2023 -Recap-

The Varsity Cheer team had a very busy and exciting Fall season cheering at home and away games for our Championship football team.   The girls enjoyed performing at Pep Rally and our fabulous Homecoming game.  While having a hectic Fall schedule, they also had two grueling days of choreography for their competition routine.  The team's hard work and dedication showed as they spent many hours practicing at school and the Cheer gym.   They competed in the Small Division in the Catholic High School Cheer Competitions and the National High School Cheer Competition at Disney in Orlando.  The team finished up the season by rooting for our fantastic basketball team.  The talented athletes on this team demonstrated their commitment and determination to make it two great seasons and make lifelong Friar cheer friends.  

Congratulations to the Varsity Cheerleading Team on a great season.”

Head Caoch
Mrs. LoPresti began working at St. Anthony’s in 2014 and became the Girls Varsity Cheerleading Coach in 2016.  Since her time as Head Coach she has helped the program grow into one of the top competition teams in the Catholic League.  Coach’s hard work and dedication have helped her girls understand how to become a team and achieve success. 

Cheer has always been a popular sport in St. Anthony’s High School with over 100 girls trying out from 4 grades each season.

Opening day for cheer is the first home game and this year the Varsity Cheer Team’s stunts and tumbling was amazing. The goal for this fall season is to be better than ever and the most important job is to support the football players and encourage the crowd. However, there’s a lot more to cheer, than just cheering. 

After talking to Varsity Cheer senior captains Amelia Boccardo and Brooke McGuire, Amelia gave us a snapshot of the cheer teams daily routine in depth: “Every practice we come in, roll out the mats and get right into running laps around the track. Then stretch, go into tumbling lines, and warm up all tumbling that is in our routines.” At this point practice is about 40 minutes in. “Then we begin to warm up stunting and as everyone warms up we begin running through our actual routines, whether that’s pep rally or competition routine.” 

Having a routine is really important to make sure that practice is organized, and that the cheer team can get everything done. “We usually have this set routine because it helps make practice more efficient.” The amount of work these girls put in every day to perfect a routine that is visually appealing to everyone takes a lot of effort. They practice 5 days a week, at least 2 hours a day plus traveling to games and doing outside tumbling practice. The commitment to Varsity Cheerleading is a lot more than most people expect, and it needs to be recognized. 

Tumbling is a significant part of this year’s squad and was significantly noticeable with all the passes they did at the first home game vs. Chaminade. Amelia Boccardo ‘23 states “Having more tumbling has been crucial to earning our spot at nationals. As competition season approaches we are using the advantage of having a full team of tumbling in our best interest. In order to compete in Disney in February, tumbling and stunting are the best way to get to where we want to be; Champions.”

The stunts are an important part of each game, so the bases and flyers both play an important role. Boccardo, who is a flyer and captain told me what it’s like being a flyer. “The responsibility of the flyer is to have trust in your bases. As well as remaining tight in the air. Freaking out when you’re up there can lead to injuries. I think that’s why our team is so close because cheer is all about trusting the people that are under you, and knowing they will catch you no matter what happens.” To become a flyer you need to have skill and persistence. Your main goal is to stay tight and lock your knees in a firm position so that you make the job easier for the bases. You need to look clean and presentable at all times as you’re the main eye catcher in a stunt group. However, cheer is more about teamwork than anything else, because you need to trust your stunt group, and know, as a flyer, that the bases will catch you. 

The bases in the stunt groups are probably the most important part, because not only are they busy watching the flyer constantly, they are also trying to prepare to quickly let the flyer down once she’s done her stunt. Brooke McGuire ‘23, who is a varsity Base said that, “The most important part of being a base is to be strong and support your flyer in the air. We have to try to make it easy for her! It is very important to make sure you are there to catch her if she were to fall.” To prevent injuries a cheerleader must know the stunts by heart, be in sync, and trust in their teammates to do a good job. 

The football game without the halftime show is not worth going to. Let’s support the cheer squad and remember to value their importance, during the next football game! Winter cheer competition team tryouts begin October 17th and you have one more home game to see the amazing tumbling and stunts our Friar Cheer Squad will entertain us on October 21st, at Senior Night. 

Follow the cheer team on Instagram @st.anthonyscheer

Anna Rzymski is a freshman at St. Anthony’s, this is her first year with friar Scoreboard. She plans on joining the winter track team or the winter cheer team.

WINTER CHEER TRYOUTS  - All Grades
In the Student Center

Monday, October 17th      3:00 PM  (learn cheer and stunts)

Tuesday, October 18th    3:00 PM until Finish (Tryouts) 

*Tryouts MAY run until after the late buses; organize rides home!

You MUST enroll in BIG TEAMS before tryouts.

Physical and health history must be up to date! 

Go to https://studentcentral.bigteams.com

Please wear black shorts & white t-shirt or St. Anthony’s apparel, cheer sneakers, NO jewelry, hair in a ponytail, short nails and bring

Cheerleaders are athletes that perform cheers, stunts, tumbling, and dances at games and can be seen practicing diligently throughout the year, including Summer months. Cheerleading is both a Fall and Winter sport with tryouts for each season. St. Anthony’s cheer program has three teams: Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity.  Each team cheers at home (and some away) football games, home basketball games, and championship games. Attendance at all games is mandatory!  Schedules will be given out at the beginning of the season to avoid conflicts. In addition, all three teams attend competitions against other Catholic school cheer teams!

 CHEER TRYOUTS 

Open to all grade levels and attendance at tryouts is mandatory!  Freshman team is only freshman students; JV can be freshman, sophomores, and juniors; Varsity can be made up of all grade levels. 

At tryouts…

• Wear a white t-shirt, (no tank tops), black shorts, socks and sneakers/cheer sneakers. 

• Hair MUST be pulled back in a high ponytail.  

• Nails must be cut short.  

• NO JEWELRY!  

• NO GUM CHEWING!

MONDAY, AUGUST 22 IN THE STUDENT CENTER

3:00PM - 7:00PM ALL GRADES

ALL  prospective cheerleaders will learn a cheer and a dance, practice stunting, jumps, and tumbling skills.  

 TUESDAY, AUGUST 23 IN THE STUDENT CENTER

3:00PM - 5:00PM ALL GRADES -  Review what was learned the previous day.

5:00PM - 7:00PM - Varsity Tryouts (if not trying out for varsity, you may go home at 5pm for the day)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24 IN THE STUDENT CENTER

3:00PM - 7:00PM JV and Freshman tryouts

At the time of tryouts, each group of 4-5 athletes will show what they learned (dance, cheer, jumps, stunts & tumbling). Cheerleaders will be scored by the judges/coaches on their skills, and based on score as well as cheer position needed, they will be chosen for teams. Prior cheer and stunting experience are highly recommended (but not required to make it onto the freshman team).

Athletes will be informed via email Tuesday night 8/23 if they made the varsity team and Wednesday night 8/24 if they made the JV or freshman teams. Emails will also be sent to athletes that do not make a team for the Fall season. Any athletes that make a team are required to attend a cheer clinic/practices on Thursday 8/25 and Friday 8/26. Location and times TBD.

In preparation for the tryout and potentially making the team, running, stretching, and conditioning should be the norm throughout the Summer months. The Friar Sports Cheerleading Camp held July 25-28 is a great opportunity to learn St. Anthony’s cheers and prepare for the tryout in advance!  It also gives incoming Freshmen an opportunity to meet other Freshmen and build lasting friendships before the school year begins.   

GO FRIARS!!!

Alysse LoPresti 
Varsity Cheerleading Coach
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.  

alopresti@stanthonyshs.org