The College of Staten Island is still ringing in the successes of its 2014 Cheerleading season, as team captain Ashley Isaacs has been named an instructor for the National Cheerleading Association. The CSI junior accepted the coveted position, which will now allow her to spend her summers teaching thousands of high school and college students beginning in 2014. NCA instructors are considered among the best cheerleaders in the nation, and Isaacs is the second selection from the College of Staten Island. Former Dolphin and team founder Camello Vanloo is also an NCA instructor, entering his third year this summer.
“I am super-excited,” said Isaacs. “I’ve attended NCA camps in the past and the amount I was able to learn was tremendous. It’s going to be a great experience for me and I am honored to be a part of the team with the NCA.”
Nationally-recognized, becoming an NCA instructor is no easy task. Isaacs submitted an application, which included a video highlight reel nearly half of a year ago and has been anticipating a call since. Becoming an NCA instructor also carries with it the potential promise for advanced cheerleading competition beyond college, and possible event judging in the future. NCA Headquarters are located in Texas, where her video was screened and judged
“Ashley is our team captain, a great talent, and I am extremely proud of her recent accomplishment,” commented CSI Head Coach Justine Elyse Green. “We are thrilled that Ashley is going to follow in the footsteps of some great instructors with the National Cheerleading Association, which is comprised of the nation’s very best cheerleaders.”
Isaacs, a graduate of Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn, is eager to begin her new career with the NCA, and acknowledges that she is just as excited on the level of learning as well as the teaching.
“There is no question that being a part of this staff will better my own skills, expanding my knowledge even more,” she said. “I’ve learned so much from them and now I can’t wait to be on the other side.”
Isaacs is still enjoying a tremendous career at CSI, where she has helped fortify the coeducation cheer program, which was reintroduced at the College in 2009. The team took home its first CUNYAC title since 2003 in 2012, and has since posted second-place finishes in each of the past two years. Isaacs has been an instrumental component, and there is little doubt that this most recent achievement will help strengthen the program.
“Right now, we have a small yet strong program,” said Green. “Each year, we want the program to grow and Ashley’s accomplishments are a good example of that growth. There is so much talent at CSI that we will continue to support and nurture.”
For Isaacs, the NCA nod is another feather in the cap for the junior. Last year, Isaacs joined teammate Giana Abbruzzese as an Inside Cheerleading All-American.
