West Elmwood & Mt. Hope Cheer Teams Place First at Nationals
Wednesday, December 06, 2023
Two Providence cheer squads won national titles this week in Florida.
The West Elmwood Intruders “Pee-Wee Small” and Mt. Hope “JV Small” teams both took first-place honors at the Pop Warner Cheer and Dance Nationals.
GoLocal spoke with West Elmwood coach Terica Winters — who has seven national championships under her belt.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis year, however, was her first time coaching girls 12 and under.
“It takes a lot of dedication. There’s a lot of overtime,” said Winters, of the team that begins practicing each year on August 1.
New Role
“I went to Pee Wee to help the younger girls. I felt like I wanted to help build a strong foundation. It was a big change from 17-year-olds,” said Winters, whose assistant coach, Jayanni Rodriguez, is a former cheerleader from her teams.
For Winters, who said she “felt the pressure” having a winning streak, coming back from a second-place finish at regionals to win at nationals was extra sweet.
“We had a drop in regionals — we bounced back and beat the team that beat us at regionals,” said Winters.
“I’m 35. I’ve never lost since I was 16,” said Winters. “And I’ve been cheering with West Elmwood since I was five. “
