Cheers at St. Johns - Los Angeles Times
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Cheers at St. Johns

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Christine Carrillo

The 28 cheerleaders hit every move with precision.

They shouted each word of their cheer with a bass lifting from the

depths of their diaphragms.

And they did it over and over again -- it’s competition time.

From basket-tosses to tumbling, big smiles to the occasional wink,

every girl on the national champion cheerleading squad at St. John

the Baptist School in Costa Mesa has learned how to step up their

level of performance.

They’ve had to. Their coach would accept nothing less.

“This is kind of what the [past five years] has built up to,” said

20-year-old Eddie Strachan, who started coaching when he was a

sophomore and a cheerleader at Mater Dei High School. “It’s very

strict and really rigid as far as discipline goes. It’s hard, but at

the same time, they know why and they know what they’re working for.”

Returning to his alma mater after having graduated only two years

prior, Strachan took a squad of 13 girls -- the only ones who tried

out -- to the state finals. With goals set much higher, he worked to

transform the lost cheerleading souls of St. Johns into a

national-winning squad, the first ever at the school.

“From day one, when I first saw him with the girls, I knew he

would take them somewhere,” said Lisa Marocco, a cheer parent and St.

Johns alumna.

That was precisely what he planned to do.

With the phrase, “they’re really good for a junior high school”

ringing annoyingly in his ears, Strachan dedicated himself to making

his squad “just a really good squad.”

“I feel like you know what performing is now so you know how to

fake it,” Strachan told his squad after seeing what he thought was a

mediocre performance. “It’s got to be genuine ... Every single time,

think about what you need to do.”

Exemplifying what it means to be the Fighting Irish, the cheer

squad fought its way through the trenches and even managed to revel,

a bit, in the rewards.

“It’s been fun,” said 13-year-old Catherine Tran, before heading

back to practice. “It’s exciting because it’s an adventure for us

performing for different people.”

Even though they’ve won their national title, the competition

isn’t over. With their eighth and final competition -- the

Cheerleaders of America West Coast Competition at the UC Irvine Bren

Center -- awaiting them this Saturday, the girls still have a lot of

work ahead of them.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” said 13-year-old Jacqueline Mergeanian,

squad captain. “Everyone’s had so much dedication. It’s just a

different attitude this year.”

It’s a winning one.

* CHRISTINE CARRILLO covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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