ALLENTOWN — It’s official: The Allentown Redbirds Junior Pee Wee cheer squad is indeed one of the top teams in the country. The team placed second in its division at the Pop Warner National Cheer Championship at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Disney World on Dec. 6.
The team competed against 17 other champion junior pee wee small novice teams from eight regions around the country, even as far as California and Hawaii.
”This season has been an amazing experience,” said Dona Daesener, head coach and cheer coordinator. “We have a great group of girls that know how to work hard and have fun doing it. They’ve come so far.”
The Redbirds’ season: first place, Central Jersey, Oct. 9; first place, Central Qualifier, Oct. 31; first place, Eastern Regionals, Nov. 13; second place, National Championship, Dec. 6.
According to Ms. Daesener, the girls put on their best performance of the season.
”I couldn’t be more proud,” she said. “It was an indescribable experience and a memory that I will cherish forever.”
Beth Semanchick, assistant coach and co-cheer coordinator, said, “Being in Disney was like a dream. There we were, the Redbirds, representing Allentown amongst all these top teams from around the country.”According to six-year veteran cheerleader Samantha Polcari, this season has been her favorite year of cheer.
”It was a fun and exciting experience,” said Samantha, who is in her third year of competitive-level cheer. This was her first time at nationals. “I couldn’t believe it when we won. Everyone worked so hard, it was a great team effort.”
When asked what she’s learned most from this experience, Samantha replied, “To treat everyone nicely and to work as a team.”
First-time cheerleader Lindsey Nierstedt, 11, added, “We developed over the season. We learned to get along and practiced to do our best. In Disney, it was exciting. We brought it on and just had fun with it.”
This is Ms. Daesener’s sixth year of coaching in Pop Warner and only second year coaching at the competitive level. Ms. Daesener and Ms. Semanchick have coached together for four years. This was their first time at nationals. As coaches, they strive to teach the girls life lessons along the way, from working together as a team to handling the emotional ups and downs of competition level cheering, especially when performances don’t go as planned.
”I’m so impressed with how the team has matured over the season. We have a mix of experience on the team and they all came together and gave it their all. And it worked,” said Ms. Daesener.
What made this winning season even sweeter, according to Ms. Daesener, was the way the community has rallied around this group of girls.
”The outpouring of community support has been wonderful,” she said. “People have been following the girls’ progress and were so excited for us when we returned from Disney.”
One family recently mentioned that their daughter has been cutting out all the news articles about the girls’ progress and hanging them in her room.
”I hope our experience this year inspires more girls to come out for Pop Warner cheer,” Ms. Daesener said.
Looking ahead to next year, Ms. Daesener is excited to see the cheer program grow as the league anticipates two competitive teams next season.
”I’m going to miss these fabulous girls in the offseason, but am excited for another great season next year and am hopeful about having the opportunity to coach this great group of girls again, this time on the Pee Wee level,” she said.
Members of the Allentown Redbirds Championship Junior Pee Wee cheer squad include: Ariana Azzaro, Hannah Daesener, Alexandra DePietro, Cara DiGuiseppe, Grace Klopman, Bridget Martin, Maggie McCarthy, Lindsey Nierstedt, Isabella Paldino, Rebecca Paldino, Susan Pardo, Samantha Polcari, Julia Rauscher, Jessica Rudin, Amanda Semanchick, Callianne Shaw, Natalie Smires, Sydney Tice, Brooke Villani and Shea Villani.
Coaching staff includes Dona Daesener, Beth Semanchick and Karen Rausher. Junior coaches include high school Redbird cheerleaders Sammy Boyle, Jessie Tice and Dana Wardell.
