Fort Lee Cheerleading Squad Excited For New Season

The Fort Lee Cheerleading team gives the Bridgemen an extra boost and develops excitement among fans at football and basketball games.

Success has been a staple for the girls who work very hard and are very well coached. Head coach Nina Anderson has led the Fort Lee Cheerleading team to three national titles and many regional championships, and she is assisted by Nikki Luppino.

The team has made many memories together and junior captain Hailey Klein remembers many of them vividly.

"Last season went really well," Klein said. "As a squad, we won Grand All-State Champions at FDU in the UCC Eastern States Fall Invitational competition. We won two second-degree of excellence awards, as well as ten first-degree of excellence awards in single, double, and triple dance and cheer routines. We were also awarded the National Champions title at Williamsburg, Virginia in the ECA National Competition. At that competition, we scored the highest amount of points of all tumbling, non-tumbling, and all star teams entered. All squad members were named 'All American Cheerleaders' and invited to cheer at halftime in the Pro-Bowl in Hawaii. These were all amazing accomplishments for not only me, but the whole squad."

Senior captain Michelle Dean will not soon forget what the feeling was like during the team’s incredible run last season.

"It was amazing and overwhelming," Dean said. "We worked so hard so it was great."

The hard work the girls put in certainly pays off. The team normally practices twice a week, but when competitions are on the horizon, they practice almost every day.

“We practiced a lot, tried our best, and we won,” said senior Milica Sutovic.

The team has the opportunity to do some special things this season as well. On top of cheering on the football and basketball teams, the girls will be heading to FDU on Nov. 20 to defend their championship at the UCC Eastern States Fall Invitational. They will also be competing in The Big North Cheer Championships, the Eastern State Championships and the America National Championships, which take place in Florida.

"The team is looking forward to Nationals because they've never gone to Florida for nationals; it's always been Williamsburg, Virginia," said coach Anderson. "But because of their strong work ethic, experienced coaches and extraordinary routine, Fort Lee has a shot at earning a fourth National Title.”

Teamwork is very important in any sport, including cheerleading, and this year's team is a very close and talented unit.

"It was very difficult to select captains this year as every senior deserved that role for one reason or another," said Anderson. "Each one has something special to bring to the team, and they were all worthy of that title. When they are on the mat at practice, the field at a game or at a competition, they put their differences aside and come together as a unit. That camaraderie is what makes them excel in their sport.”