12 | NOVEMBER 13, 2020
THE GATEPOST
SP O RTS Cheerleading Continued from page 1 From August to April, the FSU cheerleaders train hard in the hope of earning an invitation to Nationals. From long practices in the Athletic Center gym to cheering at football games, the team has a tight bond with one another - a bond that no pandemic can take away. Hamilton said, “Even off the mat, we tend to push each other to keep our acde i o s. n the t e definite y have a close bond. So, it [their bond] just helps us in every aspect of our lives.” Fernandes added, “I want to do good [at competition] not only for myself, but for my teammates because I have a bond with them. I don’t want to let them down. Off the mat, it is the same thing. “We motivate each other. We would keep each other in-line and in-check so that we could be the best for ourselves and for each other. So, I think we kind of all just pushed each other to work hard and make things happen,” she added. This season, the team has fallen behind as the University has yet to assign practice time to them. While other fall sports have been allowed to hold socially distanced practices during the week, the cheerleading team has been left in the dark by the University. Hamilton said the team’s coaches reached out to the Athletic Department to get a practice slot. A month later, the team is still waiting to receive paperwork required to hold practice. With time running out, both cheerleaders have their eyes set on attending the 2021 Nationals. This goal, however, is quickly slipping out of reach as the team must attend a National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) nd o ith n o fi i N t iner in order to earn an invitation to Nationals. Hamilton said, “It’s hard for us at Fram-
FSU cheerleading team | Courtesy of Danielle Achin ingham to look on Instagram and see other cheerleading teams that are getting to practice right now. It just kind of feels like we’re falling behind.” She added cheerleaders around the country are currently able to participate in the sport, but at a limited capacity. She said, “We haven’t met together as a team once, never mind go to [NCA] camp together. I do hope we get to go [to Nationals]. With all of our hard work last season, we are at a level where we could do half a season and still be competitive.” Fernandes said attending Nationals as seniors would “be a great way to go out, especially because we had such an upsetting exit to last season, after everything we kind of worked for. “So, hopefully we get that chance, but we’ll just have to take it day by day,” she added. As the two seniors anxiously wait to see if they will be allowed to practice and
FSU cheerleading team during a football game | Courtesy of Danielle Achin
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o ete d in thei fin o e i te se son they oth e e t on thei st o years on the team. Hamilton said, “I do try to be a leader on this team - which I’m not normally very good at. I tend to sit back and let the group work things out. This is my fourth year on the mat and the coaches do look at me as a leader for the team. “So, I’ve had to step up and learn that skill that I didn’t really have going into this. I am probably most proud of my growth in leadership skills through this experience,” she added. Hamilton, a Weymouth native and biology major, began all-star cheerleading when she was 8 years old. She said, “I started because my best friend and my cousin started doing it. So then, I obviously was like, ‘I want to do what they’re doing,’ and my mother act y s id no o si onths nti fin y persuaded her to let me do it.” From then on, Hamilton stuck with the sport. Likewise, Fernandes, an international business major from Taunton, began cheerleading in middle school. She said, “I tried out for my middle school team and I didn’t make it. That kind of got me into all-star cheer because I really wanted to make the team.” Now, Hamilton and Fernandes are only a few months away from graduating college and are looking forward to staying close to the sport. e n ndes s id definite y ho e to incorporate cheerleading [into my future], whether that means opening a gym or maybe coaching - we’ll see what happens with that. definite y oin to et y e estate license this upcoming spring and then hopefully start with that and kind of get my foot in the door for other business opportunities,” Fernandes added. After graduation, Hamilton said, “I want to go to a 16-month nursing program and turn my bachelor’s in science to he o o s ien e in n sin . defi-
nitely want to work in a hospital setting or a medical setting.” She added, “I’m still an all-star cheerleader and I want to continue doing that team for at least a couple more years. I’m also coaching, so I want to keep coaching.” With the spring semester quickly approaching, Fernandes and Hamilton ree ted on the e y they ho e to e e behind for their underclassman teammates. Fernandes said, “We really had this way of changing the team’s mindset. I think the legacy that is going to be left behind is a legacy of triumph. We overcame so much and it brought everyone together. I feel like that’s going to continue. I don’t think that’s going to be forgotten.” She added, “I can’t believe how fast it went and how things have changed. … e yone sho d definite y e the est of it while they can, and hopefully, everything with this virus will be going away soon.” i ton s id on t ose the fi ht. Framingham State has the skill level to win the national championship and every year, something so small sets us back. “I don’t want to see this team, once we’re gone, start heading downhill and not caring anymore, because we are such a talented program and everybody just needs to think of that,” she added. i ton s id definite y nt to e e e y o fi htin o so te y e erything you do because you only get four years and it goes by so fast. Looking back, now I’m like, ‘If only I had done this differently,’ and you don’t want to feel that way. “You want to put every ounce of your being into the four years you’re there. I hope people see that’s what I’ve done in my four years and I hope everybody in ye s to o e ts th t s e fi ht in ecause we are a very good program.” [Interim Asst. Sports Editor, Danielle Achin, is a member of the cheerleading team.] CONNECT WITH ASHLEY WALL awall1@student.framingham.edu
