Hamden woman now a New England Patriots Cheerleader

Melissa DeChello (Photo provided by the New England Patriots)
Melissa DeChello (Photo provided by the New England Patriots)
By Macy Corica, WTNH.com Staff and Anne Craig, WTNH Anchor
WTNH.com
April 22, 2016

HAMDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A life-long Patriots fan from Hamden will now get to attend every game as she cheers for the team on the sidelines.

For Melissa DeChello, it’s a no-brainer. The Hamden-native has been dancing and teaching dance for years.

This fall, she’ll be cheering for one of the elite teams in pro football.

“This was my very first NFL tryout, so really Patriots was my only choice,” said DeChello.

The New England Patriots.

“It’s a really incredible organization, they obviously do really well. They’ve been in the Super Bowl multiple times and it’s really close to me,” said DeChello.

Melissa, who attends the University of New Haven, joins roughly three-dozen other women who made it through a grueling tryout process.

“It was really draining on the body, we had some fitness portions where we had a trainer come in and do hour-long intense workouts with us, so that was a lot to go through,” said DeChello.

Now, they’ll practice a couple days a week. There are promotional appearances for the team, and then on Sunday, it’s Game Day.

You can bet all of her friends and family will be rooting for her, but maybe not for her team.

“I’ve always been a Patriots fan, my brother has always been a Cowboys fan. So we get along, we don’t really let that affect us,” said DeChello.


Sidebar: Melissa is a former Westchester Knicks Dancer

Meet The Westchester Knicks Dancers

The Westchester Knicks Dancers are the latest and greatest addition to the National Basketball Development League.

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The WKD had their individual and team photo shoot last Friday.

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Rehearsal at the Westchester County Center

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The Westchester Knicks Dancers are under the direction of Heather Van Arsdel and Dina Giordano. Heather was a 6-time NY Knicks Dancer and Dina is the Artistic Director of City Center Dance in White Plains.

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Natalia is a student at Montclair State College where she is double majoring in Nutrition & Dietetics and Dance.

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Melissa is a Nutrition and Dietetics major at the University of New Haven and has 1+ hour commute for games and practices.

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Long time friend of Ultimate Cheerleaders, Christie is originally from Pittsburgh and naturally a huge Steelers fan.

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Bringing the Attitude.

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Stephanie is a Biology major at Hunter College

[Westchester Knicks Dancers]

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