The Branford Youth Cheerleading (BYC) program provides an opportunity for athletes from 1st to 8th grade to come together, learn what it means to become a team, and become better cheerleaders. Those goals remain as the BYC prepares for its upcoming season. Along with being a competitive program, the BYC also wants to continue being a beacon of spirit for the town of Branford.

The BYC is split up into four age divisions ranging from D8 to D14. Gerling Daniels is the head coach of this year’s D8 team, and Lisa Inorio serves in that same role for the D10 squad. Joanna Despotakis is the head coach of the D12 team, while Diana Vaicunas leads the D14 team as its head coach. All in all, there are 81 athletes who are participating in the BYC program this year.

Every athlete in the BYC will cheer on the sidelines during Branford Youth Football games. The competition aspect of cheerleading is done via a signup process, and 52 of the 81 people in the program will be competing this year. The first competition will take place in October. Last year, the BYC’s D12 and D14 teams both won state championships.

Along with her role as the D14 coach, Vaicunas is also the president of the BYC. When any athlete enters the program, regardless of their age group, Vaicunas wants them to learn about cheerleading and understand why it’s such a great sport.

“Sportsmanship and camaraderie. Getting these kids together and having them learn the sport of cheerleading,” Vaicunas said regarding the BYC’s goals. “They can expect to learn how to cheer, how to stunt, how to tumble, how to be safe, and how to be a part of a team. They learn together, they win together, they lose together. They’re learning sportsmanship.”

At the D8 level, BYC’s athletes are mainly learning the fundamentals of the sport. They’re learning about what it means to be a cheerleader. Heading into this season, Vaicunas said that the BYC has seen a great deal of growth at its D8 and D10 levels. After they get to experience what the BYC is all about, many participants go on to tell their friends and parents about it. Vaicunas feels that type of word-of mouth-exposure is what helps the BYC program grow.

“The experience speaks for itself. A lot of the reason our D8 and D10 divisions have grown has been because our kids had such a great time last year. They’re talking it up to their friends,” said Vaicunas. “Word of mouth is the best advertisement for us. Our program is good, and the kids are having a great time.”

Once they reach the D14 level, BYC’s cheerleaders start to condition themselves for what to expect on the high school circuit. They learn more challenging stunts, such as twist extensions, one-legged tricks, and back handsprings. In the BYC’s oldest age group, athletes are expected to gain nearly all the knowledge that will they need to succeed once they reach the high school level.

“It’s a lot of conditioning and teaching them proper technique. It’s a lot of making sure they’re ready for that level. Safety is the most important thing to us,” Vaicunas said. “Conditioning them and getting their technique ready will keep them safe. We’re teaching more difficult tricks and getting them ready to be ready for high school.”

Janice Despotakis is currently a board member in the BYC. She first joined the board as the BYC’s vice president in 2015. At the time, Judy Barron was the president of the organization. When they started, Despotakis said that she and Barron were given, “$600 and a handful of old uniforms.”

Despotakis and everyone involved with the BYC has worked hard to build the program from the ground up. In addition to improving everyone’s skills, the BYC holds team-building activities and fundraisers in an effort to show each participant the value of being part of such a strong cheerleading program.

“We worked hard to build a fun experience for these kids. We do a lot of team bonding and fundraisers. We have made sure that competition is fun for the girls,” Despotakis said. “This is a fun sport for them to be in. We’ve tried to show them that cheerleading is a sport. It’s a good sport, and it’s a fun sport to participate in.”

In 2017, Despotakis realized just how far the BYC had come. That year’s D10 team, which was coached by Joanna Despotakis, advanced to compete at Nationals. It was the first time any cheerleading team from Branford had cheered at the national level. The efforts of the board, coaches, parents, and athletes had paid off as the BYC demonstrated the strength of its program.

“No Branford team, high school or youth, had ever gone to Nationals. At that point, we knew we made it,” said Janice Despotakis. “We knew that this was something we were really building on and that it was successful. A lot of our girls from there have gone on to the high school squad.”

When each athlete is cheering with the BYC, Vaicunas wants them all to understand the importance of being a part of their community. Whenever the BYC is invited to attend an event, the program always says yes and wants its participants to be involved as much as possible. That type of community participation is a focal point for the BYC and one of the factors that makes Vaicunas feel proud about the program.

Despotakis said that she wants the BYC to be “as much of the face of Branford spirit as we can.” While serving on the board for almost a decade, Despotakis has seen how much the BYC program has grown. From the parents to the coaches to the athletes, Despotakis feels happy with the fact that the BYC has become a family in which everyone has something to cheer about.

“It’s a lot of fun. I’ve been on the board for nine years now. As long as my daughter is coaching, I’ll be on the board,” Despotakis said. “It’s an immense experience. The amount of camaraderie between the parents, the board, the coaches—everyone is helping each other and pulls together as a team. It has become a very large family.”