Clippers.com
September 20, 2011

There’s an old African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

The city of Los Angeles is a little more concrete jungle than village – a little more booming population than tight-knit community. The raw numbers alone work against those in greatest need of help in a city like this. It’s easier to closely care and be attentive to the needs of one person in a group of ten than it is for that same person in a group of ten million.

Los Angeles, for all its wonderful traits, is beautiful for few and harrowing for many.

Spirit Dance Team member Anasheh knows she is one of the lucky ones. Raised in Los Angeles, Anasheh selflessly realized at an early age that the opportunities and family she was fortunate to have were largely uncommon for those in her greater community.

“I knew from high school that I wanted to do something where I was helping other people,” Anasheh said. “It didn’t matter in what way – I just wanted to help people.”

And so Anasheh set off to nearby USC for college, where she stayed true to her goal. She followed her love for dancing, performing as a USC Song Girl, but also worked in the classroom to obtain her Master’s Degree in Social Work.

Still living in Los Angeles, Anasheh spends her days working at her long-held dream – to help others.

“My profession right now is a mental health therapist,” Anasheh said. “I’m based out of a high school in South L.A. and I meet with kids during the day for individual therapy. I work with kids who have different diagnosis like depression, social anxiety disorder, anxiety, and other things like that.”

With numerous factors working against those children, Anasheh acknowledges it is not an easy occupation.

“We’re working in the inner-city,” Anasheh said. “The kids are working through poverty, different kinds of abuse, lack of parenting, lack of education. They’re working with so many different layers of trauma. It’s very, very challenging.

“Most of my students have experienced some sort of loss, whether it’s a cousin, a sister or brother, to gang violence or other violence – that’s really prevalent in that neighborhood. I work a lot with grief and loss.”

While Anasheh helps the children work through their severe issues, the task remains daunting. But she is not the type of person who lets obstacles stop her from reaching her goal.

“Recently I was inspired to help out by taking a different approach,” Anasheh said. “It was back to school time, so I thought about how I could help the students experience something special. I thought, ‘What’s better than a brand new pair of shoes to a 14-year-old in high school?’ I wanted them to feel confident about themselves walking into school on the very first day.”

So Anasheh decided to call on the same community that helped raise her for backup.

“I reached out to all my family, friends and fellow team members through Facebook and e-mail and asked them for any donations they could offer,” Anasheh said.

“Luckily, I got such a great response from everyone. Everybody chipped in. I got gift cards, money, shoes. I had literally four trunks full of shoes. I took the shoes into the school last week, but didn’t give all of them at once. The shoes I brought disappeared in about 13 seconds. They were all so happy. Their faces were beaming. I don’t think they ever had the opportunity to have a brand new pair of shoes.”

For Anasheh, her reward is simply the satisfaction of giving back.

“Every day I go in, I come out feeling good about having some sort of effect on somebody’s life…even if it’s in the most simple of ways,” Anasheh said. “It’s definitely the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”

Meanwhile, Anasheh’s dancing career has taken off in her second year with the Clippers Spirit Dance Team. She has performed and taught at multiple places, including her Alma Mater, USC. Her future in dance is incredibly bright.

But Anasheh predictably has her priorities in line.

“I keep my jobs separate,” Anasheh said. “This [Spirit team] is my part-time job. This is my release — this is where I go to do my second passion, which is dance.”

When Anasheh talks about the work she is doing, her passion is easy to see. She chokes up multiple times when speaking about her students and genuinely smiles thinking of the kids she helps.

It is pretty easy to gather that her kids love her, too, probably even a little bit more after they went to a Clippers game last year.

“I didn’t know any of the kids knew, but they came to a Clipper game way up in the upper bowl last year and they recognized me for sure,” Anasheh said. “Some of the students called me out the next day and said ‘Oh Miss Anasheh, we saw you dancing!’ We didn’t know you could dance like that!’ They’re cool though, they liked it.”

Although Anasheh keeps her jobs separate, the Spirit Dance Team helps her with her first passion as well as her love for dance.

“We [the Spirit Team] do a lot of fundraising and a lot of charity work,” Anasheh said. “That’s actually one of the really great parts about this whole organization – we definitely give back to the community. I know that’s a huge part of my life so I really appreciate that they find it important too.”

While sparkling on the dance floor, Anasheh remains caring, selfless and appreciative. It’s safe to say her village did a pretty good job of raising her. Now, she’s looking to return the favor.

“Right now I know this is what I need to be doing,” Anasheh said. “It just feels right. This is where I need to be.”

This week’s SI NFL cheerleader gallery features the Falcons Cheerleaders, Panthers TopCats, Broncos Cheerleaders, Dolphins Cheerleaders, Vikings Cheerleaders, Patriots Cheerleaders, Saintsations, Jets FLight Crew, 49ers Gold Rush, Titans Cheerleaders, and Redskins Cheerleaders. Click here to go there now!

This week’s NFL Cheerleader gallery features teams from the Jets, 49ers, Colts, Titans, Bills, Patriots, Panthers, Broncos, Dolphins, and Vikings. Click here to go there now!

By Kristofer Noceda
Livermore Patch
September 19, 2011

Congrats Leah!

The Livermore dancer has been chosen by fans as the final addition to the 2011-2012 Warrior Girls dance team.

The Golden State Warriors’ website this past weekend let fans choose who would join the 16-member roster. Voting ended today at noon.

Leah was one of three finalists fans were able to choose from.

Another Livermore dancer, Patrisha, also was a finalist.

View the announcement and Leah’s profile on the Golden State Warriors’ website.

By Jill Radsken
Boston Herald
September 18, 2011

For years, New England Patriots [team stats] Hall of Famer Andre Tippett commanded the field in Foxboro. Today his daughter does the same — but without all the padding of a linebacker.

Patriots cheerleader Asia Barnes, who’ll be whipping up the crowd for today’s game against the San Diego Chargers, works her magic on the sidelines. “It was on my own I tried out to cheer, but he was supportive when he found out,” said the recent University of Massachusetts at Amherst grad, who plans to apply to medical school this winter.

Patriots cheerleading coach Tracy Sormonti said the 22-year-old beauty is the complete package.

“I always know I’m going to get the best from her,” said Sormonti.

“The camaraderie is the most rewarding part,” said Barnes, who juggles a part-time job at a North Shore investment company with practice and games. “It’s just so hard juggling it with family life and school and the girls understand it. I’m still friends with girls I met my rookie year.”

Barnes spends a lot of time doing high-intensity workouts and learning scores of routines. But she also makes dozens of appearances across New England.

Sormonti called Barnes a “classic overachiever” — which isn’t that surprising given her dad’s tremendous talent as a player.

“It’s interesting to be cheering on the same field that your dad, an all-time football great, performed on,” Sormonti said.

But she added, “She’s not a name-dropper. She wouldn’t say, ‘My dad’s Andre Tippett.’ That makes her pretty unique.”

Barnes’ second part-time job also makes her stand out — she’s a model with Maggie Inc. in Boston, and has appeared in the Herald’s fashion pages. Check out Barnes in the winning looks of the season:

Click here to check out Fox5 San Diego’s gallery of photos from the event.

Back in 1981, the 49ers beat the Cowboys to win the ’81 NFC Championship on the Dwight Clark reception known simply as “The Catch”. It was known as one of the greatest games in NFL Playoff history. This past weekend, the 49ers and Cowboys faced off again. The 49ers decided to go all out in remembrance of the ’81 victory. Dwight Clark was the honorary captain for the day, fans were asked to wear red, and 80s hit band Cheap Trick performed the National Anthem. The Gold Rush cheerleaders also took in back in time with half shirts, leg warmers, and the shiniest leggings ever made.

Unfortunately, none of this helped the 49ers – they lost the game by 3.

(Photos from MySanAntonio.com)

Boston.com: The New England Patriots cheerleaders hosted an unveiling party for the 2012 swimsuit calendar featuring the dancers. The event took place at the Paris Lounge in Ned Devine’s on Sept. 15.

Patriots cheerleader Athena Lazo signed her calendar photo for Francis Sullivan of Windsor, Conn., at the event.

Stephanie Petronelli signed her photo for Lee Marques of Fall River during the unveiling party.

Petronelli also signed an autograph for Matt Berthiaume of Nashua, N.H.

Patriots cheerleaders mingled with fans at the signing.

Dana Nessen of Easton paid close attention as cheerleader Ali Sova signed her page.

Amanda Soucy signed a photo and chatted with Eric Sontos of Dartmouth.

Amber Smith smiled as she signed MaryAnn Caldeira’s copy of the calendar.

Brianna Munoz chatted with Corey Descheneaux as he presented his calendar.

Golden State Warriors: After several rounds of auditions, the first 17 spots on the 2011-12 Warrior Girls have been chosen, but the last selection is up to YOU, the fans. Watch videos of the three remaining finalists and vote for who you think should join the Warrior Girls for the upcoming season. Voting ends on Monday (Sept. 19) at 12 noon. [Click here]

Sidebar: Major shout out to Angel, who I met over the summer. Congratulations, chica 🙂 ~ sasha

Looks like fun, but it can’t be easy performing for that kind of audience.