The following is a full transcript of the interview given by Mrs. Liastro to The Warrior Messenger’s Tanisi Mistry and Lanique Jenkins about the life of cheerleading.
Tanisi Mistry: How did you feel when you first started coaching the students?
Mrs. Liastro: I love cheerleading, I have been cheerleading and coaching almost my entire life, so I was really excited to get the opportunity to do it here.
LaNique Jenkins: How do you deal with a cheerleader with an injury that’s really bad?
ML: Throughout my coaching time, we had different cheerleaders. Not just when I coached cheer, but at other schools where we’ve had an injury. It’s always sad when they can’t participate in our routine where things that we are doing but there’s still a way for them to participate. There were different times where we had to pull out a chair and let them sit down and cheer with us. They just can’t go out on the floor and do it, but even though they got injured and they maybe can’t participate fully, we still don’t want them to feel like they’re not a part of the squad, so we always try to wait for them to perform.”
TM: How do you inspire students from your cheerleading experience?
ML: I just think it’s fun to have school spirit and to be involved and to have a lot of energy. I just try to come in with a positive attitude, whether it’s in my classroom or when we’re coaching after school, and I hope that transpires in what the students and the cheerleaders do.
LJ: What would you say are the hardest moves to learn when it comes to tumbling?
ML: I think it’s a lot of times just a matter of repetition and memorization. Sometimes if we are doing something, whether it’s a dance or a cheer that has a lot of moves that go pretty fast, that’s usually the most complicated thing. It’s really just making sure you practice and repeat over and over because that kind of helps you get what you need to know.
TM: Since cheer can take many obstacles through the way, what were some of the problems you faced throughout your journey?
ML: Choosing a team is difficult because there are always so many students that come to try out for cheerleading, and unfortunately we can’t take everybody. We have 35 students who are trying out for cheerleading next year, but we only take about 16. So that’s a hard thing for us to do is to tell somebody who really really comes out and tries their best. We’ve had to deal with discipline issues, and people not showing up to practices and not being as dedicated to being a member of the team as we would like. That’s disappointing for us since there are so many people who try out for cheerleading, we really want you to be dedicated because there are other students who tried out and didn’t make it, so they would take their spot in a heartbeat when you don’t care as much. So that’s something we had to deal with but for the most part, the students we’ve had as our cheerleaders have been wonderful.
LJ: Why did you want to start coaching for cheerleaders?
ML: Like I said, I loved cheerleading almost my entire life since I was in 3rd grade. It’s something that’s really important to me, it kind of runs through my veins. So when we have the opportunity to have a cheerleading squad here is just such a great opportunity to bring school spirit and unity to Woodbridge Middle School. And it’s just another opportunity for me to get involved in something that I’m passionate about.
TM: What’s your way of comforting students when they are nervous?
ML: We just tell them to have fun, just have a good time! Don’t worry about whoever is looking at you in the crowd and just do what you like to do. Just smile and have a good time, and if you make a mistake, keep smiling.
LJ: Did someone inspire you to start coaching? If so, who was that someone?
ML: My cheerleading coach from high school is still a really big influence on my life, and I still do keep in touch with her. She and I had a really great relationship in high school and she kind of helped me through a lot of stuff that I was going through in high school, so when I got the opportunity to coach, she was the first person I called, and she has really given me a lot of guidance along the way and I hope that I could make cheerleading as fun for our squad members like she made it for me.
TM: What are some of the top goals you want your students to achieve?
ML: Honestly, we want them to go out there and have fun. We want them to have school spirit, and to be good representatives to just our squad, but to our school, and we tell them that all of the time. ‘This is what we’re looking for. When you wear that uniform, all eyes are on you.’ And so we just want them to be great role models for other students in their school who look up to the Warriors.
The following is a full transcript of the interview given by Ashlyn Lynch to The Warrior Messenger’s Tanisi Mistry and Lanique Jenkins about the life of cheerleading.
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Tanisi Mistry: How did you feel when you first started cheerleading?
Ashlyn Lynch: I was really excited to cheer and it’s really a way to connect with myself and everyone was really nice, so it felt comforting and it was really fun.
LaNique Jenkins : Cheerleading takes a lot of training, what were the most difficult parts of becoming a cheerleader?
AL: Probably getting everything remembered, preparing to perform, and getting out the nerves to perform, but other than that it was pretty easy.
TM: What were some benefits for you from joining cheerleading?
AL: I really grew more confident in myself. And it was easier to perform in general, such as on stages and more.
LJ: A lot of people think that cheerleading is all about flexibility and gymnastics. What does cheerleading mean to you?
AL: It’s kind of a big family that gets together that motivates not only each other, but people like fans, and the people who are actually cheering. Cheerleading is way more than flexibility and being able to do cartwheels because a lot of girls can’t, and that’s okay!
TM: What were some of the downsides of cheerleading?
AL: Some of the downsides about cheerleading are looking at this wrong, and everyone sees that because you’re basically the head of the school. If you do something wrong, everyone sees that. Other than that, cheerleading is pretty great.
LJ: What would you say are the hardest moves to learn when it comes to tumbling?
AL: It really depends on who you are because depending on your body and body type, there are different things that everyone can do, so the difficulty level is very hard to average for everybody because everybody is different.
TM: Since cheerleading can make you go through many difficulties along the way, what was the first time you had faced a problem in cheerleading?
AL: I never really faced a big problem in cheerleading because it was always easy for me to pick up things, but probably trying to cooperate with everybody because everyone has different personalities. Once you go from 7th to 8th grade, they are very different even though they are so close.
LJ: Why did you want to become a cheerleader?
AL: I wanted to become a cheerleader because I love to perform and I love to cheer, and I know I’m so loud so I can cheer, and one of the things I can put together. I also love teams and also motivating people to do things.
LJ: Did someone inspire you to become a cheerleader? If so, who is that someone?
AL: No one inspired. me to be a cheerleader but I did have my mom who was like: ‘Oh yeah! You should do this! It would be great for you!
TM: When you first participated in cheerleading events, what was your first reaction to the public?
AL: I was so nervous because people I know in school, and if I do something wrong they’ll be like: ‘Hey, I saw you do that.” I know they are going to be joking with me. I know they see me everywhere.
TM: Since cheerleading can be dangerous, what was the most dangerous and trickiest stunt you have ever done?
AL: I am a base, so basically when you lift people up into the air, and we are doing this thing called a cradle, we have to push them into the air and catch them and being a flier for that is so scary. You can get the feeling that you are falling because you are. There was this one girl, and she kicked my side and I had trouble breathing for one month. Cheer is great, and you should really do it because you get so many benefits from it. Not only are you physically fit, but you also have friends through that.
