Remember in middle school when all those girls who weren’t athletic joined the cheerleading team? Well, things have changed a lot since then.
Since Fairfield does not have a football team, the cheerleading team performs at basketball games. New Head Coach Marie Chaisson, as well as many team members, hope to expand their horizons and become involved in local, and eventually national, competitions.
“We definitely want to compete more this year,” said Sarah Bolt ’10. “We only competed once last year against only two other teams, but we came in second. And we’re so much better already than we were last year. We’re going to look really good.”
“The girls want to solidify themselves as athletes,” Chaisson said. “We want to increase our skill level and get ourselves into big-time, formal competitions.”
Despite not getting to showcase their skills to the University’s student body on a consistent basis, being a cheerleader requires practicing three times a week, as well as attending biweekly, mandatory conditioning sessions.
“In addition to behind-the-scenes prep work, cheerleaders are at both men’s and women’s basketball games each weekend, including double-headers,” said cheerleader Julie Ruggieri ’10. “It’s a large commitment for an under-funded and often-overlooked team.”
The team and its new coach said they hope to gain more recognition from the University as a legitimate athletic program. Chaisson noted how little attention the program receives on the Fairfield Web site and how that might affect incoming students interested in the team.
“If an incoming student goes on the Web site, they probably won’t even be able to figure out that we have a team,” said Chaisson. “If we had a usable page for incoming freshmen interested in cheering, it would definitely improve our program.”
After getting an experienced new coach, learning some difficult new stunts and building a young, dedicated core of women, Fairfield’s cheering squad has come a long way.
Chaisson, who grew up in Fairfield and graduated from Sacred Heart, is currently a cheerleading coach in Monroe, Conn.
She took over Fairfield’s vacant coaching job in early November and had an immediate impact on the team.
“She has been very helpful, especially because the first couple weeks we didn’t have a coach,” said co-captain Ashley Banks ’08. “She knows all the rules and regulations and has experience coaching girls already.”
Chaisson, who cheered in grammar school, is very passionate about the sport and commented on how much cheerleading has changed since her days on the sidelines.
“Everything now is stunts, whereas in my day, we never lifted anyone,” she said. “We have a tumbling coach who will start soon and teach our girls how to perform difficult stunts and lifts.”
Even though the program has yet to elevate itself to the level of other athletic programs at Fairfield, the girls are confident their best awaits them in the future.
“We haven’t reached our potential yet but we will. Just keep watching us,” said Erica Ruggieri ’10. “We’ve got some tricks up our sleeves.”
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