Coach Jocelyn Baptiste was selected by her peers as the Patriot District Coach of the year and shares the Region Coach of the Year title with  Annandale High School's Cheerleading Coach.  This is Coach Baptiste's 19th year as the Cheerleading Coach at Robinson Secondary School.  Coach Baptiste is also a graduate of Robinson SS.  She has been assisted by her husband Dominique Baptiste, since 2007.  She has not coached high school cheerleading at any other place but Robinson, but has coached club Cheer at Cheer Dynasty early in her coaching career. Coach Baptiste has also worked for UCA, Universal Cheerleaders Association, which runs cheer camps all the way from age 4 up through the collegiate level.  Robinson Cheerleaders have participated in camps through UCA annually.

I asked Coach Baptiste how she got involved in Cheerleading.  She started at the very young age of 4, cheering for Jerry West Basketball in West Virginia.  She cheered for Robinson as well as at the collegiate level at Ohio University.  Her husband and assistant coach cheered in college and coached collegiate cheer in Connecticut.  They make quite a pair!

We reflected on how cheerleading can help young men and women learn about perseverance and serving others.  Two years ago, the day before Districts, they lost many members of the cheer team because they were paused with COVID.  They all made the choice to continue and keep competing with half of the squad.  What they learned from that experience was to not give up and continue to try your best, even if the team has significantly changed.  Cheerleading is such an interconnected teams sport, that if part of the team is unavailable many adjustments need to be made to carry on.  Stunting required 4 athletes and when one is missing, it changes the whole dynamic. It turned out that the team scored well enough to move on to the Region Level.

They also learn that individual actions significantly affect the team.  By developing a sense of selflessness, the cheerleaders learn the importance of carrying on for the whole group.  

This year the cheerleading team was plagued by injuries as well as COVID.  By continuing to work together, adjust and demonstrate resiliency, our Rams Cheerleaders captured the District Title, placed 2^nd in the Region and finished 2^nd at the State Competition.  They worked together to overcome the many obstacles and push through to the end.

I asked Coach Baptiste what she liked most about cheerleading.  It was difficult to mention just one thing.  Cheerleading and coaching in general allows for her to be at multiple events like football, pep rallys and competitions, all of which she enjoys.  Cheerleading helps to involve the community at events.  She also enjoys watching the team members grow and become better version of themselves through their hard work and dedication.

This years' varsity roster is: