Newburyport cheer coach of five years, Nadine Holla stepped up to the plate this fall to combine and coach rival school cheer teams including Triton.

The Triton cheer team has had a difficult time keeping a coach, and this fall they were unsure if they would have one at all. Triton however, was not the only team in such a predicament. The Newburyport cheerleaders only had three girls who wanted to cheer in the upcoming season. The three girls who wanted to cheer were all seniors and all devastated that they would be unable to cheer their senior year.

“It was definitely heartbreaking thinking I wouldn’t be able to cheer.” said Ally Barlett a senior at Newburyport, “I’ve been cheering since I was 9 years old and have put so much time and effort into the sport that this year would have been devastating without it.”

Bartlett was the cheerleader who told her teammates about the Triton cheer coach just recently quitting. That’s when the idea arose to have their coach, Holla, become the coach of Triton and allow them to cheer as a co-op squad.

The athletic directors of both schools agreed and this fall the idea has been put to the test. Holla felt that this was a “good and easy transition” because she had coached for Triton in the past and coming back she felt very at home.

“I am truly enjoying Triton. It is the best of both worlds for me,” explained Holla.

Holla is learning how to adapt to the Viking way. She has told the girls her rules and expectations and hopes that the girls will adapt and connect to her. She likes how everything has turned out for this season. She never expected any of this to happen, and never would have been able to predict that this is where they would be she said.

Holla stated, “I couldn’t have imagined a better outcome.”

At first it was a very new experience to all the girls. It was going to have to be something that they all had to adjust to. After a very short period of time, the girls had gotten very close and truly began to feel like a team.

“ The first day it was kind of awkward but by the fourth day of preseason we were all going out to lunch together in between practices so it was really easy to become a team.” Said Triton cheer captain Maddie Fecteau.

To Triton students, Newburyport sports teams have always been their rival. On game day Friday, all the Triton girls dress in their school logo or school uniforms. The Newburyport girls agreed that it would be a little too much to wear the Triton uniforms on their schools game day. However, they have decided to wear their team t-shirts to school on game days.

The Newburyport girls are being exempted from cheering the night of the Triton vs. Newburyport game. They all have agreed that this was the best decision. They felt as though it would be wrong to cheer against their peers. The Triton girls agree that having them not cheer is the best decision.

Fecteau says that, “If the roles were switched I would hope that I wouldn’t have to cheer at the game because it would be very humiliating.”  

Overall, the girls are very excited for this upcoming season. “It is still the biggest plot twist of all time,” said Bartlett.

Their first competition of the season is October 27th at Masconomet High School.