| Fordham Cheerleading: From Co-Captain to Coach | |
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A cheerleading coach, like their basketball counterparts, is one who wears many hats. Teacher, counselor, administrator, disciplinarian and even at times, psychologist, are all part of the job description. And, using the basketball analogy, a team may have talent, but without the direction and motivation from the mentor, that potential goes unrealized.
At Fordham, Cheerleading coach Doreen Franquinha is just two years removed from Cheerleading. The uniqueness with her situation is that she cheered for Fordham and as a 2000 graduate, is now coaching some of the same kids she cheered with.
"It was hard at the beginning," Doreen recalled at half-time of a recent Fordham game at Madison Square Garden. "Some of the kids (she cheered with) knew me as their co-captain and friend but now had to respect me as their coach." As co-captain there were duties and responsibilities as part of the job. When she co-captained, Doreen had warm-up shirts with the initials 'T.G.A.D.A.B." . Specifically, they stood for 'the gospel according to Doreen and Brianna (Her fellow co-captain). It was just a visible display of how she valued her co-captain duties. Coaching has its own set of tasks which are magnified in importance. "You have to punish things like lateness," she said, "and you have to make sure you treat everyone equally."
While Doreen is cognizant of the adjustment she had to make, for several of her former team mates, it's been a very easy transition.
Peggy Ann Torney, a junior who cheered with her coach two years ago, noted, "the adjustment hasn't been that tough. She made it easy and a lot of the skills she had as a co-captain helped."
Melissa Crowther, another junior in her third year on the squad added, "there was no big adjustment. She came in knowing specifically what we can do (talent wise) and came in knowing exactly what we had to do ."
Fordham University, located in that same Bronx borough of New York that the Yankees call home, is in the Atlantic Ten Conference. There is one co-ed Cheerleading squad and a dance team (like the cheerleaders a talented group in their own right) which is listed as a club sport. Doreen solely is in charge of the co-ed cheer program.
"We practice three times a week," Doreen said. "Monday we have a four hour practice where we just work on dance. Wednesday a captain-run two and a half hour practice and Thursday another four hour practice."
Beside the formal workouts there are obligatory 'on your own' sessions which involve running, stretching and weightlifting. The latter exercise is especially for, but not limited to, the male members of the squad.
Doreen is big on dance choreography. "I do all of that myself," she said. "A lot of schools will invite a choreographer in but what happens is a few area schools may use the same choreographer and wind up doing the same things. That's why I do my own choreography."
It's a lot of work and dedication. During the Winter alone Fordham cheerleaders are responsible for cheering at men's and women's games. Add that to practices, formal and informal, plus the demands of a strong academic curriculum, and the schedule is demanding. Still, no one complains, rather they enjoy. After all they have a young, dedicated coach who is working just as hard bringing innovative ideas to the program. Plus, she has a very vivid and recent memory of what it takes to be out there performing at your best.
About Ray Floriani: Ray Floriani has been writing college basketball for over twenty years. He is a columnist with Eastern Basketball magazine, Basketball Times and College Hoops Insider. In 1998 he was cited by the Gazelle Group for his work in covering the Coaches vs. Cancer events and was chosen 1999 NIT Media Man of the Year. Contact Ray Floriani.
