Raising Pride & SpiritMaheras,

DAYTON - Kassandra Dedloff and her cheerlead­ing squad are excited to see the large number of football players on the field this year. "It was hard to rally school and community spirit last year with a dwindling num­ber of players," Dedloff said. Raising pride and spirit is top priority for Dayton cheer­leaders

this fall, according to the squad's three captains, seniors Caylyn Tate, Jennifer Stephens and Molly Payne.

"We're going to be try­ing to get the school more involved," Tate said, agree­ing

with Stephens who said school spirit has "really dropped" over the last few years. The squad hopes the new high school principal, Andy

will help boost this attitude as well. Dedloff, a 2003 Dayton graduate and former Bulldog cheerleader, has been coach­ing

the squad for four years. She began with just six girls on the team; now she has 12 - a sign that support for school sports is growing.

"It's definitely more fun with more girls," Dedloff said. "We can do more stunts and dance routines, which the fans really enjoyed last year." Dedloff's 12 girls have been training since July for their role in this underplayed "sport." They attended camp and have been working to learn more than 150 differ­ent cheers, not to mention a variety of challenging stunts and complex dance routines. "We're literally throwing people up into the air and then catching them," said Payne. "We have to be really connected to make sure ev­erything goes smoothly," she said, referring to the way the squad emphasizes eye contact and perfect attention before they begin a stunt routine.

To encourage further com­munity support for the teams they represent, the Dayton cheerleaders will present a community youth cheer­leading camp this fall. The camp will be free and open to young girls in Dayton and surrounding areas. More information will be available soon.