LAST CHANCE: Riptide Cheerleading Tryouts for Girls Ages 5-14

Riptide All-Star cheerleaders are getting ready to conclude another winning season, while inviting girls ages 5 to 14 from all around the area for tryouts next week.

The team won two national championships in 2012 thus far, the latest one last weekend in Toms River. The team is now working hard as the girls gear up for a third and last event of the season -- getting ready to compete in the U.S. Finals in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday, May 5.

"It's the final destination of all-start cheerleading," said Christine McKenna, 25, of Barnegat, who is one of Riptides' four coaches, along with Nicole Carreno, 29, of West Creek, Laura Brown, 22, of Barnegat,  and junior coach Alex Guglielmo, 14, of Manahawkin.

"They basically are a powerhouse team," McKenna said of the 20 girls from all over Southern ocean County, ages 5 to 14, who comprise the team at this time. "This is just a great group of kids. They all work together, they all help each other when it comes to new stuff. And they push themselves. Just a week before [one of our competitions] in Ocean City they came in and asked if they could do a harder stunt in their opening." 

The team is housed at Cheer Gym in West Creek, a tumbling and cheer facility for girls of various ages anywhere from West Creek up to Lacey.

The girls get together twice a week for three hours, sometimes more, if the competition schedule demands it.

"Between the three captains and the four coaches, it’s never a down day," McKenna said. "It’s constantly work, work, work, work, work to just up their skills, to make themselves better."

"The children work incredibly hard, you can tell they really want to be here," said Coach Carreno, who is the director of the cheerleeading program at Cheer Gym, which includes four other cheerleading teams.

"I used to come here for tumbling," saod Tess Suriano, 11, of Barnegat, who has been a member of the Riptides All-Star team for two years now. "We just have a great team, and we work together really good."

 "I just like being with my teammates," said Kendall Birch, 10, of Barnegat, who has been coming to Cheer Gym since she was three years old. "I like doing all the stunts, and trying new things."

Riptide All-Star competition teams at Cheer Gym in West Creek will hold tryouts on Wednesday, May 16, 6-8 p.m. and Thursday, May 17, 5-7 p.m. Some athletes may be invited to "preparation clinics," which are usually suggested, but not mandatory, on Monday, May 14 and Tuesday May 15, 6 to 8 p.m.

For more information, call (609) 286-8800. 

Last Chance is a weekly column about a looming deadline in town.