WOODBURY — Nonnewaug cheer has always been a huge part of Nonnewaug athletics, but last year, the team had dwindling numbers: a total of three members for the football season, and nine members for the basketball season. Now the team is beginning the school year with 14 athletes, and more are sure to come.
Jamie Potter, coach of the Nonnewaug cheer team, is happy about the outcome for the new season and is working to get the team’s spirit up by purchasing new bows, pom poms, and other equipment for the team.
“I am so excited to be back coaching NHS for the fall 2023 season,” Potter said. “I started in January of this year and was taking over an existing team that had struggled with participation over the last few seasons. [The] fall 2022 season had only three or four athletes; I am thrilled that we now have 14 cheerleaders for the fall 2023 season and even more expected to join for winter 2024.”
Isabella Zakrzewski, a freshman cheerleader, is excited to be on the team. Seeing as her Nonnewaug cheer season will be different from her previous one at Rochambeau Middle School, she’s looking forward to the experience.
“What feels most different from last season is being without my friends and without having competitions or games on the weekends,” Zakrzewski said. “I’m looking forward to making friends and the halftime routines for the games.”
With all of the additional athletes, there are bound to be different levels of experience in cheerleading. Exchange student Dominik Udvardi, who came all the way from Austria, has never been part of a cheer team but is excited to join the Nonnewaug Chiefs.
“It’s really a unique experience for me as an exchange student,” Udvardi said. “We don’t have football or cheerleading teams in Austria at all — I think it’s really an American thing. I like how the teams really bond over practice because it feels like a family. We have such a variety of remarkable people.”
Returning cheerleader Abby Risi is surprised by the number of players, along with the team’s spirit, which she thinks can lead them to new possibilities for the future of Nonnewaug cheer.
“This year feels so much more like a cheer team than just some club,” Risi said. “I’m looking forward to our team advancing and getting better at cheers, and also being able to do stunts. I can’t wait to play as the family we will become, and the community we will create together for the future.”
