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Sports

East Alums Perform for Jets Flight Crew

Started dancing career at Sachem, now entertain at the highest level.

Sachem East alumni Danielle Barhold and Cait DiLorenzo have used their Sachem Arrowettes skills to land them spots on the New York Jets Flight Crew. It's their job to keep Jets fans happy, excited and cheering throughout the game – which these talented women make seem easy.

Since 2006, The Jets Flight Crew, originally called Jets Flag Crew, has been cheering the Jets players on.

Barhold, 20, said the atmosphere of being on the field with the team is unreal.

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"It sends chills down your spin because this is what you've been preparing for," said the Holbrook resident said.

Barhold, who graduated from East in 2008, said a friend told her about the Jets Flight Crew.

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"I was in high school. I went to try out and it changed my life."

Although, she has been a Jets Flight Crew cheerleader for three years, Barhold still has to audition for the team every year. The audition is a two-week process that includes a formal business interview, semi final audition and final audition.

"It's an experience you can take with you even if you don't make it," said Barhold, who is currently a junior at Farmingdale State.

Barhold and DiLorenzo were teammates in 2008 on the Sachem East varsity Arrowettes.

DiLorenzo, 18, who graduated from East last year and is now a freshman at Suffolk County Community College, found out about the opportunity of being a professional cheerleader through Barhold.

"Once you start dancing, you don't want to let it go," she said. "You just want to show off your talents."

This is DiLorenzo's first year on Flight Crew. During auditions for this season, the Alumni kept in touch with former SEVA coach Melissa Tyler.

"We were keeping them updated throughout the process, texting and sending pictures," Barhold said.

The Alumni said SEVA helped them prepare for life as a professional cheerleader.  DiLorenzo said the coaches were very strict on the team to get the routine correct. But in the long run the grueling practices and dedication paid off.

"You're trained to perform in front of all audiences and when you come to the Jets to perform in front of 80,000 people, it's a lot easier," Barhold said. "What I remember most [from SEVA] was competing and performing. The Arrowettes as a whole sticks out in my mind, we were a team."

The football players and cheerleaders have different experiences during a game. Both girls said they don't have the pressure of the game on their shoulders. They get nervously excited to keep the audience upbeat and energetic through snow and rain.

"It's a dream come true," Barhold said, "being able to [perform] as a professional cheerleader and do it in front of the biggest stage you can ever perform in front of."

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