Cheerleaders ranging in age from 9 to 13 years old joined forces — and what a force it was. This Newtown Nighthawks D-13 Level 3 squad finished second in its division at the Youth Cheer and Dance Alliance Globals in Atlantic City, N.J., a two-day competition that showcased more than 100 teams from all over the country during the last weekend of February.

Three teams were merged to form this 27-girl lineup, with most participants age 11 and younger. The competition had teams in each age division ranging from 8 to 16; this particular competition classified which division each team was in based on the oldest member of its lineup. During our regular season, there is not a wide age gap; each team is just two school years in age with no exceptions.

“The reason we decided to combine our girls is just simply to offer a new chance to compete in a new cheer competition that is a bit more high intensity than our regular competitions throughout the year. Forming a new team also allowed people to end their season in December and only those who wanted something extra to continue. Having the wide age range is more challenging, and was not necessary — but we thought it would be fun. Plus, if we formed more than one team, we would need more volunteer coaches to continue. It definitely offered a valuable lesson to the girls to all work together as one big team,” Assistant Coach Shannon Bowen said.

Cheerleading routines are complex what with all the stunts — some way up in the air — back flips, back tucks, tumbles and all. Add the element of having a 9-year-old performing alongside a 13-year-old with more experience and it made for a truly unique scenario. Then, of course, there is getting a large group of athletes to work together on a routine in less than two months.

“It was definitely an interesting challenge to come up with a brand new routine for all 27 girls to learn new skills and perfect in seven short weeks — not to mention weather issues cancelling the little amount of practice time we had. Head Coach Amber Deamico worked many hours putting together an amazing routine and selecting music that was able to showcase the skills of these young athletes,” Bowen said. “The beauty of a team like this is that they don’t all need to be on the same level, and we can showcase individual skills, but each girl was able to walk away learning more than they had started.

“Each coach spent hours communicating with each other to see what needed to change, what worked best, what still needs work, as well as spending hours working with each girl to push their skills to the next level safely. Every girl pushed themselves each practice to be stronger and better than the last one and that the end result is something they were proud of and they knew that their teammates would also be proud of. We are in awe of the strength and determination that each of these young athletes has shown, through injuries, late practice times, and long hours,” Bowen added.

In addition to getting on the same page in a short time, these cheerleaders had to contend with talented opponents, many of which had older lineups overall.

“Our girls had fierce competition and held their own against teams that worked all year together or had a higher average age range. They ended up placing second in their division missing first place with only a small margin. To say we are proud just doesn’t seem like enough. They are such amazing individuals and even stronger teammates,” Bowen said.

The coaches are all volunteers. In addition to Deamico and Bowen, Assistant Coaches Lea Guglielmo and Natalie Decatur, along with Junior Coach Mya Kraowski helped guide this group of cheerleaders.

Members of the squad are Avery Bowen, Ellie Pickard, Olivia Rozinka, Samantha Celli, Cassidy Shpak, Kaitlin Moore, Haliey Connell, Giavonna Dentice, Roselyn Castaldi, Aviva Fung, Grace Perez, Reagan Kelley, Emily Sachs, Abby Guagliano, Charlotte Oltran, Kaelyn Luby, Ava Keil, Lily Willinger, Reece Roland, Shanya Clark, Juliana Ruggiero, Elle Musan, Olivia Decatur, Summer Wilson, Alison Cocchiola, Reinna Bianco, and Bella Malitsky.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.