They’re the unsung heroes of the Thanksgiving Day football game.
After months of hard work balancing academics, after-school jobs, practices, and countless other responsibilities, the turkey day season finale is just as sentimental for the cheerleaders on the sidelines as it is for the players on the field.
“Thanksgiving is a culmination of the fall season for the girls,” said Lynn English’s cheer coach Stephanie Cuevas. “It’s a chance [for them] to showcase their competitive side, and their classmates get to see them in a different light.”
And for the coaches who are there every step of the way, this final game is a bittersweet testament to just how much blood, sweat, and tears go in making a strong, supportive and competitive squad.
“It’s a great group of girls that’s all about teamwork. They’re committed to the team and they’re committed to each other,” said Lynn Classical’s cheer coach Alicia Boisson. “They’re working really hard, even at the end of the season. We’re just throwing in a lot more fun now that the season’s almost over.”
Saugus High School’s cheer coach Courtney Whitaker added: “It’s their last time to be out there together too, and a lot of times that’s overlooked … it’s their game too. They’re not winning or losing, but it is the last time they will be together as a team, in uniform, before their seniors graduate.”
Most of the North Shore’s cheerleading coaches have backgrounds in cheer themselves. For some, like Swampscott High School’s Shannon Winn, it was the experience they had on their own high school teams that inspired them to pursue coaching later on.
“I cheered in high school, and there was something about it that I absolutely loved,” Winn said. “When I got a promotion at my job where I could coach again at the high school level, I took the first opportunity I could get.”
As in any sport, cheer coaches often play a meaningful role in the lives of the kids on their team. Amid the anxiety of college applications, outside social obligations, and the general stress that comes along with being a high school student, these coaches take on the responsibility of being both coach and mentor.
“I’m a teacher at the middle school, so I’ve known them all for years. It’s really been a pleasure to watch them grow up,” said Marblehead’s cheer coach Maura Dartley-Rocco. “I’ve had so many of them in class, it’s really a gift to me to see them at such important touchpoints. I feel like I’ve been a part of their growing up, and during some really important phases.”
Whitaker wants to make sure the girls she coaches are reminded every day of why they chose to do what they do.
“I’m here to make their experience positive and remind them why they decided to do this,” she said. “They didn’t decide to cheer because they want to stand on the sidelines. They love to show off their skills.”
She added: “People always ask me how my program’s doing, and I say ‘it’s not my program, it’s theirs.’ … I’m here for them, I work for them. Not the other way around.”
