November 09, 2019 at 06:41AM
The Hamden Hurricane Junior Pee Wee cheerleading team has been stealing the spotlight all competitive season. With a near clean sweep at three major competitions, they have secured an opportunity to compete on the biggest Pop Warner cheerleading stage of all—the National Cheerleading Championships, taking place at the Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The team's journey to the National stage began at the Connecticut Pop Warner State Cheerleading Championships, where the Hurricanes placed second out of 14 teams in the Junior Pee Wee medium level 1 division, trailing first place by less than one point. The team then moved on to compete for the chance to qualify at the Regional level at the Southern Connecticut Pop Warner Cheerleading Championships. With a season high score of 92.77, beating out 7 teams, the Hurricanes earned the Conference Championship title, which qualified them to compete in Massachusetts at the New England Pop Warner Regional Cheerleading Championships. With this qualification, came the team's biggest challenge of the season.
"The New England Regional competition is a challenge because you are competing against the best of the best. Only teams that place first or second in their conference are there. Sometimes third place teams are invited based on strength of score, but overall you can bet that your competitors will all be top notch," said Junior Pee Wee Head Coach Margaret DiMauro.
The Pop Warner New England region is composed of teams throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. This year, the competition featured 11 teams in the Junior Pee Wee medium level 1 division, including New Milford, who had the edge on the Hurricanes at the State competition. The Hurricanes handed in an energetic, near flawless performance and their high difficulty in technical skills like stunts, pyramids, and dismounts catapulted them to the top of the pack.
"You could feel the nervous energy during awards. We knew the team performed well and had a very difficult routine but we still had to wait to see where we would place. The girls knew if came in first or second, we would be qualifying to compete in Disney. The wait is absolutely the worst part," said Hamden Hurricane Cheer Director, Ebony Bon.
After waiting patiently to hear the results, the team and Hamden crowd erupted in explosive cheers when the Hurricanes were announced as the New England Regional Champions. The Hamden Hurricane cheerleaders have only earned the Regional title one other time in league history, back in 2006.
"It was an absolutely incredible feeling to hear our name called as the champions of the division. Every girl was in tears because they knew what this meant. Not only did we qualify for Nationals, but we would be going as regional champions," said DiMauro.
The win at New England Regionals qualifies the team to compete on the National stage in Florida. The team has another four weeks to prepare for what is now, the biggest competition of their 2019 season. Aside from polishing their skills and routine, the Hurricanes will be working hard to raise funds for travel expenses. The league has set up a gofundme page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/1sw4dm5ml to help raise funds and ensure every athlete is able to compete at Nationals. The cheerleaders will also be hosting various fundraising events, including local shake-a-cans and popcorn sales.
The Hamden Hurricane JPW team is led by Head Coach Margaret DiMauro, and assistant coaches Kaitlyn Morgis and Casey Cossette, a former Hamden Hurricane, who was part of the last Regional win in 2006. Cossette calls that day one of the most memorable of her youth cheer career.
"Being part of this league with such an amazing group of girls and talented coaches brought me right back to that moment 13 years ago and I couldn't be more proud," said assistant coach Casey Cossette.
The team is made up of 16 athletes, aged 9-11 from the towns of Hamden, New Haven, and Cheshire. Of the 16 athletes, 8 are new to the team and 5 are new to the league.
"I am so impressed with how this team has been able to work together and become a little family. Veteran athlete or brand new, they did this together," said Bon.
Though about half of the team is new, the coaching staff is not. DiMauro began coaching in the league in 2014 and was joined shortly after by Morgis in 2015. Together, they have coached the same team for five years, steadily building the program and developing the skills of a tight-knit group of girls. They have coached the team to three consecutive Regional appearances in 2017 (8th place), 2018 (7th place), and 2019 (1st place). Additionally, they coached the team to their first conference title in 2018.
"When I think about the past five years, all of the girls, and all of the successes and failures along the way, no one deserves this accomplishment more than this team. When our name was called as Regional Champs, I was in complete disbelief," said Assistant Coach Kaitlyn Morgis.
"This storm has been building for many years and a big part of our win has to do with the dedication of the girls and their families, who continue to come back year after year. We've coached some of these kids since they were 6 years old so we have witnessed their incredible growth in skills and success of the program in the last few years," said DiMauro.
There is no doubt that the JPW team has put in the time, energy, and dedication it takes to compete at this level. The team's current successes belong to each athlete, their families and friends, and the community of Hamden.
"One cannot imagine how much this means, not only to the team and coaches, but to the family and friends who have supported us along the way. We hope to come home as National Champions and bring the title back to Hamden," said Morgis.
The Hamden Hurricane Junior Pee Wee cheerleading team has been stealing the spotlight all competitive season. With a near clean sweep at three major competitions, they have secured an opportunity to compete on the biggest Pop Warner cheerleading stage of all—the National Cheerleading Championships, taking place at the Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The team's journey to the National stage began at the Connecticut Pop Warner State Cheerleading Championships, where the Hurricanes placed second out of 14 teams in the Junior Pee Wee medium level 1 division, trailing first place by less than one point. The team then moved on to compete for the chance to qualify at the Regional level at the Southern Connecticut Pop Warner Cheerleading Championships. With a season high score of 92.77, beating out 7 teams, the Hurricanes earned the Conference Championship title, which qualified them to compete in Massachusetts at the New England Pop Warner Regional Cheerleading Championships. With this qualification, came the team's biggest challenge of the season.
"The New England Regional competition is a challenge because you are competing against the best of the best. Only teams that place first or second in their conference are there. Sometimes third place teams are invited based on strength of score, but overall you can bet that your competitors will all be top notch," said Junior Pee Wee Head Coach Margaret DiMauro.
The Pop Warner New England region is composed of teams throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. This year, the competition featured 11 teams in the Junior Pee Wee medium level 1 division, including New Milford, who had the edge on the Hurricanes at the State competition. The Hurricanes handed in an energetic, near flawless performance and their high difficulty in technical skills like stunts, pyramids, and dismounts catapulted them to the top of the pack.
"You could feel the nervous energy during awards. We knew the team performed well and had a very difficult routine but we still had to wait to see where we would place. The girls knew if came in first or second, we would be qualifying to compete in Disney. The wait is absolutely the worst part," said Hamden Hurricane Cheer Director, Ebony Bon.
After waiting patiently to hear the results, the team and Hamden crowd erupted in explosive cheers when the Hurricanes were announced as the New England Regional Champions. The Hamden Hurricane cheerleaders have only earned the Regional title one other time in league history, back in 2006.
"It was an absolutely incredible feeling to hear our name called as the champions of the division. Every girl was in tears because they knew what this meant. Not only did we qualify for Nationals, but we would be going as regional champions," said DiMauro.
The win at New England Regionals qualifies the team to compete on the National stage in Florida. The team has another four weeks to prepare for what is now, the biggest competition of their 2019 season. Aside from polishing their skills and routine, the Hurricanes will be working hard to raise funds for travel expenses. The league has set up a gofundme page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/1sw4dm5ml to help raise funds and ensure every athlete is able to compete at Nationals. The cheerleaders will also be hosting various fundraising events, including local shake-a-cans and popcorn sales.
The Hamden Hurricane JPW team is led by Head Coach Margaret DiMauro, and assistant coaches Kaitlyn Morgis and Casey Cossette, a former Hamden Hurricane, who was part of the last Regional win in 2006. Cossette calls that day one of the most memorable of her youth cheer career.
"Being part of this league with such an amazing group of girls and talented coaches brought me right back to that moment 13 years ago and I couldn't be more proud," said assistant coach Casey Cossette.
The team is made up of 16 athletes, aged 9-11 from the towns of Hamden, New Haven, and Cheshire. Of the 16 athletes, 8 are new to the team and 5 are new to the league.
"I am so impressed with how this team has been able to work together and become a little family. Veteran athlete or brand new, they did this together," said Bon.
Though about half of the team is new, the coaching staff is not. DiMauro began coaching in the league in 2014 and was joined shortly after by Morgis in 2015. Together, they have coached the same team for five years, steadily building the program and developing the skills of a tight-knit group of girls. They have coached the team to three consecutive Regional appearances in 2017 (8th place), 2018 (7th place), and 2019 (1st place). Additionally, they coached the team to their first conference title in 2018.
"When I think about the past five years, all of the girls, and all of the successes and failures along the way, no one deserves this accomplishment more than this team. When our name was called as Regional Champs, I was in complete disbelief," said Assistant Coach Kaitlyn Morgis.
"This storm has been building for many years and a big part of our win has to do with the dedication of the girls and their families, who continue to come back year after year. We've coached some of these kids since they were 6 years old so we have witnessed their incredible growth in skills and success of the program in the last few years," said DiMauro.
There is no doubt that the JPW team has put in the time, energy, and dedication it takes to compete at this level. The team's current successes belong to each athlete, their families and friends, and the community of Hamden.
"One cannot imagine how much this means, not only to the team and coaches, but to the family and friends who have supported us along the way. We hope to come home as National Champions and bring the title back to Hamden," said Morgis.