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Schools

Spanish Teacher Takes on Cheerleading Coach Duties

Maria Desarbo believes in positivity and fun.

Nothing says back-to-school like cheerleaders working on their gravity-defying routines. Maria Desarbo, who teaches Spanish at the in East Haven has assumed the role of cheerleading coach at JMMS.  The  approved her appointment late last month.

“I really like how it’s a team unit,” said the Branford resident, who was a member of the cheerleading squad in middle school in North Branford. “It definitely requires physical strength because there’s a lot of tumbling and lifting. Upper body strength. Lower body strength.  It’s a sport. It’s very difficult.”

Once the cheerleading squad of 15 members, who are all female, is chosen, Desarbo said it will practice two to three times a week. “We definitely have to do strength training and a little cardio for the dance routines. We do push-ups, lunges, some running.”

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The squad will not only cheer for middle school basketball games, but it will also take part in two competitions – one of which is already scheduled in East Haven for next March. 

Desarbo said she danced for 10 years when growing up.

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“I did it all,” she said.  “Tap. Ballet. Jazz. Acrobatic classes. A bunch of stuff.” 

She said she is very into fitness now, going to the gym where she practices weightlifting, cardio exercises and a work-out that mixes Latin and international rhythms known as zumba.

“You have to be willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the squad,” she said of the type of personality that thrives as a cheerleader.  "You have to be dedicated.  I guess you have to be extraverted.  It’s all based on positivity.

“I guess I’m a type-A personality,” said Desarbo, who has just taken a master’s degree in school health at Southern Connecticut State University. “I’m not teaching health yet but maybe one day.”

Also at SCSU, she took her undergraduate degree in secondary education and Spanish, which is the subject she currently teaches in the JMMS sixth and seventh grades.  She pursued her degree in Spanish because of the influence of  a Spanish teacher with whom she studied at North Branford High School. 

“The influence of the Spanish culture is larger than it’s ever been in the United States,” she remarked. 

She taught Spanish in the East Haven school district for one year before finding her self laid off.  Then, she taught at Harborside Middle School in Milford before returning to the East Haven District last year.

At the Web site ratemyteachers.com, one of her former Milford students described her as “really nice and funny.”

“Some of the kids think I’m funny,” she replied when asked if her East Haven students find her that way.  “You have to have fun.  I feel the kids pay attention more if you’re funny. I’m actually laughing with them all day.”

Tryouts for the JMMS cheerleading squad are scheduled to take place Sept. 26.

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