THREE CHEERS! Fox Chapel Area High School Varsity Cheerleaders Have a Winning Year!
BY JENNIFER BROZAK
Following the extraordinary success of the past year, Fox Chapel Area High School’ s varsity cheerleading team could warrant a cheering section of its very own.
Under the direction of head coach Aleta Balcer, the squad has won several competitions, performed at a college bowl game, and marched in the Macy’ s Holiday Parade at Universal Studios, all in the span of less than a year.
In November, the varsity team, which consists of 21 girls, took third place in the South Hills Showdown, a cheerleading and dance competition that was held at Bethel Park High School. Then, in December, they won first place for the second year in a row at the Battle in the Burgh, a national championship competition held by Elite Cheerleading, the country’ s largest private cheer camp organization. What makes their success stand out is that prior to these recent wins, Fox Chapel Area’ s varsity cheerleaders hadn’ t competed in more than a decade.
“ It takes a lot of work and dedication to compete and the girls work very hard to be the best they can,” says Balcer, 43, who’ s in her second year of coaching at the high school.“ I am so blessed to be able to bring this opportunity to the girls, as well as to the school district.”
Starting in June, the girls practice twice a week— or more if they have a competition coming up.
“ I think it takes a lot of open mindedness with a group of girls in general, but when it comes to cheerleading, anyone who is involved knows that it takes a lot of time throughout the year,” says Krista Zottola, captain of the varsity squad.“ We start tryouts in May and we do not stop practicing and preparing until the end of the basketball season, through playoffs.”
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