Sophomore Brooklyn Daraio started cheerleading when she was in middle school but didn’t come to enjoy it until her first year of high school. She was hesitant to continue in high school due to previous negative experiences, and it wasn’t until her mom’s encouragement that she decided to try out for the La Salle cheerleading team.
“I realized when I started doing cheer again why I do it,” Daraio said. “It’s not for others, it’s for myself.”
In her upcoming season, Daraio aspires to be a role model for her teammates. If her teammates have questions, she always aims to answer in a kind way in order to keep an environment where people are not afraid to ask questions.
“I really just want to be the person that helps others out,” she said.
Although her team is made up of all grade levels, Daraio explains that they are all “a good group of friends.” She also described that although they have only known each other for a short amount of time, they all have love for each other.
As for her goals for the team, Daraio hopes that all her teammates carry a positive mindset and try their best.
“I hope that people try their hardest, but also not push themselves to the point where they start to dislike cheer,” Daraio said.
Even though their season started late, Daraio is excited for the practices and games to begin. Her favorite part about cheerleading is performing halftime dances and getting ready with her team before Friday night games.
“I’m more excited for learning the bigger and better halftime dances and performing them because I know we have a few ideas,” Daraio said.
Her favorite halftime performance that the team has ever performed was the “Yeah!” dance because the choreography was performed to a popular song by Usher.
“I feel like that’s what got the crowd encouraged,” Daraio said.
A close second contender to the “Yeah!” dance is the “Break a Sweat” dance because of the stunting that was incorporated into it.
When it comes to stunting, Daraio is a flyer. She explained that she was never nervous to fall, rather that she wouldn’t be as good as the other flyers.
Throughout her upcoming season, Daraio hopes to improve her stunting because she knows that she needs to be sharper.
For stunting she said she plans to “practice my core more, whether it’s working out or to use the items I have around me.”
Daraio practices cheer every day, whether it’s learning choreography for their upcoming halftime performances, past cheer routines, or choreography from her favorite cheer teams like the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders or the Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders.
Daraio views them as a big inspiration to her because of how hard they work to achieve their dreams.
“It reminds me that cheer is something you need to work hard for,” she said.
Another inspiration to Daraio is her mom, who was also a cheerleader and flyer in high school. Due to her mom’s previous experience, Daraio seeks her feedback while she practices at home.
As the cheer season continues, “I want to be known for who I am because when I’m a cheerleader, I feel that’s when I’m most myself,” she said. “That’s when I’m the most happy.”
In the future, Daraio hopes to continue to work hard and cheer in college.
“I know that many other people in this world want this with me, but I’m willing to work as hard as I can in order to achieve [it],” she said.
