,” said junior Jenna Massaro. “Every single player is important. Flyers couldn’t go up without bases and a backspot and bases/backspots couldn’t put up a stunt without a flyer.”

When a team member is out, there is no replacement. The whole routine needs to be reworked. “In playoffs, two of our girls were out and couldn’t cheer. We had to switch around the routine right before performing and it went perfectly,” said junior Ava Murphy.

The team’s success is dependent on the positive environment and the crucial team bond. “We have a lot of trust in each other,” said Massaro. “We have to have complete faith when we are stunting. Everyone has to be focused so that everyone involved is safe.”

Success in cheerleading goes beyond a few practices and talented athletes to carry the rest of the team. The team can spend six hours in one day choreographing. Each person has to put in equal effort in order to pull off a routine. The girls have been perfecting theirs for the

Cheer also requires a different level of perseverance not required by other sports. Typically, when a player is injured, the game will stop and the player will relax on the bench while a new player fills in for them. That is not the case for competitive cheer: “Injuries are a part of the sport from constantly getting hit but you need to continue with the biggest smile and all the energy you have,” said Massaro. Once the music starts, the routine doesn’t stop for anything. When

As the 2023 winter cheerleading season ends, the girls still text in their group chat whenever anybody needs support or just wants to reminisce on their inside jokes and once in a lifetime experiences that occurred during the season. “A sports season coming to an end is always bittersweet. We are especially upset because we were and still are so tight knit,” said Tama. After all their teamwork and memories made together, it is no surprise that they created an unfailing bond in the process.