Cheer coach Samaris Sirano-Rodriguez had originally planned to be assistant coach for the school year but had to take over as head coach suddenly when the former head coach stopped coming to practices.
Sirano-Rodriguez was born and raised in Montgomery County and still lives here. She is pursuing her master’s of science in criminal justice online with Boston University while also working and coaching. She works as an office services assistant for the Virginia Department of Corrections District 29 Probation and Parole Office, but because of her lengthy commute, she will soon begin a new position as a Legal Administrative assistant with D.C. Law Group.
Sirano-Rodriguez started cheering when she was in middle school. Since she saw her friend do it, she wanted to try all-star cheer. She fell in love with it and cheered through high school. “I did not begin cheerleading until 8th grade. I had a friend who did Shockwave All-star and I decided to give it a shot. I fell in love with it, especially with stunting. The rush you get when you hit a difficult stunt is amazing and it was just my favorite part. I continued to cheer with Shockwave through my senior year. I went to Damascus and I participated on their JV cheer team my sophomore year of high school,” Sirano-Rodriguez said.
When Sirano-Rodriguez was younger she participated in a kidsco cheer team. Kidsco is an after-school program that she was a part of because her parents or sisters could not watch her after school. “Nothing crazy was done, we kind of just danced around, waved poms and I flew in a thigh stand for fun,” Sirano-Rodriguez said.
Coaching cheer takes a lot of work, especially when coaches don’t have a lot of preparation time for events and practices. “I haven’t known her for long but from the first time I met her, I knew she wanted to make an impact on our team and make it the best it can be. She has organized a lot of bake sales and fundraisers that have helped us closer as a team. She is very organized and a great coach,” sophomore Malina Karnani said.
Fans at sporting events may not understand the skills that cheer requires. “I love cheer because everybody doubts us and I love to prove people wrong. The majority of people only ever see us on the sidelines shaking our pom poms and flipping around on the track but they don’t see what we do. I dare them to meet us on the mat and try to put up the stunts and throw the baskets that we do,” Sirano-Rodriguez said.
With cheer competitions coming up, it can be stressful to get everything done. Coach Sirano-Rodriguez has to get the routine ready to compete. “Coach Samaris is doing a great job at leading our team and getting us ready for the competition season. She has been very patient and working hard to give us a great season,” sophomore Winnie Kelly said.
Sirano-Rodriguez wanted to take a try at coaching school cheer and found that this school would be her best fit. “I saw the promise this group of girls had and I wanted the opportunity to work with them and I am so glad [Athletic Director Al Lightsey gave me the opportunity to do so,” Sirano-Rodriguez said.
