This week, we're taking a look at the 2016 Bandettes squad as a whole. It's not something we normally do but this year's squad has really called for it and let me explain why. Being a cheerleading/dance team coach, especially in the pros, is an incredibly taxing job. It's not as simple as scheduling practices and telling people what to do. There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes like taking appearance requests, coordinating those with the ladies on the squad, coordinating performances and gameday duties with the parent organization, choosing performances, uniforms, and so much more. This season, Erin has stepped back to a part-time advisory role and Mandy and Stephanie have become full-time coaches as well as helping MaKenzie and Janelle in their roles as the actual captains. Making things more difficult was the fact that only 6 of last season's Bandettes returned, with 1 returning alum and a total of 8 brand-new rookies.
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| The Bandettes in late March |
The 2016 squad has been exceptional in my opinion because of how they pulled together. Stephanie and Mandy jumped into the roles of coaches at tryout time while continuing to perform alongside their squad, Between them, MaKenzie, and Janelle, the two gameday captains, and Jennifer, the appearance captain, they have provided strong leadership and the entire squad has shown the dedication and desire to put together an outstanding product. The Bandettes have long been known for being a close-knit team that is generally resistant to the cliquishness that can pop up on larger squads. They took that a step further this season, I believe. When rookie Sarah found out she was going to be leaving for her dream job out of town, her squadmates made her final month as a Bandette as special as possible. Stephanie even told her they could FaceTime with her during practice after she left if she wanted to see what they were doing or even learn a routine. The way the captains and coaches have kept things going and the whole squad pulled together all season long is something that I know Erin is as proud of as I am impressed by.
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| Bandettes coaches and gameday captains Mandy, MaKenzie, Janelle, and Stephanie |
They had one extra thing to overcome as, for some unknown reason, the Bandits organization didn't update their website in regards to the Bandettes. The girls all submitted bios and the photos were available but the link to the Bandettes page instead went to their Facebook page instead. It could very well have derailed our Bandette of The Week series this season but we had some help making sure it could go on. In addition to her duties as coach and everything she has going on in her private life, Mandy asked questions of her squad to help us put together a great series this year. I know this season's series has been pretty popular and I wish I could take all the credit for that but a lot of the credit should go to the squad for letting us know who they are in a way a generic bio just can't do.
From the Jills comes a photo from the 2012 Buffalo Bills season ticket holder draft party. Some of the players were greeting fans in the locker room and before taking off for the evening, Arthur Moats brought his daughter Kaylor by to meet the Jills. Shown posing with Kaylor are Christina, Lisa, Omarlla, Courteney, Loren, and Emily.
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| Christina, Lisa, Omarlla, Courteney, Loren, and Emily with Kaylor Moats |
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