LAKE MARY, Fla. – Lake Mary’s Pop Warner cheerleaders made headlines earlier this month after three out of five teams won at a national competition held at Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando.
The squads’ dedication and energetic stunts beat out hundreds of teams from around the country who competed in the 2019 Pop Warner National Cheer & Dance Championships.
“They all put, you know, their heart and dedication on that floor for a 2 minute, 30-second routine,” Cheer coach Ashley Hennen said.
For head coach and program coordinator Lisa Citrano and Hennen, the win is a testament to their commitment to cheer-leading.
"It was a clean sweep--super proud moment. Proud to be a Ram, for sure," Hennen said. "Teams all across the country are able to make it so just getting there is just an accomplishment in itself."
Their accomplishment also meant sacrificing holidays to practice 3 to 4 times a week once the season started in August.
The cheer teams are an important part of any sporting event, especially when a team isn’t on the A-game.
"You can just feel like the vibe and the crowd is down and cheerleaders when they get everybody pumped up, they try to get the moral back up you see it, you can feel it," Citrano said.
For some of the cheer coaches, one of the challenges is making people aware there is more to it than jumps and shaking pom-poms.
“A lot of people have that misconception still and we do do that at games but there’s so much more to it. They do endurance training, we condition a lot. These practices are hard you know, girls end up with black eyes,” Citrano said. “People don’t see that part because they see us looking polished and we make it look easy.”
It’s also about cultivating a sportsmanship-like environment.
“Just watching them, just become passionate about something, just have these incredible friendships and just really trying to work hard to better their skills, it just means the world,” Hennen said.