Zoe Berg, Senior Photographer

The Yale Cheerleading team began in 1912 with a dozen men sporting the “Y” sweater and trousers. It has since transformed into the vital part of Yale Athletics it is today.

Now, heading into their biggest event of the year, The Game, the cheerleaders are prepared to show off their hard work in front of their biggest crowd of the year.

The team consists of 22 cheerleaders, diverse in their majors, hometowns and ages. It is led by Coach Danielle Vitagliano and captained by Daya Butler ’24, Cage Cochran ’24 and Nathania Nartey ’25.

Nartey told the News that Yale Cheerleading extends past sideline entertainment.

“Yale Cheerleading, and the sport of cheer in general, is about so much more than standing on the sidelines in a uniform,” she said. “There’s a high level of athleticism that goes into the sport that people don’t really see at first glance, and if I could have everyone experience cheer through the eyes of an athlete in the sport, I’d do it in a heartbeat. The feeling of sticking a new tumbling pass, or hitting a new stunt is truly unmatched and the sport of cheer itself is so multifaceted that there’s really no other sport like it.”

All three captains entered Yale with previous cheerleading experience.

Cochran tumbled from age 3 and took up cheerleading in the tenth grade, favoring it over his time playing football. 

Nartey always found cheerleading to be a big part of her life. She began when she was 11 years old, cheering through middle school and high school.

Butler began cheerleading when she was 14 years old and Yale Cheer specifically has been her family for the past five years.

The road to an excellent cheerleading squad is not paved by experience, however, but rather hard work. Because Yale Cheer does not recruit cheerleaders, tryouts are open to all students, cheer experience or not. Though it certainly helps to have tumbling experience, it is even more crucial to work tirelessly on improvement.

“Cheerleading is very physically and mentally demanding,” Cochran said. “Members must be willing to put in the time and effort required to learn new skills.” 

Four new first-years grace the Yale Cheer team: Riya Ben ’27, Gabrielle Lord ’27, Makayla Mitchell ’27 and Sumarha Tariq ’27.

Cochran told the News that he has been continually impressed with the new additions, who have only added to the success of the squad.

“I can say that as a team member, I have been blown away by the athleticism and dedication of our new members,” he said. “They came onto our team with so much talent, and have only improved over the past three months. Each one has quickly learned new skills and positions when required, which has been instrumental in our success this season. I’m looking forward to watching them continue to develop their skills and bring the team to new heights in the coming years.”

These new additions, along with three new upperclassmen, are in good company with the 15 members who returned to the squad from the previous season. They bring with them the knowledge necessary to transition smoothly into a new year, plus the critical dedication it takes to improve.

Cochran said it was this dedication that led to the expansion of practices, meaning a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call for the team. He believes this hard work makes Yale Cheer unique. 

“What I believe sets the Yale Cheer team apart from other teams I’ve been on is the work ethic of each of the members,” the captain said. “Every person on the team comes into practice ready to commit 100 percent of their energy to improving. Despite a large portion of our members having zero prior cheerleading experience, I have never seen a team progress so quickly, which I think is a testament to the effort we put in during practice.”

The team practices in preparation for an extensive game schedule, including every home football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball game. Their routines depend on the surface they perform on — turf or hardwood — but practices always include cheering, stunting and tumbling with high energy. They prepare 30 cheers and nine dance routines. In pursuit of the perfect routine, each component of the cheer needs to be executed with precision. This means a strong diaphragm to call out cheers and perfectly-timed stunts and sign choreography, according to Butler.

Though the team hopes to eventually compete against other collegiate cheerleading programs, as of now they compete against themselves to be better during games.

As Nartey puts it, “until then, we’ll just keep beating the team we were yesterday!”

The team is much more than hard-working tumblers, though. Aside from team practice, Butler said, the squad remains a family.

“Outside of practice, the team continues to amaze me with their care for each other, their ability to make me laugh and their talent in their classes and extracurriculars,” she said. “We have singers, artists, scientists, and so much more on our team and I can’t wait to see what their futures hold.”

This week, school spirit will thrive in New Haven,  Bookstore shelves will be wiped clean and “Y” sweaters will abound. 

Most Yalies know, however, that this is not typically the case. It has often been noted by students and professors alike that The Bowl is not full for most of the season; as students prioritize studying for midterm instead of trekking to watch the Yale Football team, seats are left vacant and Boola Boolas are left unsaid.

Nartey hopes the cheerleading team can help change that.

“We need y’all!” Nartey told the News. “Come out to the football and basketball games! Creating a hype game day atmosphere is just as much about the fans as it is about the cheerleaders. Coming out and supporting goes such a long way. Let’s make every football and basketball game like Harvard-Yale! That energy at games on a regular basis would be amazing!”

The Yale Bowl is located approximately 1.5 miles west of Yale’s main campus in downtown New Haven.