Nationally-ranked cheerleaders in rebuilding mode while out to change stigma against males on team
February 28, 2024 at 11:33 p.m.
Port Chester hasn't had much to cheer about during a dreary winter scholastic sports season because just about every varsity team has had a losing season except, ironically, its cheerleaders.
And now the cheerleaders have a problem. And it's with Port Chester, according to head cheerleading coach John Gonzalez.
The problem is that the Port Chester community still has a stigma that cheerleading is for girls and/or it's "gay" where male cheerleaders are concerned when it's the opposite, according to Gonzalez.
"Male cheerleaders are literally throwing and lifting other humans in their hands over their heads," he continued. "Instead of squatting a barbell, male cheerleaders are squatting humans. The percentage of 'gay' cheerleaders is so minute. For example, on my college cheerleading team when I cheered at Hofstra University, I was the only gay male athlete, and we had eight guys on the team."
Shortage of males
That shortage of male cheerleaders locally is a shame because there are so many opportunities for male cheerleaders in college including scholarships, according to Gonzalez, who attended Hofstra on a cheerleading scholarship.
The nationally-ranked Port Chester cheerleading finalists at Disney World.Courtesy of John Gonzalez
In fact, two male Ram cheerleaders, Adrian Osorio and Christian Flores, are in the running for college scholarships with Gonzalez's alma mater among those interested.
Now Gonzalez is looking to replace them. And that is a hard sell because of the stigma and junior Johnny Borzoni, a three-sport Ram athlete (football, ice hockey, baseball) will be the only male athlete returning to the Port Chester varsity cheerleading team that swept the local and regional United Cheerleading Association (UCA) championships that qualified them for the national championships at Disney World.
Losing nine seniors
In a first for the school, Port Chester made it all the way into the UCA finals and emerged as the nation's 12th-ranked team.
But the final cheers had barely faded away when Gonzalez set out to rebuild the team because nine seniors will be graduating including Flores, Osorio, Valeryn Dera, Angela Esquival, Olivia Tejeda, Mariana Gamez, and tri-captains Allison Recinos, Allegra Burke and Mayelin Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, a certified cheerleading instructor who has danced in "The Lion King" and been part of the pro basketball Knicks and Nets cheerleading teams at Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center, knows he has a strong returning core.
That solid base revolves around juniors Borzoni and Fiona Lovallo and eighth grader Madison Mollica with other seasoned competitors from the Nationals team including Melina Morban, Kate Richardson, Charlotte Burke, Myisha Cruz, Natalie Ceruzzi, Elisabeth Magana, Mia Pagnotta and Amy Navis.
Gonzalez, who rebuilt the team from scratch in two years, adding more males and weight room practices to the choreographed sessions, knows exactly what he is looking for beyond males capable of doing the heavy lifting: hard-working talents like the graduating Mariana Gomez who was on the team last year but wasn't in the competition team routine until this season.
Moving up ladder
"Let me explain," Gonzalez said. "Students can make the cheerleading team but not be part of the competition team routine. It's kind of like basketball players that make a basketball team but aren't starters and/or get as much play time. Mariana was great to make the team but still needed some technical smoothing around the edges to be in the competition team routine. She took coach's feedback and worked hard during the off season attending as many cheerleading clinics as possible to really work on her skills to make it in the competition team routine this season. We are extremely proud of her and saw all the work she put in and progress she made as an athlete in the off season and on season which was why she made the competition team routine this season."
He explained that "this is why our cheerleading clinics which commence in the spring and go throughout the summer are super important for any student wanting to be part of a nationally-ranked cheerleading program. There they learn proper stunting technique, proper motion/cheerleading technique and the role a cheerleader plays in the community all led by the PCHS certified coaching staff."
Need for starters
Because he has so many starters to replace, Gonzalez already has a tentative cheerleading clinic schedule worked out: Clinics in May and June will be open to all interested high school and middle school students Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. They will continue during July and August up until tryouts which are scheduled for the end of August (exact dates to be determined).
He is also looking forward to more yet to be scheduled appearances while working with the Carver Center, the Posillipo Center, cheering at Pioneer League games, varsity games and more.
The trophy the Port Chester High School varsity cheerleading team won for placing 12th at the United Cheerleading Association National Championships at Disney World last month.Courtesy of John Gonzalez
As for his coaching philosophy beyond hard work, disciplined choreography, team bonding and lots of lifts, shifts and tumbles, Gonzalez, a charter school teacher, boils it down to positive imagery embodied in the following elements: "Perform and always give it your all every day even at practices. It is a sad fact that we are still living in troubled times with kids sitting/laying in hospitals fighting cancer, fighting diseases, not being able to move because they may be paralyzed or a slew of other reasons. I teach them to always be grateful for every and all opportunities they may encounter and to cherish every moment they have because for some they may never experience it or reach certain milestones in their lives. Whenever they compete, I remind them to not only do it for themselves, their school, their community, but keep in their hearts all those kids that would love to compete and/or be a cheerleader but can't due to personal limitations. For this reason, we will be working with various organizations to volunteer our time during our off season to truly help our community out and continue to make our presence known within Port Chester."
Shout out to sponsors
It wouldn't be a cheerleading story about Port Chester's success in the Nationals without a shout out to the sponsors who made the trip to Disney World possible, so Gonzalez urged publishing a thank you to the following sponsors who helped raise the approximately $2,100 it took so every participating cheerleader could stay at the All-Star Resort and compete in the tournament at Disney World:
Intuicion Nails, NewMe Beauty Lounge, Oscar Barreto - Real Estate Agent, Darren LeDoux, North Regent Animal Clinic, Pet Pantry Warehouse, Euro Laser Spa in Rye, Bowery Boys, The Open House, Las Brisas Restaurant, Salon Spa 56, Curated Casa, Advanced Accounting System LTD, The Hidalgo Family, La Colmenita, Coach Crane, Sarah & Yuri Beauty Salon, Baten Ruiz Family, Maisonet Enterprises, INC, Dr. Paul Chu, Coach Gibbs, The Maggi Family, Villa Rustica, Incazteca, Millers Cleaners, DBA Prima Deli, Basco's Grocery Store, Westchester Eyecare LLC, Christina Baurle, Carolina Rivas, Violeta Aranda, La Familia Laundromat, Valdocco Youth Group, Jackie Bisignano, Sunmed & Arroyo, A&S Fine Foods, PC Rams Wrestling, Frankie & Louie's Restaurant & Pizzeria, Acura of Westchester, Vitolite (Robert Gabriele), Arctic Mechanical Inc., Diversified Resources LLC, C.J. Pagano & Sons, Inc., El Mercado Meat & Produce, Hofstra University Cheerleading, Salsa Picante Restaurant, The Rovello Family, The Menkes Family, G3 Effects & Remodeling, Marini's Deli, Vinnie Pinstriping Inc., Kevin's Nail Spa, Ridge Squire, Maria's Green Cleaning, Hamper Helper, Neil's on Wheels, PCMS World Language, Angela Manning DDS, Mad Dog Service, Labella Electric, The Richardson Family, Don Lucho Restaurant, Stand By, Hank, Zaccagnino Electric, La Boutique Hair Salon, Coach Halstead, Sempre Bella Hair Salon, Pat Williams, Westchester Orthodontics, Coach Mancuso, P&M Mechanical Inc., Town Dock Tavern, The Clydesdale Pub & Grill, John's of Arthur Avenue Pizza & Restaurant, Jane Pascale, Eastern Stone Fabricators, Double R, Pancho Grocery, Z Life, T&J Restaurant, SPORTECH, Linda & Tony Ceruzzi, Ricky "Tank" Carter Castaneda, Adelisa Jewelry, Alveris Barber Shop, Allison Fasano, Carver Center, The Quartarolo Family, The Daly Family, Empire Coffee Roasters, The Sanchez Family, Minnie and Movt, Cristy Heffernan, Diane & Don Masi, Always Printing, Michael Carriere, Ms. B. Elimero, The 7 Willow Cafe, Coach Plato, Steph's Sweet Creations, #Hairwizards Salon.
It did take a village, a town, a school and a community so the cheerleaders could compete in the UCA Nationals. And it took a lot of heavy lifting—physically, fiscally and emotionally—including the hard work by assistant coaches like Melissa Salmon and Leah Yusi to help build championship teams made up of 21 varsity athletes, 15 junior varsity members and 28 on the Mod Squad. And they hope to be back next year bigger, stronger and better than ever as they climb into the same heady stratosphere as Port Chester's award-winning marching band.
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