This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
12/19/2017 11:00 PMSofia Fiorillo first started cheerleading in East Haven’s youth program after watching her brothers play football. Despite having no background in the sport, Sofia quickly fell in love with it, and she’s been cheering with the Yellowjackets ever since. This year, Sofia was named one of the senior captains for the varsity cheerleading team at East Haven High School.
“Since my team votes us in, I thought it was great that my team thought I’d be worthy to lead them and show them right from wrong. Hopefully, we’ll win some competitions this season,” says Sofia. “I’m told a lot at practice that I’m the one that tries to make everyone have fun. I tell everyone not to stress, we need to enjoy it. I try to push everyone to stay confident, focused, and have fun.”
Throughout her life, Sofia has dealt with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a birth defect of the diaphragm. She had to undergo several surgeries after a hole in her diaphragm resulted in the growth of organs into her chest cavity, as well as the underdevelopment of her lungs. Last year, Sofia and her fellow Easties’ cheerleaders thought it would be a great idea to donate the proceeds from the 50/50 raffle at the Thanksgiving Day game to the Cherubs Foundation, which assists families with children who have CDH.
“The organization helps families get through it, and we raised a lot of money for it,” Sofia says. “My coach was willing to let us do that. I just know that the organization helped me and my family. To give back meant a lot to me.”
Sofia’s cheerleading coach is Michelle Maru, who’s taken notice of the solid job she’s doing of leading Yellowjackets this year. Maru says Sofia has a pleasant personality that makes her teammates gravitate toward her.
“Sofia is a senior captain who is a great role model for the team. She is very dedicated and shows a lot of hard work, but the best thing about her is her personality and heart. She is a friend to everyone on the team and always there to cheer the girls on,” says Maru. “She is the type of captain that brings positivity and support. She has overcome her own personal setbacks and never let that hold her back from being the best cheerleader or captain she can be. It has been such a pleasure coaching her these past four years.”
Sofia has always been a flier on her cheerleading teams. It can be a stressful role at times, but through the years, Sofia has become accustomed to going airborne.
“Starting in middle school, I was one of the smaller ones on the team, so that’s how I got into it. They say I’m one of the easier ones to toss around, so that’s how I started flying,” Sofia says. “It is a lot because, going up in the air, you’re trying to think of everything you have to do. You don’t want to psych yourself you, so you just have to be in the moment. You can’t anticipate anything, and I think it’s important to stay tight. If you do that, you’ll help the people underneath you. They know what they’re doing and will catch you, so you shouldn’t have any fear.”
Like many of her teammates, Sofia says the New England Cheerleading Association meet is her favorite competition of the season. The meet takes place at East Haven High School, and Sofia always looks forward to performing in front of so many hometown fans.
“We work all season for competition season while we’re making cheers for football and basketball games. It’s a lot of work we put into it,” says Sofia. “People don’t realize how time-consuming it really is. We’re together every single day, so it means a lot to us.”