Buffalo Pro Cheer Photos of The Week

While we wait for September to begin so we can start on the new Jill of The Week series, we'll take a look at some of the pics from earlier this year, from the 2009-2010 Buffalo Jills and the 2009 Buffalo Bandettes.

From the Jills, we show off a photo from the 1st round of cuts held at the Town Ballroom. Pictured here are Kaitlin and Gabrielle. Kaitlin comes back to the Jills after a year off (she was actually the only 2007 rookie to finish that season without choosing to come back in 2008). She was an Ambassador her rookie year and will be dancing on the sidelines in 2009. Gabrielle is a friend of hers who came with her to try out this year and also made the squad. Back in June, some of the Jills were involved with an appearance at Merritt Estate Winery and Gabby was in the dunking booth...the weather was only in the 60s so she had goosebumps on her goosebumps when she got out...but she kept smiling throughout the experience. Major props to her on that!

From the Bandettes, we have a photo from the Round 1 playoff win against Boston. After all the home Bandits games, Pearl Street Grill and Brewery hosts a postgame party and in addition to most of the players being there, a lot of the Bandettes are there as well. Shown smiling for a photo we see Justina, Erin J, and Amanda. Justina was in her 2nd year on the squad and spent it as a captain after showing some strong leadership in her rookie season. Erin is a former Pro Bowler with the Buffalo Jills who took charge of the Bandettes a few years ago and while she expects a lot of her squad, she can also be "one of the girls" after a long gameday. Amanda was in her 2nd year with the Bandettes and is studying for her Master's degree in physical education and health and may go for another Master's degree in Athletic Administration. She's also a recent NLL Girl of The Week. http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=4019

Bandette of The Week Erin J

This week, despite any objections she may have...lol, we take a look at the head coach of the NLL's premier dance squad, the Bandettes. I'm talking of course about Erin J, who's been coaching them for the past few years since leaving the sidelines of Ralph Wilson Stadium herself. That's right, she's very recently removed from the cheering herself, having been a Buffalo Jill from 1998-2002. After the 2001 season, she even earned a trip to the Pro Bowl and to this day still keeps in touch with many of the women she cheered with in Hawaii. Besides the sidelines, she also represented Buffalo in one other way. If you can actually believe she was old enough (and I still don't...I think she lies about her age...only saying she's older than she actually is), she was unable to cheer during the Bills' Super Bowl years...because she was serving in Desert Storm as a member of the US Army. Check the files section of the webgroup (registration required) for a set of pictures and bios of Erin from the past several years. Included in that is a copy of the letter she wrote back to Buffalo from when she was in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.