Freedom High School’s varsity cheerleading squad for 2015 consists of 20 girls, including three who are brand new to cheerleading.

Senior captains are Meghan Eller and Cristina Youwakim.

“Both are very different,” said Patriot cheerleading coach Lynn Spina. “Cristina is a big motivator. She’s very vocal. Meghan is a quiet, silent leader. They really complement each other.”

Other seniors include Courtney Agamedi, Jordan Guadagnino, Vanessa Kaki, Raegan Pechar, and DeAnna Stocker. There are also eight juniors, three sophomores, and two freshmen on the roster.

In addition to cheering for football, the cheerleaders are incorporating soccer into their schedule. Also, since the band has a whole new set of songs this year, the Patriots will have some new dance routines.

“We revised some old ones to fit. We have some new stunts,” Spina said. “We are tweaking and making some old stuff new.”

The Patriots attended an NCAA camp in August when they won awards for Best Chant, Best Stunt Group, and Most Prepared Coach. They also received two All-American nominations.

Also in preparation for the upcoming season, conditioning coach, Andre Morales, worked with the squad.

“He helped us be stronger this season. Our hashtag is No drops,” said Spina.

“Dream, Believe, Achieve It” is the Patriot cheerleaders’ theme this year.

Regarding the competition season, Spina said, “We started a lot of the thinking process, and we have our music. As soon as we get our first game out of the way, we’ll have competition practice one day a week and game practices one day a week.”