GO COLTS: Bloomfield grad to help lead the sideline cheers

By Nick Schneider, Assistant Editor
Green County Daily World
June 13, 2011

A new group of Indianapolis Colt’s cheerleaders have been selected and there’s a Greene County connection.

Sally Jo Small, a 2007 Bloomfield Junior-Senior High School graduate, was recently picked to help lead the sideline cheers for the NFL professional football squad in Indianapolis.

She’ll graduate from Purdue University in West Lafayette in December with a degree in Organizational Leadership and Supervision.

Sally is the daughter of Mike and Mindy Small, Bloomfield and the granddaughter of Ret. U.S. Air Force Col. Marcus “Red” Oliphant, also of Bloomfield.

At Purdue, she was a member of the Goldusters Dance Team.

The cheerleading squad was chosen at Audition Finals Showcase at the Plainfield High School Auditorium on April 27 from a field that started with 200 hopefuls.

The audition event consisted of several dance routines, an evening wear and a swimsuit competition capping a three-week tryout process.

Small told the Greene County Daily World that the selection process was a challenge, but one she was prepared for.

“Going into the first day of auditions was actually not very stressful, I knew I was a skilled dancer and I’d been in the gym working out since February for the auditions, so I was pretty confident for the first day,” Small said. “The next week going back the nerves get to you a little more. You know that even when you are not being judged directly, you are still being judged at all times. The ideal cheerleader has to fit into their standards, which are set pretty high. You have to be a talented dancer, pretty, very fit, have poise, and be good with interacting with people and fans. They are looking for girls that can be good role models.”

Small explained that so many girls fit the criteria, and it was easy to get discouraged.

“I kept pushing the negative thoughts out of my head that I might not be good enough. Instead, I focused on myself. What could set me apart? I focused on my dancing and made sure I knew the routines well, and performed them to the best of my abilities. This was the biggest help for me in auditions. I didn’t focus on the competition. Every time I caught myself watching how good of a dancer or how pretty the other girls were, I shook it off and focused on me. I knew I could do it, I just had to show them I could,” the Bloomfield native said. “I somehow got put in an audition group of four veterans and myself. The judges all obviously knew the other girls, so all eyes were on me. I made myself keep up with the others and told myself to make it look like I belonged right next to them. At the showcase, it was so fast paced and hectic, that you didn’t really have time to be nervous about strutting in a bikini in front of hundreds of people. There were still a few nerves when you hit the stage, but you push through it.”

Hearing her name announced as part of the 2011 Colts squad made the struggle worth it.

“At the end it was the same waiting game. Finally when they were ready we all stood on the stage and hopefully awaited our names and numbers to be called. I waited, and waited, it seemed like they kept calling girls and I knew the end was getting close. When I was just about to lose all hope I heard by number 885 called. Everything that I had been working for was well paid off,” she remembered.

Entering their 28th season, the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders continue to be an integral part of the Colts organization.

On the field, these women perform for more than 63,000 fans in Lucas Oil Stadium on game day.

Off the field and in the community, the cheerleaders donate their time as community representatives for hundreds of events across the state. The Colts cheerleaders have appeared at charity functions, conventions, grand openings, fairs and trade shows.

The “Colts Cheerleader Show Troupe” was created in 2002 to offer civic and corporate organizations additional entertainment options. These members entertained the troops at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and at a variety of other sporting events. In 2009, the cheerleader Show Troupe participated in a 25-day Armed Forces Entertainment Tour in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Spain. In 2010, the show trip did a 10-day promotional tour in Mexico City and a 7-day Armed Forces Entertainment Tour in Japan. The squad started 2011 off with a trip to London, England to perform at the NFL International Super Bash.

Colts cheerleaders participated in approximately 300 community events throughout Indiana last year, logging more than 1,500 hours of service.