In her first year as Otterbein’s cheerleading head coach, Liz Rossetti is preparing to take the Cardinal cheerleading team to levels Otterbein hasn’t seen in years.
Rossetti, president and founder of AmeriCheer, is currently prepping the Cardinals to compete at the Winter Open National Championship on Feb. 9 at the Columbus Convention Center.
“The competition is a way of showing their athletic achievement and showing their athleticism by competing so it’s really a confidence builder,” Rossetti said.
“It gives them a chance to be a team and accomplish a goal for them as a team,” Rossetti said.
Some of the cheerleaders expressed their goals for the event. Junior Mitch Kaeser said, “Our goal is that we want to come in first.”
Sophomore Victoria Noble said, “This is our first year so we just want to do our best and get more experience with competitions.”
At this competition, the Cardinals will compete against other Division II and III schools from all over the Midwest.
Their routine will last two and a half minutes but will be very challenging, according to Rossetti.
“They go full out, and at the end they’re breathing really hard because of all the high intensity tumbling, jumps, cheering, dancing and performing,” she said.
Rossetti said she hopes that this is just a stepping stone for things to come. “We hope to go to a bigger event next year … our goal in the future, in the next two years, is to go onto a much larger scale of competition,” Rossetti said.
According to Rossetti, the team is full of young men and women who are enthusiastic, positive and role models for the school.
Rossetti added that to be a cheerleader, athleticism is critical, but personality and commitment to the school and community are the most important.
“When someone makes the cheerleading squad, they are committing themselves to working through the school and performing and being at games,” Rossetti said.
As they head into the competition, the team’s preparation consists of the same routine with lots and lots practice according to junior and team member, Ayla Starcher.
Before the team goes on, Rossetti has already planned her message for the team. “Be yourselves, give 100%, and have fun with it because cheerleading needs to be fun,” she said.
