The College of Staten Island Department of Athletics and Recreation has named Kristie L. Perrotta as its new Head Cheerleading Coach. With almost two decades of cheer experience Perrotta brings a wealth of knowledge to the CSI sidelines this season, replacing former coach Camello Vanloo, who stepped down at the end of the 2017 campaign.
“I’m excited,” said Perrotta. “Knowing how much cheer talent there is on Staten Island and right here on this campus and being able to build a program around that talent while supporting the broader athletics program is something I am really looking forward to doing.”
No stranger to successful cheerleading, Perrotta served as the Head Coach at the St. John Villa Academy for 18 years beginning in 1998. There, she transformed the largely recreational program to a nationally-competitive powerhouse, creating diverse routines based on team ability and skill levels. Her guidance took the program to UCA’s National High School Cheerleading Championship for ten straight years and the Bears’ program was ranked in the nation’s Top 10 twice.
Perrotta also adopts a plethora of community service with her athletes, as Villa student-athletes often participated in Staten Island based events such as the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run, the Light the Night Walk, Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, and the Joseph Grzelak Memorial Bowl-a-Thon. Lending face to the broader picture is just one of the things she hopes to bring to the Dolphins’ spirit program.
“We will start small as we are just developing our program, but school spirit will be very important and that’s how we will begin to develop our student-athletes,” explained the new coach. Somewhere down the line we’d like to build our program to a point where we can focus on being competitive and raising our profile.”
A Regional Cheer Representative since 2015 with the Catholic High School Athletic Association, Perrotta knows the right mix student-athletes need in order to be successful. She believes that hard work and the ability to be coached are essential to gain a proper and fulfilling experience on the mat.
“Our first priority is finding student-athletes who aren’t afraid of hard work,” said Perrotta. “If you can work hard and if we as coaches can build trust and build talent than everything is possible and cheerleading can be a very rewarding experience. We are bringing in college experienced coaches who can really offer a broad perspective when it comes to collegiate cheer and we’re very anxious to get started.”
Perrotta will begin her role immediately at the College in a part-time capacity. Cheerleading is currently housed in the school’s Intramurals program. Any interested parties in joining the squad can call (718) 982-3160 or e-mail kristie.perrotta@csi.cuny.edu.
