Campers put on impressive halftime performance
By Kevin Travis, Sports Editor
Washington Daily News
Sunday, June 28, 2009

PLYMOUTH — Boom goes the dynamite!

The cheerleaders at this year’s 2009 Charles Bowser NFL Youth Football/Cheerleading Camp certainly were explosive. Working in unison, the young cheerleaders put together a wonderful halftime routine during a flag football game that capped this weekend’s camp.

Miami Dolphins cheerleaders were on hand this weekend to interact with the girls.

Kim Leary, the camp’s cheerleading coach, was thrilled about the outcome.

“This has been a great experience,” Leary said. “The (Dolphins) cheerleaders have brought some excitement. They have taught them character-building, a healthy way to eat, the lifestyle of being a cheerleader, being smart and getting good grades, having fun and being disciplined.”

Amy M. and Kellie C., a pair of Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, were on hand to lend their support.

“This has been amazing,” said Kellie, a rookie on the Miami cheerleading squad. “The kids are so great. They’re eager to learn.

“They’re just full of life. We’re excited to be here and they’re excited to have us. It’s heart-warming to see them be excited to see us.”

Amy, a second-year cheerleader with the Dolphins, was glad she had the chance to mingle with and teach the campers.

“This means a lot for us to come out here,” Amy said. “Just to meet all these kids and to see how they’re doing in life is great.”

The campers were happy they had a chance to spend some time around professional cheerleaders.

“It’s nice because we don’t get opportunities like this all the time,” said Alexis Owens, 14. “It’s a good experience.”

Tiffany Palin, 13, enjoyed learning new routines from the Dolphins cheerleaders.

“It’s been good having them here,” Palin said. “They taught us some things we didn’t know.”

The campers returned the favor to the Dolphins cheerleaders.

“They taught us three dances and we’re hoping that we can bring them back to Miami and teach them to our girls,” Kellie said. “Learning the dances was the highlight, definitely.”

Campers were from Creswell High School, Creswell Elementary, Pines Elementary and Washington County Union. Participants ranged from first grade to tenth grade.

“It’s an exciting time to have all the schools come together and have a wonderful time,” said Leary, who thanked coaches Shirley Henson and LaTasha McNair for their help. “It’s all about learning to work together, and learning how to make friends.

“We’ve had a great time. I’m glad the girls had a chance to have this opportunity.”

There were certainly plenty of reasons to cheer.

By Ariana

* Photo Gallery and Video Highlights*

Last week, myself and some of the other cheerleaders were invited to take part in some promotional video clips.

On the first day, Jennifer, Pamela, Ashton and I took a variety of different clips where we danced, kicked, jumped and did lots of hair flips! The video camera was filming in slow motion so it was very interesting to see our every motion in detail. We also were able to do some solo video clips. For example, I was jumping on a mini trampoline while some of the other girls were dancing in the background. It came out fabulous!

On the second day of shooting, we had a group of 12 cheerleaders filming clips together. In groups, we danced and did some fun shots with Dolphins fans! Playing off our new stadium name, Land Shark Stadium, the Dolphins fans and the cheerleaders practiced our “FINS UP” that we’ll be performing at the games. When we had extra time, the film crew set up a special Plexiglas stage with lights underneath, strobe lights and fog machines. It was a very artistic and creative look that will really give our fans something new to see!

Overall we all had a great time filming both days and we can’t wait to see the final outcome!

- Ariana

img src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Jan/carajaime.jpg” alt=”Dolphins Cheerleaders” align=”right”Former Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders Cara Rosenthal and Jaime Edmondson compete for $1 million on the 14th edition of span style=”font-style:italic;”The Amazing Race/span tonight at 8pm E/PT on CBS.

By Patrick Donahuebr /a href=”http://www.effinghamherald.net/news/article/6184/” target=”_blank”span style=”font-style:italic;”Effingham Herald/span/abr /blockquoteJaime Edmondson’s career has taken her all over the place. Now, so is a television show.br /br /img src=”http://polarbearrepublic.com/images/2006/Dec/jamiedolphinsprobowl.jpg” alt=”Jaime, Miami Dolphins Cheerleader” align=”right”Edmondson, a former police officer and Miami Dolphins cheerleader, and Cara Rosenthal have teamed up for CBS’ span style=”font-style:italic;”The Amazing Race 14/span.br /br /Edmondson, whose family has lived in Guyton for 20 years, was a Miami Dolphins cheerleader for six years and also served as a coach for the San Francisco 49ers cheerleaders.br /br /“We are thrilled,” said Michele Edmondson, Jaime’s mother. “We are very excited, and she’s excited, too. We are very proud of her.”br /br /Jaime’s former cheerleading squadmates are throwing a viewing party in South Florida for Sunday night’s debut.br /br /While Edmondson can’t talk about the show — at all — until after the final episode airs, her mother said she has no doubt that her daughter will win, even if Jaime can’t divulge the results of the show, not even to family, until the finale.br /br /“She’s so ambitious. She’s so independent,” the elder Edmondson said of her daughter. “Knowing this child, I wouldn’t be surprised how far she traveled.”br /br /Her daughter is yielding no clues about the results of the show.br /br /“I’d love to go to Vegas with her,” her mother said, “because she’s got a poker face.”br /br /The final 11 teams were selected out of more than 15,000 aspiring pairs of contestants. Also making the final cut were two sisters who played sports at the University of Louisville, LaKisha and Jennifer Hoffman. One played on the Lady Cardinals’ volleyball team and the other played on the Louisville women’s basketball team.br /br /“I think those two are going to be very competitive,” Michele Edmondson said.br /br /She said her daughter’s favorite team was a mother-son duo, Margie Adams and Luke Adams. And Jaime can’t wait to watch, either, Michele said.br /br /“She never got to see what the other teams were doing,” she said.br /br /Edmondson’s teammate, Rosenthal, is a graduate of UCLA and works for a non-profit organization, raising money for people with mental disabilities. She put off plans to go to law school to team up with Edmondson for span style=”font-style:italic;”The Amazing Race/span.br /br /“The Amazing Race” participants traveled to Romania and Siberia for this season and also went up against the second-longest bungee jump in the world. In 22 days, contestants visited nine countries and traveled more than 40,000 miles.br /br /Edmondson and Rosenthal discussed their chances in a video clip for a href=”http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/video/video.php?cid=1008376745pid=DhnzvTafqIX7_zSzOtvz0Hf3K_J55UjBcategory=editorialplay=true” target=”_blank”CBS.com/a.br /br /“Not only do we have a friendship, but we also have the benefit of being teammates,” Edmondson said. “With the Miami Dolphins, we’ve been fortunate to travel to at least 20 countries. We certainly don’t lack in confidence.”br /br /Edmondson, who just turned 30, is currently engaged to Mike Smith, a former linebacker with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. Smith recently was hired as an college assistant coach in Hawaii.br /br /span style=”font-style:italic;”The Amazing Race/span premieres Sunday at 8pm E/PT with the contestants in Switzerland./blockquote

By Alice Gibsonbr /span style=”font-style:italic;”a href=”http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1093994_nfl_cheerleaders_visit_ashton” target=”_blank”Manchester Evening News/a/spanbr /blockquoteCheerleaders from America brought the razzmatazz of the Super Bowl to delighted schoolchildren.br /br /The cheerleaders, who support the American football team the Miami Dolphins, led a dance workshop for pupils at Holy Trinity Primary, Ashton under Lyne, to celebrate Super Bowl tomorrow.br /br /Squad member Monica Mason said: “We had a great time at the school.br /br /”We came down to England to support the Super Bowl and also we are performing at the Superbash event in London.br /br /”We visited the school because we knew that there were lots of kids who love to dance and are very talented and might be interested in coming over to the United States.”br /br /Faye Hockey, who organized the event at the school, said: “All the children had a great time learning the cheerleaders’ moves.br /br /”They taught the children the actual routine they do every time the Miami Dolphins score - they really enjoyed it.” br /br /centerbr /img src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Feb/dolphinscheerleaders1.jpg” alt=”Dolphins Cheerleaders”br /br /img src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Feb/dolphinscheerleaders2.jpg” alt=”Dolphins Cheerleaders”br /br /br /img src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Feb/dolphinscheerleaders3.jpg” alt=”Dolphins Cheerleaders”br /br /br /img src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Feb/dolphinscheerleaders4.jpg” alt=”Dolphins Cheerleaders”br //center/blockquotebr /br /a href=”http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/cheerleaders/cheerleaders.asp” target=”_blank”[Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders]/a

span style=”font-weight:bold;”Elkton Woman Lives Dream Cheering For Dolphins Squad/spanbr /br /By Kate Elizabeth Querambr /span style=”font-style:italic;”a href=”http://www.dnronline.com/details.php?AID=35134CHID=37″ target=”_blank”The Daily News-Record/A/spanbr /blockquoteimg src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Jan/dolphinsteneeka3.jpg” alt=”Teneeka” align=”right”The first time a href=”http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/cheerleaders/cheerleaders_profile.asp?cheer_id=155″ target=”_blank”Teneeka Miller/a saw her idols in person, she was about to become one of them.br /br /Miller, 24, of Elkton, Virginia, had dreamed of being a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader since she was a kid - “They always seemed like a really classy cheerleading squad,” she said - but had never even been to an NFL game before she auditioned for the squad last spring.br /br /But that didn’t slow her down.br /br /She’d just graduated from massage therapy school, decided to try to start her career in the South and timed her apartment-hunting trip to coincide with auditions. Before the first round, the squad offers a series of classes designed to prepare prospective cheerleaders for the tryout process, and Miller - after a hectic day of running around town to look at apartments - attended one.br /br /”Basically, you come in, they teach you the routine and you perform it for a few of the girls,” she said.br /br /The prep class was designed to give attendees an idea of what to expect at the auditions, but for Miller, it did much more than that. At the end of the session, she was presented with a free pass, automatically advancing her to the semi-final audition round.br /br /”I jumped up and screamed,” she said. “I actually left [town] right after the class because it was the day before my birthday - so it was like the best birthday present ever.” br /br /span style=”font-weight:bold;”Dancing Through Life/spanbr /br /Though Miller’s foray into professional dancing didn’t happen until the eve of her 24th birthday, her journey to the squad began years earlier - before she was even born.br /br /”When I was pregnant with her, my grandmother had gone to this yard sale and she pulled me over and said, ‘I got something for you,’ ” said Evelyn Shull, Miller’s mother. The ‘something’ turned out to be a pair of tiny, black patent leather tap shoes. “This was before Teneeka was born, I didn’t even know she was a girl … it was just so weird, because I was like, ‘So you think she’s going to be a dancer?’ “br /br /By the time Miller was a toddler, her great-grandmother’s prediction was coming true. At age 3, she danced in her first recital in Staunton.br /br /”When I saw her up on that stage with her little outfit on, doing her little dance - she was so proud, she smiled, and I was like ‘Oh goodness, there’s a performer in the family,’ ” Shull said. br /br /In addition to dancing, Miller began cheerleading for her brothers’ football teams at age 7. She performed continuously until entering Spotswood High School, when she gave up dance to pursue athletics. But after two years of playing basketball, softball and running track, Miller decided she’d rather cheer for Spotswood - and, though she’d never cheered with a school team before, landed a spot on the varsity squad.br /br / “When I got her, her sophomore year, she actually was a dual participant in basketball and cheer,” said Wes Vaughan, who coached the Spotswood squad when Miller was there. “And she liked cheer so much that she went ahead and dropped the basketball piece and came right to cheer. I was elated. Just her athleticism and her energy provided so much to the team.”br /br /Vaughan said he remembers all the girls he’s coached, but that Miller would be hard to forget regardless.br /br /”Just because of her personality,” he explained. “Just the energy that she has, she’s hilarious … she’s one of those kids who’s definitely going to be the life of the party and knows how to raise the spirits.”br /br /Miller’s energy combined with her work ethic made her addition to the Spotswood squad a snap - and Vaughan wasn’t surprised to hear that she’d succeeded at a professional level.br /br /”She’s truly dedicated,” he said. “I don’t think she sees it as hard work. She just naturally pushes herself to do the best, so for her, it’s just the daily routine - push until you succeed.” br /br /span style=”font-weight:bold;”Triumph at Tryouts?/spanbr /br /img src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Jan/dolphinsteneeka1.jpg” alt=”Teneeka” align=”right”Though receiving the free pass to semi-finals in the audition prep class meant that Miller got to skip the first round of auditions, she still had to face at least two rounds and, if selected for the squad, a training camp - during which she could be cut at any time.br /br /”To be honest, the whole process was [nerve-wracking],” Miller said of the different stages. “I was very, very nervous.”br /br /The final stage, she said, was held at a Miami mall, with hundreds of spectators. Together, the girls performed choreographed routines and a kick line, and then performed solo talents in front of the judges - and the audience.br /br /”They watched the entire thing,” she said.br /br /Seated among the audience members was Miller’s second cousin, assuming the role of what Shull called “sit-in mom.” At the end of the final round, when Miller’s number was called and she ran onstage to join her squad, the cousin called Shull to tell her about it.br /br /”She said, ‘I was just so amazed, because these people - I know they didn’t know her - but they were all cheering for her and supporting her,’ ” Shull said. “And I said, ‘Yeah, Teneeka has a tendency to do that. She is a performer.’ ” br /br /span style=”font-weight:bold;”Life As A Cheerleaderbr //spanbr /Though making the squad was a major accomplishment, the work didn’t stop then. The squad practices three to five days per week, and the cheerleaders frequently make public appearances outside of the games. Throw a full-time serving job into the mix, and Miller’s schedule is suddenly packed.br /br /”It’s very difficult. You have to be very good at time management and multi-tasking and everything,” she said. “When I moved down, the first week I got here was the semi-final audition, so as soon as I moved to Miami I was thrown into the Dolphins. Being that I was brand new to the area and I had to juggle all this new stuff, it was very difficult for me.”br /br /But making the squad in her new hometown also meant that Miller had a built-in set of friends. From the outside, a professional cheerleading squad might seem like a guaranteed hotbed for cattiness and competition, but Miller said hers isn’t like that at all.br /br /”We’re a really loving team. We get along really well,” she said. “We’re really close. We hang out, we call each other all the time, we go to movies, we go to dinner … it’s like having 30-something brand new friends.”br /br /Though Miller now has one season of professional cheerleading under her belt, she’s not guaranteed a spot on next year’s squad. Everyone is required to audition each season, regardless of seniority.br /br /”I am a little bit nervous,” she said of trying out again. “I guess it’s more nerve-wracking going into it because … I have to make sure I’m even better than I was last season, because I have new girls coming in that could easily take my spot.”br /br /But if she makes the squad again, Miller said she’d be excited to play mentor to the first-time cheerleaders - the same way her friends did for her.br /br /”I’ll have an opportunity to … help the new girls coming in because I know what it’s like, you know?” she said. “I’m excited to see the new girls, help them out as much as I can, be a friend to them like people were to me.” br /span style=”font-weight:bold;”br /Cheering for Her, Cheering for Them/spanbr /br /Since her daughter made the squad, Shull has been to Miami twice to watch her in action. The first trip was for a preseason game, and Shull brought Miller’s 13-year-old nephew, Malik Cousins, with her.br /br /”I got to watch the game, and I got some autographs from the cheerleaders and some pictures with them,” Cousins said. “It’s really cool to have an aunt in the cheerleaders.”br /br /It’s pretty cool to have a daughter on the squad, too.br /br /img src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Jan/dolphinsteneeka2.jpg” alt=”Teneeka” align=”right”"We were just so thrilled,” Shull said of seeing her daughter perform at a game for the first time. “In awe and thrilled.”br /br /Though being a Dolphins cheerleader entails a plethora of public appearances and practices, for Miller, performing at the games is by far the best part.br /br /”It’s amazing to have so many fans just yelling their hearts out for the team, and the guys working really hard, the cheerleaders entertaining the crowd - the football games are where it’s at,” she said.br /br /Miller’s first season of home-game cheering came to an end when the Dolphins lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs, but she remained optimistic for their chances next year.br /br /”Next year we’re going to take the Super Bowl,” she said. “I really think so! I was rooting for them so strongly this year. We did take the AFC East, we’re champions, we’re No. 1, and next year the Super Bowl is in Miami, so we have to be there. We’re going to be there!”br /br /Though Miller is now a seasoned professional cheerleader, harboring dreams of performing at the Super Bowl and accustomed to performing in front of thousands of cheering fans, she never forgets that her biggest supporters reside in Elkton. Shull’s husband Roger frequently logs onto the Dolphins’ Web site to print out game-day photos of Miller, which he then laminates. Shull totes them around town, eager to show neighbors her daughter’s latest accomplishments - a fact that doesn’t escape Miller.br /br /”My mom is so cute, she takes my pictures everywhere,” she said. “People will be like, ‘Yeah, I saw your mom today, she showed me your pictures!’ It’s adorable.” /blockquote

By Tom Jichabr /a href=”http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/sfl-0127-amazing-race-jicha-florida,0,5822735.story” target=”_blank”span style=”font-style:italic;”South Florida Sun Sentinel/span/abr /blockquoteimg src=”http://procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2009/Jan/dolphinsrace.jpg” alt=”Dolphins Cheerleaders” align=”right”Jaime Edmondson worked at getting people fired up for six years as a Dolphin cheerleader. The experience came in handy when she had to talk a cheerleader colleague into helping her pursue a dream, which could pay off big for both of them.br /br /Edmonson, 29, and Cara Rosenthal, 26, were chosen as one of the 11 teams to participate in the next edition of The Amazing Race, which premieres Feb. 15. “I’ve been a fan of the show and I always wanted to do it,” Edmondson, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? - Click Here., said.br /br /She needed a partner and targeted Rosenthal (who is traveling in Europe and was unavailable for comment). “She is the most competitive person I know,” Edmondson said. “I sent her a text message, ‘Do you want to be on The Amazing Race with me? I think we can win.’”br /br /This was not an idle boast. Edmondson put a lot of thought into the effort. “I didn’t want to do this with a family member or significant other. Those teams always get involved in their own issues instead of concentrating on the competition.”br /br /Edmondson must be convincing. Rosenthal came on board even though it meant putting off life plans of her own. “Cara deferred law school on blind faith,” Edmondson said. “I don’t think I could have looked her in the face if we hadn’t been chosen.”br /br /There were long periods of doubt. They made the mandatory tape at the home of Rosenthal’s parents in Boca Raton, where both women now live. “Her parents were laughing at us,” Edmondson said.br /br /Weeks went by with no word. Then Rosenthal called. “You’re going to get a phone call,” she said. She had just gotten news that a talent scout liked their tape and was going to push them.br /br /Weeks went by again. “I guess we didn’t get picked,” Edmondson thought. Then they were invited to final auditions in Los Angeles. More weeks of high anxiety followed.br /br /Finally the call came Edmondson said seemed surreal. “We just want to let you know you’re one of the teams.”br /br /They began to train without knowing what they were preparing for. “You can only do so much in South Florida,” Edmondson said. “I figured we would be fine for the warm places but you can’t prepare for cold here.”br /br /Little did they know one of the stops was going to be in Siberia.br /br /No matter how much prepping they did, Edmondson said, there was no way to anticipate the physical, mental, social and emotional ordeals they would face. “It was the hardest thing I have ever done.”br /br /You’ll have to watch to see whether it also was the most rewarding./blockquote

bSchaumburg Flyers to use new promotional team/bbr /a href=”http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=267239src=123″The Daily Herald/abr /1/26/2009br /br /As part of a new promotional effort and partnership, the Schaumburg Flyers plan to introduce a Flight Attendants Energy Team at its games this summer.br /br /img src=”http://www.polarbearrepublic.com/images/sasha/Dolphins/AshleyMcLees.jpg”align=rightTryouts will be held on Feb. 15 for the promotional group, which will be known as the SYN Vodka Flight Attendants Energy Team.br /br /”We’re excited to welcome SYN Vodka as a partner,” said Flyers general manager Ben Burke. “This new Energy Team is also going to be one of many new changes at Alexian Field this year that will add to our show.”br /br /The SYN Vodka Flight Attendants will perform at each of the 48 Flyers home games in 2009, starting with opening day on May 22.br /br /Captained by former Miami Dolphins cheerleader Ashley McLees, the Flight Attendants will also serve as the in-game promotions crew, and be available for appearances throughout the Chicago area.br /br /Tryouts will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 15 in the Schaumburg Flyers Sports Lounge at Alexian Field. Tryout fees are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.br /br /For more information, visit flyersbaseball.com.