A fine mix of seasoned varsity veterans and promising newcomers has veteran Londonderry High School spirit coach Becki Barden pleased with her athletes and what they can accomplish during the 2015-16 athletic year.
Barden’s bunch boasts a slew of skilled veterans who won’t blink under the pressure of competition; that group includes Corinne Dubois, Meghan Evangelista, Caroline Kelly, Erin Kelly, Victoria Kelly, Kaylie Longua, Hannah Martin, Kelly McEachern, Taylor Mellinger, Alyson Morris, Allison Rose, Cassandra Stuart, and Julia Thorpe.
The newcomers include Katherine Host and freshman Kathryn Hughes, and the varsity alternates include veterans Jordan Deschamps and Alyssa Schmitt and newcomer Taylor Goodnow.
When asked what her Lady Lancers’ keys to a successful season will be, Barden said, “Keeping conditioned and focused on improving.”
Speaking of the new faces in her fold, the LHS leader said, “All of our newcomers are promising and help our team as a whole, or they would not be on varsity. We also have a lot of new faces on our junior varsity team and hope to see some of them improve and move on to varsity soon.”
Barden, who is a Pinkerton Academy graduate and a cheerleading and coaching product of that successful program, knows all too well that the PA Lady Astros and one seacoast contingent have been the Division I powerhouses in competition for some years now. But she spreads credit around when asked about the top teams in the state.
“Just about everyone is truly capable of being a top competitor, but I would say Pinkerton and Dover have consistently been on top,” she said.