The 2022-2023 NDB Spirit Squad is off to a strong start. With 13 members on the Varsity Cheer team, 10 members on JV cheer and six on the pom team, this year is shaping up to be a competitive season.

Tryouts began in early May 2022, followed by weekly summer practices beginning the week of June 15. At the end of the summer, over the course of three days, coaches and alumnae Franchesca Gomez ‘08, Viana Rivas ‘11 and Ciara Folan ‘15 held team placements for the coming season. The final squad was announced on the NDB Athletics page, the night of August 11.

The dedicated commitment and rigorous weekly practice schedule that was maintained throughout the summer allowed the athletes to prepare for the season ahead.

“The summer practices are a great time for all of our athletes to come together, get to know one another, learn all of our game day material to prepare for football season in August/September, and start building skills ahead of the competition season,” Gomez shared.

The game-day season, which consists of cheering for Serra HS football and basketball teams, began in the pre-season this year. The NDB Varsity Spirit Squad received the invitation to showcase their skills on a national stage, during Serra HS’s pre-season game against De La Salle HS on Friday, September 2 in Concord. This was the cheerleaders first game of the season, quickly followed by Serra HS’s last pre-season game against Central Catholic HS on Saturday, September 10.

The Varsity Pom team has kickstarted their competitive season. As well as participating on the game-day squad, the pom members also create a difficult, skill-based routine to master and perform at the multiple competitions the team has lined up. Gomez is the head Varsity Pom coach, as well as also being a former athlete on the first pom team at NDB. The team hosted their choreographer over the weekend of September 3-4. After dedicating their whole Saturdays and Sundays to choreograph their competition routine, the team is feeling ready for their first competition.

The competition cheer teams were split between varsity and JV for the season. After attending tri-weekly practices, USA Cheer Camp in late July and team placements in August, the team was given a short break as a reward for their hardworking summer. The practices held helped the coaches for the appropriate teams, as well as improve each athlete individually.

Head JV Coach Folan, and team choreographed their routine over two days: Thursday, September 1 to Friday, September 2. They are beginning to make headway in perfecting their routine for showtime.

Varsity Competition Cheer held choreography the same week and are making lots of progress in their new competition routine full of new dances, difficult tumbling and challenging stunts. The team is preparing for their first Regional competition that takes place on Saturday, November 12.

“Both varsity Pom and Varsity Cheer’s routines are super creative and challenging at the same time. I’m really looking forward to working with both teams to perfect their routines and watching them perform them for the first time,” Gomez states.

With their supportive coaches, a strict schedule and challenging routines, the NDB Spirit Squad and competitive teams are set up for success for the 2022-2023 season.