School Notebook: LVC's Last Fundraiser before Nationals a Success

With a trip to on the horizon and the need to raise funds to help defray the cost of competing in them, the Varsity Cheerleading Squad turned to a new and sure-fire way to raise money this past .

That is, an early-morning fundraising breakfast, complete with face painting, a 50/50 raffle and more at in North Lindy.

New and sure-fire, you say? Last time the tried it, it raised in the neighborhood of $1,000, and this time was no different.

Michele Corcoran - who, along with Anne Wishniak, has been coaching the high school squad for 27 years - said the team now has 90 percent of the money it needs to head to the National High School Cheerleading Championship (NHSCC).

The  is held annually at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, and nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN2 to more than 100 million homes and 32 countries nationwide each year.

The rest of the money for the team to head to on will come from parents, though Corcoran's hopeful the team could eke that to 95 percent between now and February 10 when they leave for the competition.

It was the mother of one of the cheerleaders who came up with the idea of giving a fundraising breakfast a try, noted the team's coaches.

“Of course, we sell refreshments at high school games, and do car washes, and we had a Chinese Auction at Blue Lagoon last December,” Corcoran said. “But then Mrs. [Peggy] Licameli came up with the idea of doing this. We did it for the first time in November, and it was very successful, so we decided to do it again today.”

Support for the Sport
And on friends, fans and family turned out in force for a team that's helping to redefine the way people think about their sport.

That’s right - sport.

“Cheerleading’s not just rah-rah anymore,” Wishniak said.

“There's been a change in the perception of cheerleading,” agreed Corcoran. “It takes gymnastics - and, in fact, we have a lot of gymnasts on the team. The music, the synchronization, the stunts…it’s competitive. People see it now as a sport.”

And it’s a sport at which this year the young ladies from Lindenhurst have demonstrated they excel by qualifying for the first-time for the Nationals.

The 23-person, all-girl team - then 24-person - qualified with a second-place win in the Northeast Regional Qualifying Championships at Ritacco Center held in Toms River, New Jersey on November 19, 2011. The team was the only one from Long Island to qualify, too.

“This is the first time we ever competed for the ,” admitted Corcoran. Why this year? “We felt it was the first time we had a team that was this structured and talented.”

According to Wishniak, the reasons for that development are varied.

Students, she said, increasingly see cheerleading as an activity admired at least as much for its athleticism and skills as it is for its "glamour."

With that changed perception have come junior programs that feed into the varsity program.

Increased participation by kids with aptitude in gymnastics has helped, too. And critically, increased attention has been given to finding supplemental camps and other ways to build up the program.

The Lindenhurst Varsity Cheerleaders have also benefited from working with James, an "all-star guy," at New York Cheer All Stars cheer gym in Deer Park, Corcoran said.

“He’s tweaked our routines,” she noted proudly.

Team Accolades
Now, all of the team's hard work will pay off in less than two weeks at Nationals - the culmination of the team's 2011-12 season, which consisted - as usual - of about 10 competitions between the end of November and the end of January. They also cheer for the Lindenhurst Varsity and teams.

However, before they board the plane to Florida, the Lady Bulldogs will in the Long Island Championships (finals) this Saturday at SCCC.

The team qualified in the Large Varsity Division, and will take part in a patriotic tribute at the end of the competition along with fellow teams, noted Corcoran.

The team also headed the list of Scholar-Athlete teams on the list of for the school with a 95.85 team GPA - an LHS best. It was even featured on January 24 on MSG Varsity.