Forget the pop-culture cliches. In Bayonne, cheerleading is about more than getting to the top of the social pyramid. The boys and girls on our local teams are strong athletes.
It’s a good thing the ceilings are high at Bayonne Elite Cheer’s gym at Saint John’s, a former wedding venue on 27th Street. Cheerleaders, known as flyers, are thrown in the air as they do acrobatic moves. The ones called bases hold and catch them while executing the kind of stunts that win competitions.
The entrance of the gym is lined with trophies. Some are taller than the cheerleaders who won them. The newest addition is the U.S. Finals trophy that the Diamonds took home from Rhode Island. The Diamonds are a junior-level team at Elite. The program has 250 students in eight groups.
Elite is a recreational team that is open to kids ages 4-18. It was formed in 2012 by a group of Midtown Community School teachers who coached cheerleading, including Samantha Pecoraro, Denise DeRocco, and its director, Carla Aceti. They decided to start a recreational squad outside of school because it would free them from gymnastic stunt limitations at the grammar school level.
“With recreational cheerleading there are no restrictions because we’re not a part of the Bayonne Board of Education,” Aceti says, adding that safety is important at Elite. The staff is well-trained, with a one-to-five instructor/student ratio, and the gym is outfitted with a spring mat to prevent injury. This allows them to put more emphasis on stunting.
But Elite isn’t just about intense competition. “The kids have such an amazing relationship with their coaches,” Aceti says. “It’s like a safe haven or a second home. They know they can come to us with whatever it may be, school work, personal problems. Some of the kids, their kids are here now. It comes full circle. It’s such a nice thing to see. It becomes a passion, it’s like, in the blood.”
It certainly is for Aceti’s family. Her sister, Andrea Mantone, is a coach. Aceti also works with her daughter, Chelsea Aceti, who is executive director at Elite.
“Oh, it’s great,” Aceti says. Her daughter did lots of activities as a child before she finally committed to one thing. “She picked cheerleading like a little mini me.”
Evolution
Elite is growing up. This is the first year that it has graduating seniors who went through the program. Saying goodbye is emotional for students and parents.
“My girls have two more years,” says Jennifer Golomb. “I think that final year they are going to have to follow me around with a mop for the whole season.” Her kids, Madison Schwarz and Alyssa Golomb, are both 16. Cheering has built their confidence.
“My daughter was very introverted,” Golomb says. “She’s my step daughter, so I’ve been with her since she was five. My other daughter is very outgoing, and she had already cheered a year before we moved to Bayonne. So Alyssa decided to join with Madison at Midtown with these coaches. Now she’s outgoing, she’s talkative, she has a group of friends that always have her back. It brought her out of her shell.”
Golomb also notes that the sport has become more serious since her days cheering for Pop Warner.
“I think cheerleading has become more popular,” she says. “It’s definitely more of an aggressive sport than it used to be and tumbling is like, 90 percent of it.”
“There’s a whole different emphasis on athleticism,” Aceti says. “I think of how far they’ve come from the beginning, how far the program has evolved and the friendships that the kids have made. Winning is always, always great, but that’s not the only thing. We try to teach them lessons in life.”
Athletic Prowess
There’s a new recreational squad called Cheer Force Athletics (CFA) that has a long history under the name Hudson County Angels. The executive officers, Charlene Wepner, Donna Nunez, and Kim Wepner have been coaching together for more than 25 years.
“We have changed our name this year to have a fresh start with our new staff and new colors to show that there is a new force in the sport of cheerleading,” Nunez says. But that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten the history.
Nunez says Charlene Wepner, who was once her coach, is considered an innovator in competitive cheerleading, especially during her time as coach at Marist High School. Her team won the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association Championship six times running.
“She also brought New Jersey’s first World Championship back to Bayonne with her Marist team in 1988,” Nunez says. “If you cheered in this town, either you, your sister, your daughter, your aunt, or even your granddaughter at one point probably cheered under the direction of Charlene Wepner. Every program in Bayonne has individuals that came through one of her programs. That is the true testament to Charlene’s life work. She is cheerleading. This year we have added new directors to enhance our already winning tradition at CFA, Jenifer Cotter, Priscilla Boyle, and Kim Weimmer, all of whom have come through our programs, and their daughters are currently members of the CFA family as well.”
CFA is about athletics. “Cheerleading today isn’t the pompom and saddle shoes it was in the past,” Nunez says. “These members are true athletes with strength and passion that enhance the sport they love. They dedicate years of their lives to it. It makes them strong in both body and mind. It gives them leadership qualities that stay with them throughout their lives.”
CFA has a practice space at Saint Henry School on 27th Street and Avenue C. The program is open to kids ages 4-18. “We are the most affordable program in Bayonne,” Nunez says. “Our goal has always been to help kids reach their full athletic potential regardless of their ability to pay. We do it because we love the sport.”
Bee Line
The Bayonne High School cheerleading squad is called the Queen & King Bees. They pump up the crowds at sporting events and pep rallies as well as competitions.
“Our biggest competitive accomplishment has to be becoming state champions and being able to do so two years in a row,” says former head coach Pauline Klimkowski. “Bayonne High School had never won a state title in cheerleading, so you can only imagine the excitement and pride we all felt.” Klimkowski recently stepped down to focus on her new baby. She passed the torch to new head coach, Mariah Hernandez.
“The cheerleaders are the spirit of the school,” Klimkowski says. “High-school cheerleading just brings a different kind of excitement and experience for the kids. It encompasses everything a cheerleading team should have: tradition, school spirit, leadership, and a feeling of pride in their school.”
The entire coaching staff is made up of BHS cheer alumni.
“Our coaches have a love for the program because they have been in the shoes of their athletes and care about the success of the Bayonne programs,” Klimkowski says. “The kids on the team have amazing role models to look up to. And because so much time is spent at cheerleading, it is extremely important that these children are with people they can model themselves after and who are showing them how to act and carry themselves. We also have cheerleaders who have gone on to cheer for George Washington University, St. Peter’s, Montclair State University, and Rutgers University.”
Cheerleading is growing across the country and even the world. “Our Bayonne community heard the buzz and caught on to this growing sport,” Klimkowski says. “I think the elementary program here in Bayonne gives the kids a taste of what cheerleading is and can be for them, and they get hooked. Cheerleading is one of those sports that once you’re in, you will probably be in it for life. I love seeing so many cheerleaders around town with bows in their hair and enjoying something I enjoyed for so many years. I am so glad to see how much it has grown in Bayonne.”—BLP