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02/01/2017 11:00 PMAmanda Acquarulo was in the 3rd grade when she began her cheerleading career in Branford’s youth program. Amanda’s mother Lynn took over as the town’s Youth Cheerleading coordinator in 2007 and spurred her daughter’s rapidly growing passion for the sport.
“That’s where it all started. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I love cheerleading!’” Amanda says. “I also did dance team in middle school, but then when I got to high school, I liked cheerleading so much better and I was like, ‘This is what I want to do for the next four years as my high school career.’”
Now in her 10th year as a cheerleader, Amanda is a senior captain on the Branford cheer squad. Head Coach Melissa Mansi had no doubts that Amanda was an ideal candidate to lead the team. Amanda is also a captain for Branford girls’ outdoor track.
“When she came on the team her freshman year, you could already tell she was a leader,” says Mansi. “She was very driven. She’s always been very driven, passionate, very committed, and extremely dedicated. She knows what her best is and she’ll never settle for less.”
In her freshman and sophomore years, Amanda continuously developed her skills while Branford was rebuilding. Mansi became head coach for Amanda’s sophomore season, when the Hornets were actively searching for athletes to commit to the team. The Hornets’ rebuild proved successful as they finished second and fifth, respectively, in the Co-ed Division for last year’s SCC and State championships. Amanda also earned All-SCC recognition based on her performance at the conference meet.
“It was a really big deal because it was nowhere close to where we were in the past years,” says Amanda on her team’s success. “And then last year getting fifth at states...I mean, we got around 14th in years before that, so it’s definitely getting way better.”
As Amanda’s cheerleading career has progressed, Coach Mansi feels proud of how she’s asserted herself as a spokesperson for the team.
“She knew that the team we were putting together is going to be super talented. The building years are over...She’s been a huge motivator to everyone else,” Mansi says. “She’s kind of brought the light to everyone else like, ‘Listen guys, we’re talented. Don’t settle for anything less than your best. Go in doing everything you know how to do...Don’t let this season go to waste.’ And she’s really gotten to the other athletes.”
A critical part of Branford’s training takes place during the summer. The team meets three times each week to master the foundational skills—tumbling, cheers, and stunt cheers—to prepare for the football season. In September, Coach Mansi starts determining which athletes have the more advanced skills that are necessary to join the competition team that gets going in the winter.
“Competition practices are at a whole different level,” says Coach Mansi. “It’s a lot harder and a lot more demanding and strict because they are competing at a very, very high level.”
Amanda says this year’s team looks even better than the one that fared well in the postseason last winter. Amanda, who’s both a flyer and a base, plans to keep leading by example in her final campaign as a Hornet.
“People don’t listen to me because I tell them what to do. They follow what I do because I do the right thing,” she says. “When nobody’s watching, I still do the right thing for the team. I don’t put on a fake act just to be a good captain. I feel like my personality and me just loving cheerleading is what keeps people motivated.”
Amanda doesn’t just motivate her fellow Hornets; she’s also served as an inspirational figure to some of Branford’s up-and-coming cheerleaders.
“She’s a huge, huge role model for the younger cheerleaders in our town,” Mansi says. “I coach the 7th- and 8th-grade youth team in her town. They are always texting me, ‘Send me a video of Amanda!’ So she’s really grown into a genuinely good person. She’s like an adult. She’s a great student, she’s a great cheerleader, just a great person in general.”
Branford has participated at one major competition this year and earned the highest score at the meet. It was an impressive start and a great push in the right direction for the Hornets, who are competing at the SCC Championship on Saturday, Feb. 4.
“We’re training really hard for it and taking it very seriously,” Amanda says. “We definitely have a shot at winning SCCs, maybe even states. We’re pretty much in the most difficult bracket for everything and, if we hit a routine with those difficult skills, we have a chance.”
In addition to looking forward to Branford’s postseason meets, Amanda also has her sights set on possibly cheering in college next year.
“I would really like to continue cheerleading in college,” she says. “It’s been in my life since 3rd grade. How can I just stop doing it?”
Having known Amanda for four years, Coach Mansi feels a little bittersweet that this is her last season on the team. Mansi knows that next year’s edition of the Hornets will be missing a truly special competitor in Amanda.
“I think regardless of whatever university she goes to, she’s going to be successful and really contribute a lot to whatever team she’s on, so that’s definitely a plus for the coach that gets her next year and, unfortunately, I lose her,” Mansi says. “She’s irreplaceable. That’s for sure.”