https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/West-Haven-Seahawks-Pee-Wee-girls-cheerleading-11318969.php
West Haven Seahawks Pee Wee girls cheerleading squad to head to Florida for championships
Pee Wee cheerleaders headling to Florida for championships
Published 7:40 pm EST, Friday, November 18, 2016
West Haven Seahawks Pee Wee Girls Cheerleading Assistant Coach Asiah Trimble, Head Coach Bridgette Hoskie, Assistant Coach Kristen Teshoney and Assistant Coach Amanda Cardinelli show off the team's hardware after taking second in the New England regional championships last Saturday in Springfield, Mass. less
West Haven Seahawks Pee Wee Girls Cheerleading Assistant Coach Asiah Trimble, Head Coach Bridgette Hoskie, Assistant Coach Kristen Teshoney and Assistant Coach Amanda Cardinelli show off the team's ... more
Photo: Contributed Photo
WEST HAVEN >> For the second straight year, the girls on the West Haven Seahawks Pee Wee girls cheerleading squad are headed for the Pop Warner National Championships next month at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The girls, most who went last year representing West Haven in the Jr. Pee Wee class, are headed back after taking second in the New England region in competition last Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts, head coach Bridgette Hoskie said.
"We compete on December 7 in Florida," Hoskie said. "We're gonna bring home the title."
This year, in the 50th anniversary year of what's also called the Ray Tellier Midget Football League, the Pee Wee cheerleaders were the only team or squad that made it to the nationals. They finished second in their class behind the Water-Oak Indians from Watertown.
Last year, one football team and one cheerleading squad — both Jr. Pee Wees — made it.
About four new girls joined the 19-member cheerleading squad this year, but otherwise, it's the same squad that went to the Jr. Pee Wee championships last year, said Hoskie, who works with assistant coaches Kristen Teshoney, Amanda Cardinelli and Asiah Trimble.
The girls on the squad all are between the ages of 10 and 12, she said.
For most of the girls, this is their third year competing — and as a result of last year's success, the Seahawks Pee Wee squad was moved up this year to Level 2, which is a higher level of competition, Hoskie said.
"It's the first time in West Haven history that a team has been Level 2," she said.
During training, "Our motto is, 'They're not average. They're exceptional,'" Hoskie said, "and they believe in themselves."
The girls have plenty of support locally.
"I'm certainly proud of the coaches and participants for them competing at such a high level, and I feel they're going to do very well in the national competition," said league President Mike Last.
And while Mayor Ed O'Brien and Last, a former city councilman, have been known to butt heads politically from time to time, the mayor is rooting for the girls.
"I know many of the girls and their families" and their success "is another example of the talented children we have in West Haven," O'Brien said.
"Making it to nationals is not an easy accomplishment, but to make it two years in a row shows the level of commitment and work ethics these young women have," he said. "We are all very proud and I wish good luck in Florida."
Residents will have an opportunity to show their support Nov. 26, when the team holds a fundraiser to help raise the money for the trip at Randall's Restaurant, 236 Platt Ave. The fundraiser is from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door and include a free drink and appetizers, Hoskie said.