Valley Independent Sentinel

Injured Ralph Still Guides Seymour Cheerleaders

by Eliot Schickler | Mar 22, 2010 10:35 am

(0) | Commenting has expired | Send link to a friend | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Seymour, Sports

Tanya Ralph is arguably the best flyer at the high school level. A senior tri-captain for the Seymour cheerleading squad, she mastered the kick double in the air, which is one of the most complex tricks a flyer performs.

After being thrown in the air, she kicks one leg up and while on the way down, she does two rotations.

“Practice, practice, practice,” Ralph said. “It took me a long time to get a feel of twisting in the air. My team needed to do something difficult. We pushed for it and finally got it. Every practice, we did it a lot and I got used to it.”

The CIAC recognizes her talents and performance and selected her a First Team All-Stater for the second straight year this year.

“It’s great that I’m not only recognized by my coaches but by other coaches too,” Ralph said. “It’s a little nerve racking because the focus is on you and you have to hit everything.”

Nevertheless, she overcame the anxiety both years and earned this honor.

Trusting her bases helped her perform this routine and all other routines she did as a flyer.

The risk is greater for injuries during kick doubles than most stunts. Ralph injured her right leg at Class S but ironically, it didn’t happen during a kick double, but while a tumbling pass on the ground.

“It really didn’t hurt [at first], I was more in shock than anything,” Ralph said. “It was a freak accident.”

This injury put her on crutches and prevented her from competing in the Division 3 New England championships on Saturday in which Seymour placed, by taking second.

Despite not being allowed to compete, she had the unofficial role of being the squad’s fourth coach and did whatever she could to support the team.

“It was sad I was not able to be on the mat but I was glad to be there and watch them,” Ralph said. “I did as much as I could on crutches. I tried to give them advice and get them pumped up before they got on the mat.”

For example, she helped make 14 t-shirts, putting glitter on them, which said Seymour Cheerleading State Champions. She designed them so her teammates would have them at New Englands.

“She was fantastic all year round and it made me upset she couldn’t finish the season,” Wildcats assistant coach Stephanie Ciccone said. “I’m disappointed not to coach her again.”

Life as a cheerleader began for her in sixth grade at Great Oak Middle School. She chose to cheer because she tried it at a summer camp at Great Oak and liked it.

Possessing a dance background got her interested in cheerleading. She did tap, ballet, jazz hip hop and point.

“It’s hard to switch from dance to cheerleading dance because dance is flowy and cheerleading is stiff and tight,” Ralph recalled. “I got used to it because dance helped me listen to music and hear the tunes.”

Leadership is a strength of hers, as she was selected to serve as captain.

“It was really nice being a leader and it taught me how to work with others, because the captains check with each other and make sure everything runs smoothly,” Ralph said.

Seymour head coach Ashly Scharn said, “Tanya’s a great captain and one of the most talented cheerleaders I’ve ever seen.”

As captain, she leads by example through her work ethic and verbally by psyching up her teammates. She tells them to get excited and to have fun.

“If you don’t have fun with it, there’s no point doing it,” Ralph says.

Next year, she’ll attend Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) and will cheer for SCSU. She’s undecided about her major and knows she’ll have to raise her performance in order to thrive for the Owls.

“I can only try my best and hopefully, I’ll be good enough,” Ralph says. “There are a lot of things, college women do that high school girls don’t. I’ll be open to new things and it will be a new experience for me.”

She hopes at SCSU, she will always be on the mat and won’t be limited to designing T-shirts. After graduation, she’d consider coaching cheerleaders and give back to her sport.

“I hope to someday,” Ralph said. “It’s a lot of hard work and I have to try to get organized. I hope to motivate the girls and push them to get better.”

Comments

News Feeds

Valley Independent RSS 2.0 Feed Valley Independent Atom Feed

Sponsors

Knight Foundation Valley Foundation The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

Sponsors have no input into or responsibility for articles published on this site.

V.I.S. Site Design & Development

smartpill design