Olinda Dolphins Cheerleading Team. Photo Courtesy of Olinda Elementary School.
There are great things happening in Liberty City and the Agenoria S. Paschal / Olinda Elementary School cheerleading squad is one of them!
On March 9, the 19-member squad of third through fifth graders placed first at the Florida Cheer & Dance Association Beach Battle held at Miami Norland Senior High School. The squad bested two other teams in the small elementary division to secure the win.
Now, thanks to the generosity of some community members, the Olinda Dolphins are heading to the FCDA state competition being held April 6 at Florida Memorial University.
Led by head coach Shaneka Woody and assistant coach Ayesha Carson, many of the girls are first-time cheerleaders. In an exclusive interview, Woody and Carson – along with Olinda Principal Cisely Scott – told Hy-Lo News how excited they are about the historic achievement.
“I was shocked because as a coach sometimes you feel like it’s a little more tweaking you can do to a routine,” Woody admitted, noting she’d called Carson before the competition wondering if they’d done enough. The judges obviously thought they had.
“When they said that we won first place, we all were screaming,” Woody continued. “It’s a big deal … the girls were super excited.”
Carson added that after the win, the young champions expressed their appreciation for the hard work they were required to do in practice. “They said, ‘Oh, we see why you push us so much and why you’re always on us,’” Carson said.
With a sense of awe, Scott shared that Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Central Region Superintendent Dr. Michael Lewis prophesied the win when she wasn’t even considering a competition entry.
“What’s amazing is when the central regional office had a showcase for different talent and Dr. Lewis saw our kids perform, he said, ‘Oh, they’re ready for competition,’” Scott said. “It’s so crazy. He spoke it and that was so far from my mind. That was at the beginning of the year, and they showed out at that showcase.”
Fast forward to winning regionals and Scott said she is even more floored. She believes exposing her students to things like this at such an early age will impact them in a positive way.
“It’s our first time competing and to come out first place, I was literally blown away; and I think the girls are still on Cloud Nine for that,” Scott said. “I think to be able to see we’re moving to the next level would just motivate them in a different kind of way. It’s something that I’ve never seen as a principal. I felt like I was in a scene from [the movie] ‘Bring It On.’”
They aren’t the only ones still wrapping their brains around the win. Fourth grade cheerleader D’Hailey Thomas and her mother Hilary Moore echoed the Olinda Administration’s sentiments.
“I felt great, amazing. At first when we weren’t getting called for anything, I thought we were going to lose, but when they said, ‘First place Olinda Dolphins,’ I got really happy,” Thomas said.
“I was so happy for them. They did a really good job for it to be their first time,” Moore echoed.
Simone Kinsey-Frazer, the grandmother of cheerleader Trinity Kinsey, also said she was “ecstatic, wonderful and happy” to see the squad come out on top.
Woody and Carson made it clear cheering is not the only thing the girls are expected to be on top of. They said their cheerleaders are held to a high academic standard. “They have to keep up their grades if they want to participate,” Woody said.
As incredible as the regional win was, the Olinda staff was concerned the team wouldn’t make it to the state competition due to the school being under-resourced, like so many other schools within the urban core.
They had two weeks to come up with the funding to pay a nearly $2,000 entry fee because each participant had to pay $95 to compete and 17 of the 19 girls who competed at regionals are still on the team. After hearing of their plight, some community members refused to let the girls miss out on their watch.
Eugene Spence of Spence Insurance Group is one of them. While some donors wished to remain anonymous, Spence obliged Hy-Lo’s request for an interview, saying he loves giving back to the community that raised him. The fact that he attended Olinda makes it even more special, he added.
“It’s not about the recognition for me; I do things like this all the time. I wouldn’t have even given this quote if you didn’t insist on it,” Spence said with a laugh. “I grew up in Liberty City and I went to Olinda so I’m happy to support the program. I was a Dolphin then and I’m still a Dolphin football fan now so I’m rooting for both teams. I love helping my hometown.”
The squad was founded in 2019 right before the pandemic shut things down. According to Scott, the Olinda cheerleading team is just one of the many great things happening at her school.
“I just think this should highlight that it’s a bright light in Liberty City and it’s a great way to showcase some of the awesome things that are happening here at Olinda,” Scott said. “I don’t know of any of my neighboring [elementary] schools that have a team that’s competing at this level.”
Woody and Carson are ecstatic that the team has raised the funding to compete at the state level. However, the team still needs certain accessories and attire after one of their bags was lost during the last competition.
Anyone interested in supporting the Olinda Dolphins can make checks payable to Olinda Elementary School and note that it is for the cheer team in the memo. Any excess funds will be stored to support any other needs that may arise for the team and donors will receive a thank you letter from the school.
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