Daily Journal Athletes of the Week: Jefferson cheerleaders

Lattimore’s cheer squad certainly impressed at the Bud Bresnahan Blue and Gold Classic boys’ basketball tournament at Jefferson. For a venue that wasn’t piping in any in-game music, the 28 girls on the varsity squad had Jefferson’s old-school, coliseum-style gymnasium rocking.

“That’s our goal, to make a lot of noise,” Lattimore said. “That’s one thing I tell my girls is to be vocal and be loud, because that’s why everybody’s there. Not just for the team but for you guys.”

All that noise has earned the Jefferson varsity cheerleaders Daily Journal Athletes of the Week honors. That’s right, all 28 of them: Aiza Truong, Luna Isela, Alexaleigh Martin, Haydee Villanueva, Chelsea Arana, Avril Lazar, Mia Batres, Alexis Requillo, Marinelle San Juan, Mika Turla, Zarayah Martinez, Tiffany Wong, Zitong He, Leila Ramoran, Taneesha Reddy, Jeyna Mocling, Kaitlyn Ferrer, Dayanara Padilla, Xyra Caspe, Chloe Requillo, Rhian Matic, Kayla Lum, Alyana Velasco, Paige Gee, Fernanda Moreina, Sanai Love, De’Mya Hewlett, Janelle Magat.

“It was very loud,” said Truong, a fourth-year Jefferson cheerleader and one of the squad’s three captains. “I would like to say this is my favorite basketball season out of all my years. I’d say the connection is just stronger.”

Jefferson really has its act together. While the boys’ basketball team made a run into the finals of the eight-team tournament, the cheer squad treated it like a major league event. From firing up the crowd with their new opening cheer “Who Want The Smoke,” to lining up to create the pregame tunnel of arms through which the players to enter the court, the cheerleaders set the tone.

“The parents were kind of blown away by the tunnel we did because that’s something we really never do,” Lattimore said.

The in-game cheers are the highlight, though. Rhythmic and musical, Jefferson has approximately 50 different cheers, a deep enough repertoire allowing them not to have to use the same one twice in one game. When they’re performing, Lattimore gives her cheerleaders free rein. Truong, a senior, and the other two captains, Isela, a senior, and Alexis Requillo, a junior, verbally cue specific cheers based on the game action.

“I explain to the girls that we’re the face of the school,” Lattimore said. “Everybody sees us. ... We’re the rally crew that keeps everyone pumped for all our school.”

The synchronized hand clapping and feet stomping take their rally cadences to another level, bringing all the charm of NBA-style rally music to the floor.

Jefferson’s cheer squad certainly abides by strength in numbers. There are 54 cheerleaders in the entire program, including 26 on the junior-varsity squad. When the full complement of 28 varsity cheerleaders is in the house, they form an “L” shape around the baseline and sideline. For the Jefferson gymnasium, notorious for not having much room beyond the playing area, the girls know to be on their guard being so close to the action.

“That’s part of cheer,” Lattimore said. “You’re going to have a ball flying towards you. But I coached basketball ... so they’re pretty good about not getting hit.”

And the Jefferson cheerleaders aren’t opposed to pushing back. Generally, this translates as positive, encouraging cheers, especially when everything is going well. This was the case as the boys’ basketball team won its first two games of the tournament, 67-33 over Marshall-SF in last Wednesday’s opener, and 61-51 over Galileo-SF in Friday’s semifinal round.

However, it was when things weren’t going Jefferson’s way at all in the tournament finals that the cheer squad showed not just their loyalty, but their moxie as well.

There wasn’t a lot to cheer about for a Grizzlies fan, as sharpshooting Los Gatos stormed to a big, early lead en route to a 54-33 victory. But the cheerleaders, never needing much of an excuse to make noise, seized on a Los Gatos airball midway through the fourth quarter. The response from the sideline was a sardonic one, as all the cheerleaders broke out in catty applause. It turns out, the girls are armed with several cheers for just such a moment.

“I enjoy when the other team travels because we have a cheer called ‘He Walked,’” Truong said, singing the cadence: “‘He walked! He walked! He traveled down the court!’

“That usually makes the crowd laugh,” she said.

It is also making Lattimore proud. In less than four months on the job, the coach is seeing her longtime vision to fruition with her first high school post. Growing up in the East Bay, she moved to the area and coached with the SFPAL Seahawks. She ran her first cheer program with the San Francisco Warriors, but that lasted just one season.

“It was pretty successful,” Lattimore said. “We had really big things going for us. Then COVID hit and we never came back.”

That’s when Lattimore made the switch to the DC Stars, the Daly City-based Bay Area Youth Football & Cheer organization owned and operated by Jefferson head football coach Imani Stewart.

“And we’ve been with him ever since,” said Lattimore, whose son Elijah plays football at Jefferson.

The Jefferson cheerleaders aren’t participating in competitive cheer this season, but Lattimore said it is on the itinerary for 2024-25. In the meantime, the team is fully booked, Lattimore said. In addition to an upcoming event for the city of Daly City, the squad is scheduled to perform at halftime for a Santa Clara University men’s basketball game Thursday, Jan. 23, against Washington State.

The cheer team is embracing the active schedule. The girls like to stay busy, even during games, when they don’t take any time off; unlike many cheer squads, they employ a work ethic of being on the sidelines performing for all four quarters of play at football and basketball games alike.

And they’re loving every minute of it.

“It’s just really different with Coach D,” Truong said. “She takes the time to speak with all of us individually. She’s taken the time to create a bond. ... She treats us like her children. Talking to her is just like talking to my mom.”