The Suffolk County News sat down with the tremendously successful Sayville varsity cheerleading team, who recently competed in Orlando, Fla. The squad has faced pandemic concerns, but rallied together to overcome both external and internal obstacles to perform at the winning level that has come to characterize them.

Varsity coach Kaytie Ferremi gave us an inside look at how to cultivate a champion squad.

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Suffolk County News: If there was a mantra, or overall goal for this season, what was it? How did it shape the outcome of the season?

Kaytie Ferremi: Our overall mantra for the season was something called “POP.” It stands for “The Power of Positivity.” Our team breaks on this motto at the end of each practice to remind ourselves that we are capable of achieving so much more success when we have a positive mind state versus negative.

SCN: What are the team’s greatest strengths?

Ferremi: This Sayville varsity cheer team is unique in the sense that they have a variety of strengths. Every single member of the team tumbles. This is the first time that all 16 of our members have both running and standing tumbling in program history. In addition, our team has strong stunting skills when it comes to competing inverted skills (hand-in-hands and various back handspring-ups). Thirdly, our team has really worked together to create a close family type of environment where we are all supportive of each other. This is a result of our team being led by two senior captains (Ava Eriksen and Ava Walsh). They have helped foster a positive environment where all athletes feel comfortable and supported by their teammates.

SCN: How have you helped both individual and team performances get to another level this season?

Ferremi: Our athletes have been very responsive to putting in extra work on their own. Coaches John Thompson, Deana Nappi and Teresa Keegan have helped our athletes improve their tumbling and stunting skills by focusing on technique and stamina to complete our routine. Our athletes proved to be quite successful this year, as we had many award recipients:

Section XI Academic All County- Brooke Burke

Section XI All Division- Abbey White

Section XI All County- Lauren Jones

Section XI All County- McKenna Broderick

Sayville Athletic MVP Award- Ava Rueb

Sayville Athletic Leadership Award- Ava Eriksen

Newsday All Long Island Nominations- Ava Eriksen, Brooke Burke and Ava Rueb

SCN: How did you develop routines for competition? Are there particular elements of the routine that you sought after or avoided? If so, why?

Ferremi: We worked with John Thompson (our choreographer) at Long Island Cheer to develop a UCA-style routine. This was coach John’s fifth year designing our routine and he did not disappoint! The routine he created was fast-paced, creative, and very visual.

SCN: What is the biggest misconception about competitive cheerleading/high school cheerleading? How do you work to dismantle those perceptions both as a coach and the girls as individuals?

Ferremi: I think one of the biggest misconceptions of high school competitive cheerleading is that we only cheer sidelines at football games. I think a lot of people don’t realize what we do behind the scenes at our practices from August to February. We are constantly trying to balance preparing for football games, our big homecoming performance, as well as preparing for our lengthy competition season. Our cheerleaders work really hard to be recognized as competitive athletes.

SCN: How supportive were parents and the community to the girls’ season?

Ferremi: Our parents and community members were unbelievably supportive for our girls this past season. Our athletes are so successful as a result of the support from their parents. They help plan fundraisers, celebrations for the athletes, coordinate pickups and drop-offs for practices, fund our Long Island Cheer practices, and never miss a game or competition! We had quite the crowd travel down to Orlando, Fla., to watch the girls compete at nationals.

SCN: What were the thoughts or concerns that gave you and your students the most anxiety or apprehension when you were at Disney for the competition? How did you overcome them?

Ferremi: One of our biggest concerns from the start of the season was how COVID was going to affect our team, and also building our skill level since we were unable to have much of a season last year, but these athletes far surpassed my expectations when they placed second at the UCA Empire Regional Competition, fourth in the Suffolk County Championships, and became a national qualifier at the National High School Cheerleading Championships.

SCN: Were there any teams that you were particularly impressed by or would have the team look up to in terms of teamwork or steadfastness, either in your competition league or particularly in Florida?

Ferremi: Long Island is full of such incredible cheerleading teams, and we are so lucky that we have the opportunity to compete against many of them. Mount Sinai, Rocky Point and Sachem North are a few teams that our girls are inspired and motivated by.