TCA Grad, Coach and Eagles’ Cheerleader Thankful For Success
By Tony Haneman
Trenton Monitor
In foster care at age four, biological mother killed at age seven, biological father nowhere around, and adopted at age 10… life didn’t start easy for Chastity Manning.
Troubled teen? Bitter and disillusioned young adult? Quite the contrary.
The 23-year-old Manning, a 2006 Trenton Catholic Academy graduate and present cheerleading coach, has risen from the anguish of adversity in early life to achieve remarkable success, including an exclusive spot on the 2012 Philadelphia Eagles’ cheerleading squad. From pirouettes in her kitchen to dance steps before millions, she still even now finds it hard to believe.
“I still can’t believe I made it,” she said with a giggle. “I was happy just getting to the semi-final cuts.”
The road has been a remarkable one for the affable Manning. Her life found stability in the home of Charles and Mildred Manning who adopted her at age 10. She blossomed from there. The Mannings instilled in their new daughter a God-consciousness that is a part of her even today.
“My parents were in church all the time. As a result, I developed a faith in God at a very early age,” she says.
While most people might struggle with bitterness towards God during difficult times, Manning responded differently.
“My (adoptive) parents always taught me to be positive. And I’ve also learned that God doesn’t put you in circumstances you can’t handle.”
Add to that, life lessons she gleaned from mission trips with her church. As she traveled to different parts of the country, she quickly learned, “there are people that have it a lot worse than you.”
On one particular trip at age 13, she and her group met a middle-aged man in Ohio with no family. “We ministered to him for a week and when we prepared to leave, he cried. It just reminded me that many people don’t have what we have. Be grateful for the blessings.”
Although barely in her 20s, Manning is already a six-year veteran of high school coaching. She took on the head coaching job of the TCA cheerleading squad at age 19, while an undergrad at Rider University, Lawrenceville.
“Those first two years were difficult. Sometimes you fail in order to learn. I had to learn to be tough … but …” she adds with remarkable insight, “being tough is different than being mean.
“High school can be difficult sometimes, and I’m not so far removed from it that I can’t relate to what my girls are going through.”
Her goal for her TCA squad is similar to the goal of her Eagles’ squad: excellence.
“We have a round table discussion at the beginning of each season as to what our general goals are. The new girls see our serious approach and buy into it. I take them to clinics, and eventually hope to get them to regional and national competitions”
Both of her cheerleading endeavors are part time. She works full-time for the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton and Mercer County. In fact, being in full-time work or in full-time education is a requirement to be an Eagles cheerleader. After work, Manning heads to Philadelphia where she and the other 37 cheerleaders practice three hours each Tuesday and Wednesday, something she has been doing since May.
“Being an Eagles’ cheerleader has opened up a world of opportunity. I tell my girls, ‘you can be anything you want’.”
What opportunity would she really like? Opening a performing arts school in Trenton is a dream of hers. She could work directly with kids in building them into the artists they’re capable of being. Being an Eagles’ cheerleader lends credibility to that goal. She would stress to her students, “You can do anything, as long as you give 100 percent.”
