Jasmine Goode Goes Pro With N.Y. Jets

A former CHS athlete turned pro but it’s not in any sport that you’re thinking of. Maplewood’s Jasmine Goode has turned a lifelong dream into reality, earning a spot on the N.Y. Jets Flight Crew, making her a professional cheerleader. And if you ask Goode, NFL cheerleaders are professional athletes.

Out of approximately 200 women who tried out, Goode made it through four rounds of auditions to make the top 30. Even still, her spot on the team isn’t safe, as there is constant competition. The Flight Crew is currently in training camp, with three practices a week for three hours each. Goode described the camp as intense and a lot harder work than most people would think.

Flight Crew Director Denise Garvey said that the dancers who will be on the field for the Jets' opening day are being determined through training camp, but it is on a game-to-game basis from then on, much like a football team has different starters and subs from week-to-week. She said that she believes you have to fight and work hard to earn your spot and you have to do the same to keep it. The cheerleaders have been in training since June 1.

Goode began her cheering career as a youngster in Pop Warner football and began her life as a dancer at the Betty White Dance Center in Maplewood, at age six. She remained at the school until she was 15 and then joined the Columbia High School dance team. At Columbia, she was captain of the cheerleading squad for three years. She went to Kean University and continued her cheering career there as well.

“It was a dream. I thought about being an NFL cheerleader years ago in high school,” Goode said. “I never thought it was possible.”

Last season, Goode tried out and did not make it, but she did not give up so easily. She worked hard over the next year and was able to break through the second time around.

“It was very stressful, emotional, intense and just overwhelming,” Goode said of the tryout process. “Everyday you are fighting for your spot.”

According to the 2005 CHS grad, dancing ability, while very important, is not the only thing that it takes to be an NFL cheerleader. She said that they need good interviewing skills and public speaking ability as well as a motivation to keep working.

“I wasn’t used to all of the conditioning and the workout schedule,” Goode said.

She had her first taste of what opening day will be like when she took the field for a pre-season game earlier this month.

“It’s amazing to be on that field,” Goode said. “It’s a crazy intense feeling to have all eyes on you.

For Goode, not even a month removed from college, she has already reached the top of her profession, something that takes many people their whole lives to do.

“It just hits me. Wow, I’m part of this,” Goode said of being on the biggest stage of her young career. “For me it’s like I made it. This is the top level for me.”

Now the goal's for her to keep her spot throughout her rookie season and then to get it back next year, when she will have to tryout again.

“This is a part-time job with a full-time commitment,” she said. “I love everyone on the team. … I feel like I’m growing as a person. I feel like being here will make me a better person.”

Goode still lives in Maplewood and advises any who would like to follow in her footsteps to keep their heads up and stay focused on their goals.

“Work hard, don’t give up and get discouraged if someone tells you no,” she said. “You have to stay focused.”