Three Hundred People Sign Petition to Allow Middle School Cheerleading Team

By Anthony on October 13th, 2011 at 5:50 pm

I am a former athlete and believe that every school should have a cheerleading program. It helps motivate the fans and inI turn they motivate the athletes to play better! The athletic dept should realize that when fans enjoy themselves the keep coming back for more and that’s revenue. Its a no brainer! The poor cheer team always tends to get overlooked when they are an important part of the game! Open your eyes folks… support the kids, keep them motivated and off the streets!

By Concerned Parent on October 14th, 2011 at 6:23 pm

It is so unfortunate that this matter even had to be brought to attention at a board meeting. Why wasn’t anyone given the chance to voice their request without having to get a petition signed? All activates ans sports are most important in our youths life especially since is all we can expose them to show them fun and competition are these athletics and competitons. We all know our community is known for drugs and teen pregnancy well then why are we pushing aside options for them to that will keep them off the streets.
I feel this needs to be addressed immediately and allow our children to be heard instead of being pushed tot the side. These girls that are willing to work without pay with our children is awesome especially since it seems as though many only work with them for the pay.
good luck Middle school, I hope all of you will be heard.

By Annette on October 15th, 2011 at 9:08 am

These two ladies deserve an applause for their efforts! It’s admirable to see people stand up for what should’ve been rightfully in place all these years however its a shame they had to go to such extreme measures to bring light to it! I signed the petition and the Athletic Dept should be ashamed for its actions, or lack thereof… There is great talent in our beautiful Pojoaque Valley and its so sad that the mindset of folks affects these young talented kids. If funding is the cause for holding kids from excelling to their full potential I say “where there’s a will, there’s a way!” This is where we as a community need to reach into our pockets and help support these kids whether it’s donating $1 or $100! I personally would rather support them this way rather then paying with tax dollars when they are in trouble or hear about them getting into drugs because they have too much time on their hands! As a community we need to acknowledge and commend folks like these two young ladies in their attempt to make a difference! I look forward to seeing these students out on the sidelines!

By Pamela on October 19th, 2011 at 12:32 pm

It’s important in re-establishing and maintaining a middle school cheerleading squad, especially to young children who aspire to become a cheerleader as they mature.
I’m concerned that the PVS Athletic Department allowed the Middle School Cheerleading Program to abolish in the first place? The Athletic Department Director definitely needs to re-evaluate the importance of a cheerleader regardless of age, sex, race, national origin, ancestry, religion, color, physical or mental handicap or serious medical condition. A cheerleader is not just recognized for the fancy uniform! A Cheerleader is a representative of their school and their classmates they are expected to maintain good grades, be attentive in class, show good behavior and be someone for others to look up to (role model). It takes great skill, involves a lot of hard work, dedication, self-confidence, flexibility like a gymnast and the strength of a football player. Cheerleading leaves no doubt that cheerleaders are exceptional athletes. “They are athletes by every definition of the word. “
On another note there is a law that governs this, it’s the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act commonly known simply as Title IX. The law states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…” United States Code Section 20, [1]
I would also like to commend Ms. Salazar and Ms. Suazo for their time, efforts, courage, and willingness to bring this to the attention of the Pojoaque Valley School District and also for their utmost desire to coach the middle school cheerleading squad cost free.

By Daniel Martinez on October 21st, 2011 at 8:37 am

Lisa: You know why they are horrible? Its because they have no support from tha athletic department and dont have a feeder system in place to develop these girls. I due give credit for them being on the team but cmon. The cheer coach has to go hire Leo Jaramillo an Espanola Coach to give them a routine for State Competition??? Cmon! We need someone to step in and take control of that program. I can be as critical as I want its a free country and everyone is entitled to their opinion and this is mine.

By JoAnna Dominguez-Romero on October 24th, 2011 at 11:04 am

First off this is the PVHS assistant cheer coach and in response to many of the comments I would like to make some things clear. Never once has any of the highschool coaches been asked about, or given any opinion on whether or not the middle school should have a cheer program. That decision is not or has ever been up to the highschool coaches. It has been left to the middle school principal, who was the one who pulled the program many years back due to the conduct of the girls. Also, having a middle school program would be a plus for the high school squad because we wouldn’t be spending so much time teaching basic skills and motion technique to girls who have not cheered since elementary. Second Daniel, you need to look at the history of PVHS cheer before you open your mouth! The years that Gwen was NOT the coach the program went from bad to worse with many of the teams having less that ten girls, I think one year even as low as six! No, the squad is not perfect this year or last but taking fourth place at state and FIRST at hope competition is a huge accomplishment! Also this is a start in the right direction of bringing back the spirit and competitiveness that cheerleading has now become. No longer is cheerleading just looking pretty and cheering on the sidelines, it has finally become a sport; which in turn means that competing is not only a huge part of it, it is necessary in order to even go to state. Also for those who do not know about competing or about cheerleading in general, every school hires outside help when constructing routines as we did Leo who is NOT the Espanola coach but a hired choreographer! He taught the dance and gave us many ideas but we cannot take from the girls the skills and spirit they showed, which is what made them win and place in Spirit of Hope and state competition! We also hire people to size and make our uniforms, buy our shoes from another company, as well as pom poms and other equipment. So trying to make it seem like we are incompetent for hiring Leo is not only childish but shows how uninformed you are about cheerleading in general. Which is exactly why I am trying to set thing straight before these comments turn into some kind of childish finger pointing at the highschool cheerleading program which in reality has absolutely nothing to do with the middle school non-existent program. Instead of all of you trying to make rude comments about the highschool program first get your facts straight, second try to learn a thing or two about cheerleading in general before looking dumb about what your saying, and lastly take your concerns about the middle program up with the people in charge of the middle school! P.S. there is NO ONE who needs to “step in” and take control of a program which is doing great with the three coaches we have right now!

By JoAnna Dominguez-Romero on October 24th, 2011 at 8:50 pm

I am not sure what “change” your so concerned about but FYI the middle school coaching position has been open for over three years now and not once were these concerned parents interested in helping out until thier daughter happens to be in middle school herself! Like I said in the begining a middle school program would only benifit the high school program and none of the high school coaches are or have been against it. We too have talked with the AD and tried to get a program going but like I also said in the previous message it is not up to us and is beyond our control! We do not have a say in it when the principal was the one who cut the program in the first place because of the coaches (who also happened to be parents) at the time! It seems as if you just want to add fuel to a non-existant fire Daniel and I’m not going to sit here and put much attention or effort into your unfound criticism or stoop to your childish level. I do not need to defend any of my actions but thought you should know the facts before making comments about our girls being “horrible” when they in fact have made many accomplishments. The high school program is not, or has not been the problem in the past couple years. Both Gwen and I are devoted to making the program grow and be even more successful than it has been in the past; and we’ll do so for many, many years to come!

By Debbie Roybal on October 27th, 2011 at 1:37 pm

The focus was lost in the last few comments. My daughter has inspired to be a cheerleader since the age of 2. Cheerleading was offered from 4th-6th grade and she loved it. Being a cheerleader is more than the cute, short, preppy skirts. When your a cheerleader you need to be exactly what the name says, a leader. Cheerleaders need to set good examples for your peers and represent the school, team, or whatever your cheering for that you are a respectful and a well behaved. Cheerleading takes an extreme amount of physical work as well as practice. Most cheerleaders practice an average of 8 hours a week. They must be as graceful as dancers, and as athletic as any gymnasts. Cheerleaders also have to be in top physical condition. Just like basketball, football, and baseball Cheerleading is a sport. Cheerleaders have to put in many hours of dedication. Losing these two years is cructial, competition cheer teams in other schools start from 4th – 12th and are year round programs, our girls/boys deserve that opportunity.

By John Knoll on October 27th, 2011 at 7:51 pm

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By Marcos & Beverly Herrera on October 29th, 2011 at 10:21 am

We are parents of two Pojoaque district students, a daughter and a son, both student-athletes. Although our daughter has not been involved in cheerleading, we support every our children and every student’s participation in whatever sport it is they choose to be involved in.

We, like many parents, have always encouraged our children to be active and participate in sports. Since they were 5 or 6 years old they’ve participated in something (i.e., little league, soccer league, and PVYBL). As they progressed in school, when they were eligible to tryout for sports, we encouraged and supported them. Like all student-athletes they are expected to do well academically, first and foremost. They train and prepare hard, mentally & physically, for their participation in sports. Then come tryouts, and if selected for the team, they must attend practices, participate in games, meets or cheer @ games. These student-athletes must meet the expectations of their parents, teachers, coaches, etc.; quite demanding for a child, don’t you think? Therefore, they don’t need all of the negative and offensive comments about their efforts. They do not need to be belittled.

Instead of insulting student-athletes and each other, we need to come together as a district and advocate for and support them (all of them); whatever their interests are. Whether it is football, volleyball, cross country, soccer, basketball, cheerleading, baseball/softball, or track. Each and every one of these athletes deserves our support and encouragement.

A meeting with the school board was held, so what was the outcome? If a decision was made, can it be published so that the entire district community knows what the path forward is? It causes unnecessary frustration when issues are brought up, meetings are held but then there is no follow-through with communication as to whether a decision was made or not and what that decision is. Communication in the district needs to improve and there needs to be more transparency.

By Ashley Moya Martinez on October 31st, 2011 at 12:26 pm

JoAnna babe….the girl you are mentioning about only being concerned about a mid school cheer program once her daughters were that age is my sister (your cousin). Of course she wouldn’t be concerned about it as to she wasn’t aware of it till they were in that school. My sister has been coaching the younger girls for a few years and you know that takes alot of time and dedication.
We were all interested in this program for the girls because of their desire to want to cheer. Activities like these are what keep our children busy, out of trouble and off the streets. All of our main goals as parents is to keep our kids out of trouble…n when people are stopping progrmas like these it leaves our kids with alot of time on their hands.
My sisters goal is to keep the kids, active, busy and allowing them to enjoy and have fun with what they love. You have cheered since you were young cousin…you know your desire ans love for this sport. Im sure ur neices ans daughter are going to want to do it as well, so why not allow this program to go thru so they can have the opportunity to do it since they are little so they can be great by the time they are in High School. Please prima show support on this matter just like the love you have for this sport. Its worth it all for our kids.
Mys sister was and is willling to coach these girls for free. You and I kno coaching is difficult and takes a lot of time, patience and love. She is willing to do all this so a program is pursued not only for her daughters but for all of our future cheerleaders as well. I think its awesome for her desire in this area because of the fact she has a large family of her own and is willing to take the time to want to volunteer for our kids.