March 12, 2019 at 11:20PM
Vikings cheerleading coach Matt Monteiro made a gamble, and let boys onto the squad this year. The gamble paid off with a win at the state cheering contest.
EAST BRIDGEWATER — After a disappointing loss in November, East Bridgewater cheerleading coach Matt Monteiro gave his team an order.
"Get out your phones and start calling boys," he told the busload of cheerleaders riding home from the competition.
After that loss, Monteiro had decided the way to win a state title would be to field a team with both girls and boys, allowing the team to compete in a different division. The state competition Sunday proved him right: the East Bridgewater team, 18 girls and two boys, brought home a state title.
East Bridgewater cheerleaders hadn't won a state title in four years. Monteiro did not think they had a chance this winter either, going against the same powerhouses that beat the Vikings year after year. It wore on him, and on the team, he said.
So, he decided to compete in a different division, by taking the team co-ed.
"Being a male in this sport, I've always hoped to get male participants on the team," Monteiro said. "But you have got to find the right ones." After the November loss, he told the girls to text all the athletes they knew—soccer players, football players, anyone.
East Bridgewater football player Roncruz Paul said he woke up one November morning to several text messages from cheerleaders he knew, urging him to join the team.
He made a deal with Anthony Fabrizio, another football player.
"I told Ron, if he does it, I'll do it," Fabrizio said.
Team captain Danielle Cristaldi could understand their trepidation.
"Cheer does get a lot of hate for being a girly sport," she said. But it's difficult, she said, both physically and mentally demanding.
Cristaldi has been cheering for East Bridgewater since she was in middle school. Making the cheerleading team co-ed was a big change, she said, but she thinks it was a good decision. Her new teammates changed the dynamic of the cheering squad, she said.
"They motivated us to be better," she said.
Co-captain Jaidyn Baptista agreed.
Over the winter, the new team learned a routine, shouting, stacking and flipping across a mat for two minutes and 30 seconds. They honed the routine and competed in smaller tournaments over the 10-week season, getting ready for the state competition.
On March 9, at the last practice before the state competition, Monteiro ran the team through the routine one last time.
Monteiro instructed the cheerleaders to keep their energy level high before and after the routine. "Like when Tom Brady comes out of the tunnel and goes berserk?"
But he was confident in the new team.
"Except for a couple small mistakes, that's probably good enough to win states," Monteiro told them.
He congratulated the boys for trying a new sport, and commended the girls for whipping the boys into shape.
"You guys taught these boys how to be cheerleaders," Monteiro told the girls on Friday.
On Sunday, Monteiro said, the team performed their routine for a panel of judges, and hundreds of cheerleaders from across Massachusetts.
The team beat Bedford and Duxbury to come in first in their division. Monteiro said it was a great win.
"The kids were on cloud nine, and still are," he said. "To see them smile like they are, that's the reason why I coach."
Staff writer Josie Albertson-Grove can be reached at jagrove@enterprisenews.com or 508-427-4031.
Vikings cheerleading coach Matt Monteiro made a gamble, and let boys onto the squad this year. The gamble paid off with a win at the state cheering contest.
EAST BRIDGEWATER — After a disappointing loss in November, East Bridgewater cheerleading coach Matt Monteiro gave his team an order.
"Get out your phones and start calling boys," he told the busload of cheerleaders riding home from the competition.
After that loss, Monteiro had decided the way to win a state title would be to field a team with both girls and boys, allowing the team to compete in a different division. The state competition Sunday proved him right: the East Bridgewater team, 18 girls and two boys, brought home a state title.
East Bridgewater cheerleaders hadn't won a state title in four years. Monteiro did not think they had a chance this winter either, going against the same powerhouses that beat the Vikings year after year. It wore on him, and on the team, he said.
So, he decided to compete in a different division, by taking the team co-ed.
"Being a male in this sport, I've always hoped to get male participants on the team," Monteiro said. "But you have got to find the right ones." After the November loss, he told the girls to text all the athletes they knew—soccer players, football players, anyone.
East Bridgewater football player Roncruz Paul said he woke up one November morning to several text messages from cheerleaders he knew, urging him to join the team.
He made a deal with Anthony Fabrizio, another football player.
"I told Ron, if he does it, I'll do it," Fabrizio said.
Team captain Danielle Cristaldi could understand their trepidation.
"Cheer does get a lot of hate for being a girly sport," she said. But it's difficult, she said, both physically and mentally demanding.
Cristaldi has been cheering for East Bridgewater since she was in middle school. Making the cheerleading team co-ed was a big change, she said, but she thinks it was a good decision. Her new teammates changed the dynamic of the cheering squad, she said.
"They motivated us to be better," she said.
Co-captain Jaidyn Baptista agreed.
Over the winter, the new team learned a routine, shouting, stacking and flipping across a mat for two minutes and 30 seconds. They honed the routine and competed in smaller tournaments over the 10-week season, getting ready for the state competition.
On March 9, at the last practice before the state competition, Monteiro ran the team through the routine one last time.
Monteiro instructed the cheerleaders to keep their energy level high before and after the routine. "Like when Tom Brady comes out of the tunnel and goes berserk?"
But he was confident in the new team.
"Except for a couple small mistakes, that's probably good enough to win states," Monteiro told them.
He congratulated the boys for trying a new sport, and commended the girls for whipping the boys into shape.
"You guys taught these boys how to be cheerleaders," Monteiro told the girls on Friday.
On Sunday, Monteiro said, the team performed their routine for a panel of judges, and hundreds of cheerleaders from across Massachusetts.
The team beat Bedford and Duxbury to come in first in their division. Monteiro said it was a great win.
"The kids were on cloud nine, and still are," he said. "To see them smile like they are, that's the reason why I coach."
Staff writer Josie Albertson-Grove can be reached at jagrove@enterprisenews.com or 508-427-4031.