The Black Falcons are making a name for themselves
They aren't your typical college cheerleading squad, in fact there isn't much typical about the Black Falcons.
“Basically, we're a purely competitive cheerleading team,” explained the Black Falcons coach, David-Lee Tracey. “As opposed to your typical rah-rah-go-team squads. We just started last September and have already done really well.”
Tracey, who coached the UWO Mustang cheerleaders for over 22-years and owns and manages his own cheerleading gym in London called Power Cheer Gym for competitive teams, explained that he had been approached about starting a team for Fanshawe in the past and felt that it was about time it came to fruition.
“When I was coaching at Western, Fanshawe students would call and ask why I couldn't coach a team there,” Tracey continued. “I decided to give it a go because there was always a lot of talent at the school and their kiss of death was always a lack of longevity- the most you have with college students is two or three years and that's the challenge.”
The team, though they bear the Falcons logo and name, aren't officially affiliated with the college. Tracey said they got permission from the college and student union, but don't get any funding or help from the college.
“It's entirely self-driven,” Tracey stressed. “We knew we wouldn't get money or even practice space from the college and that any money would come from me or the students themselves.”
Despite the fact that the team is just getting off the ground, they've seen a surprising amount of success in competition since their inception including a win at the National Championships in December. And despite peoples' preconceptions about the sport, the cheerleaders themselves will be the first to correct the stereotype.
“We're not ditzes,” said Maria Fearnall, a first-year graphics design student at Fanshawe. “It's not pom-poms and stuff. We have competitions across Canada and have to train a lot for them. Cheerleading and dance are two very different things. In dance, if one person is missing you can still practice the routine. But with cheerleading, if one person doesn't show up to a practice then it's a big problem because you can't do the lifts or the pyramids.
“Everything is based on the entire team- you have to work as a team.”
And the team is growing- quickly nonetheless. With 30 original members, the Black Falcons held their next set of try-outs over Easter weekend and drew 16 new people despite the holiday. And their record is what the team is attributing the growth to.
“Our most significant statistic is that we were the third or fourth highest scoring team including the universities,” continued Tracey. “So that means we were outscoring teams like UT and Waterloo, big university squads with big budgets that have been around for 15-plus years. I don't care if this is a college team- I refuse to let them act like a community college because they're not inferior in any way.”
For more information on the team visit www.powercheerleading.com.
“Basically, we're a purely competitive cheerleading team,” explained the Black Falcons coach, David-Lee Tracey. “As opposed to your typical rah-rah-go-team squads. We just started last September and have already done really well.”
Tracey, who coached the UWO Mustang cheerleaders for over 22-years and owns and manages his own cheerleading gym in London called Power Cheer Gym for competitive teams, explained that he had been approached about starting a team for Fanshawe in the past and felt that it was about time it came to fruition.
“When I was coaching at Western, Fanshawe students would call and ask why I couldn't coach a team there,” Tracey continued. “I decided to give it a go because there was always a lot of talent at the school and their kiss of death was always a lack of longevity- the most you have with college students is two or three years and that's the challenge.”
The team, though they bear the Falcons logo and name, aren't officially affiliated with the college. Tracey said they got permission from the college and student union, but don't get any funding or help from the college.
“It's entirely self-driven,” Tracey stressed. “We knew we wouldn't get money or even practice space from the college and that any money would come from me or the students themselves.”
Despite the fact that the team is just getting off the ground, they've seen a surprising amount of success in competition since their inception including a win at the National Championships in December. And despite peoples' preconceptions about the sport, the cheerleaders themselves will be the first to correct the stereotype.
“We're not ditzes,” said Maria Fearnall, a first-year graphics design student at Fanshawe. “It's not pom-poms and stuff. We have competitions across Canada and have to train a lot for them. Cheerleading and dance are two very different things. In dance, if one person is missing you can still practice the routine. But with cheerleading, if one person doesn't show up to a practice then it's a big problem because you can't do the lifts or the pyramids.
“Everything is based on the entire team- you have to work as a team.”
And the team is growing- quickly nonetheless. With 30 original members, the Black Falcons held their next set of try-outs over Easter weekend and drew 16 new people despite the holiday. And their record is what the team is attributing the growth to.
“Our most significant statistic is that we were the third or fourth highest scoring team including the universities,” continued Tracey. “So that means we were outscoring teams like UT and Waterloo, big university squads with big budgets that have been around for 15-plus years. I don't care if this is a college team- I refuse to let them act like a community college because they're not inferior in any way.”
For more information on the team visit www.powercheerleading.com.
