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Brookfield Cheerleaders Raise Spirits at 'O' Magazine Anniversary Celebration

Brookfielders Join Danbury's Take One Cheerleading Academy at Mother's Day Charity Walk in NYC

This past Mother's Day weekend in New York City, Oprah Winfrey played host to her "Live Your Best Life Walk," a charity walk designed to raise money for 10 participating organizations.  The event attracted almost 30,000 people.

In the middle of the action were Brookfield teens whose high-flying acrobatics spurred on the entrants as they walked the two-mile course.

Take One Cheerleading Academy, located in Danbury, has been educating, instructing and inspiring young athletes in the performance of cheer for the past five years.  Amy Pendergast, the owner and coach, has been teaching students for over 17 years and is currently the head cheer coach at New Fairfield High School.  When an opportunity to showcase her team's abilities arose, it was too good to pass up.

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"One of our mothers was approached by an Oprah representative and asked if we would be interested in having our teams exclusively cheer on the parade route," said Pendergast. "So we had one group at the start of the race and one at the finish."

Take One always looks for opportunities to give back to their community. "The kids know there is a lot more to care about than just cheerleading."  The charitable aspect of the walk was certainly appealing, but you don't say no to Oprah.

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"Oh it was huge," Pendergast said of the invitation. "We have 135 girls in the gym and pretty much all of them wanted to be there, but we could only take 20." Five of those taken were Brookfield residents.

Megan and Paige Crane are sisters attending Whisconier Middle School (WMS) and have been cheering with Take One for four years.  Marissa and Lizzy Snyder, also sisters at Whisconier, have been cheering for five years and their older brother Alex, a sophomore at Brookfield High School (BHS), has been with the Academy for two.

Normally organized into six separate levels, both by age and ability, the group that traveled to the city contained a cross section of talent, with Paige Crane being the most junior.  Despite unfavorable windy conditions, the cheerleaders put their best face forward and inspired the walkers with acrobatic routines and energizing cheers. "It was cool," said Crane, "because they were taking pictures of us and they loved our outfits."

The "outfits" were provided by Calvin Klein, who seized this opportunity to showcase an upcoming line of performance wear by giving 10 complete sets of apparel to the squad. "It was a really cool experience," said older sister Megan Crane, "because everyone was looking at as and asking us what kind of clothes we were wearing."  Several attendees approached members of the squad and inquired about their dapper outfits and the girls were just excited to respond: "Oh, its Calvin Klein."

The five friends have been with Pendergast and Take One since the beginning. "They started doing cartwheels and now are doing tucks and layouts," said Pendergast. "They are all very dedicated, not only to their athleticism, but to the gym as well."

Although any member of the team will imply that each is as important as the other, Paige Crane stood out on Sunday as the lone member who was called upon to exceed her previous potential.  As a member of Fame squad (ages 9 through 12), Paige was thrust into a new role with more advanced athletes and delivered a strong performance. "It was fun because normally I'm on the floor and this time I was up in the air and it was really cool," an excited Paige said of the experience.

"Paige did really well with her stunting at the event," said Pendergast. "On the team that she's on [Fame], she does not fly, but she was flying at the event, which was huge."

The Walk was one in a line of many high profile accomplishments for Take One.  This past April, all six teams medaled at "Jamfest," a national cheering competition held in Springfield, MA. Four groups walked away as national champions and the other two left with podium finishes.

"We compete about 10 times a year in tournaments from Washington D.C. to Rhode Island," said Pendergast on the notoriety of the program. "We have won national awards and are a frequent competitor in major tournaments."

For interested readers, you can check out Take One and their Cheerleaders this Memorial day at the Memorial Day Parade in Danbury.  Check out their website at www.takeonecheer.com and stay alert for an upcoming open house.

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