ai???Cheering for Stroudsburg opened up a lot of doors for me,ai??? said former Stroudsburg cheerleader Johanna Hoffmann. ai???I wouldnai??i??t be the cheerleader I am today without it.ai??? Ai??

After Hoffmann graduated in 2014, she continued her cheering career at Rutgers University, where she is cheering for the third straight year.

As football season comes to an end and competition season starts, the girls are working hard to . The first competition was at Wilson on November 6. Both varsity and JV took First Place, while junior high took Second. Varsity competed at the EPCai??i??s on December 7 in Easton, Ai??and at a smaller competition there on December 10. Ai??They will compete at districts on January 7.

ai???No one takes into consideration the amount of work cheerleaders put in and the time they have to dedicate,ai??? saidAi??head coachAi??Ms.Ai??Laura DeFalco. ai???Cheer should have one season just as other sports do. Cheer doesn’t have scholarship money at all colleges or high schools, nor do we get any perks like other sports get,” she added.

DeFalco has been the head coach for 14 years.Ai??Cheer coaches must be certified, as well as certified by theAi??safety information commission. DeFalco believes cheer does not always get the credit it deserves.

To prepare for games and competitions the girls practice two days a week and sometimes more if necessary. They work on the stunts that will get the crowd going so the team feels energized. Games can cut into the girls’ practice schedule, making it hard to practice on a regular basis.

Freshman Gabriella Ligori shared her positives experiences thus far. ai???Cheering for Stroudsburg has introduced me to amazing new friends and showed me what itai??i??s like to have really amazing teammates and be as close as we are,” she said.