Connecticut's Cheerleading Training Center "meet the coaches"

Meet our Coaches

Cheryl Thomes: (Senior Elite and Senior Silver)

Cheryl is the Founder and director of the USA Wildcat All Star Cheerleaders, established in May of 1997. She is also the Owner of the USA Wildcats LLC and The Cheerleading Training Center. Cheryl has been very successful at coaching at all levels from Pop Warner through College. She is presently coaching the USA Wildcat Senior Elite and Open Teams. Her Junior High, High School, All Star and College teams that she has coached are all nationally ranked and holds 14 national titles combined. Cheryl is AACCA Safety Certified. She was named 1994 Coach of the Year for the Olympian Club of Waterbury. Cheryl was also named who's who among High School Coaches in American Cheerleader Magazine. She is the Head Coach of the 2002, 2005 and 2006 National Champion USA Wildcat Senior Elite All Stars and the 2003 National Champion USA Wildcat Junior All Stars. . The USA Wildcats hold 23 national titles and 1 National Grand Champion under her direction. Cheryl was the assistant cheerleading coach of the nationally ranked Southern Connecticut State University Cheerleading squad from 1993-2005. She is first aid and CPR safety certified and also holds an aacca certification. Cheryl is also credentialed through the USASF for levels 1-5 in tumbling, stunting and basket tosses. Cheryl does choreography and private coaching for numerous teams across the state and New England.

Leann Raponey: (Senior Red and Senior Silver)

Leann is presently coaching the Senior Red & Junior Elite Team this year. This is her 5th year with the USA Wildcats, and the teams she has coached , have won 10 National Titles. She also was the cheer coordinator for Bristol Pop Warner for many years and a former junior high and pop warner cheerleading coach for 12 years. The pop warner teams she has coached have Advanced to the New England Regionals every year in their respective divisions and her junior high team has won a New England Championship. Leann is AACCA safety certified and has her NCA judges certification. She is also USASF credentialed.

Gretchen Colagrossi: (Senior Red, Juniors and Open)

Gretchen is presently coaching the USA Wildcat Senior Red Team, Senior Blue and Open Teams. She is the former cheer coordinator for Waterbury Patriots Pop Warner and has also coached at Pop Warner and Junior High levels for 6 years. Her teams have advanced to regionals every year and have placed in the top eight in the respective division. In her three years of coaching for the USA Wildcats, her all star teams have won 10 National Titles in the respective divisions. Gretchen is AACCA safety certified and has her NCA Judges certification. She also has 26 years of dance experience, and has attended many dance workshops all over the New England and the Tri-State Area. Grethen is also USASF credentialed.

up in September of 2005.

We finally learned

What life is all about...

The secret of success

Comes hard....no doubt!

We trained, we sweated

We ached, we cried...

And found out we got better

Each time we tried!

We were pushed, yelled at,

And preached at, too....

But the more this happened,

the more that we grew!

"You can be anything

you want to be!"

This voice kept shouting out at me.

Yet who can we blame for such a daring approach?

That Special Friend I call MY COACH!

Alyssa Thomes: (Senior Elite and Senior Silver)

Alyssa is an assistant coach for the USA Wildcat Junior Team which captured 3 national title in the 2005-06 season. She has been a cheerleader since she was 8 years old. Alyssa has done choreography for our Wildcat teams and also some local Pop Warner, Junior High and High School teams in Connecticut. She cheered for the Wildcats from 1999-2007. She is a 9 time national champion (Juniors- 2003 Americheer and 2004 WCA , Senior Prep in 2005 American Open and 2005 Jam Fest, Senior Elite in 2005 American Open, Senior Red- Jam Fest Super Nationals 2006, Athletic Championships 2006, American Open 2006 and Jam Fest Mega Jam 2006). Alyssa is looking forward to another successful season coaching her Junior Team this upcoming year. She is also aacca safety certified.

Jennifer Fontano: (Minis and Tinys)

Jamie Raponey (Youth, Juniors and Senior Red)

Jamie is presently coaching the senior red team. Jamie has been involved with cheerleading for 11 years. She cheered for Bristol Pop Warner, St. Anthony School, Bristol Central High School & USA Wildcats. She coached for Bristol Pop Warner for 3 years, and all of her teams advanced to regionals. She helped coach the Senior Prep Red team to 2 national titles last season and is a 2 time national champion herself (Senior elite, 2002 All Star challenge; Open, 2005 American Open). She is a member of the USA Wildcat open team and also is safety certified.

This is Jen's 2nd year with the Wildcats. This season she will be coaching our Mini and Tiny teams. Last year our Mini team has accomplished numerous first place wins. She has over 20 years of cheerleading and dance experience. She coached Kennedy high school of Waterbury from 1991-1998. In 1991 theY were runner-up in the Class L State Competition under her direction. Jen is first aid and CPR safety certified.

Brittney Colagrossi: (Youth and Minis)

Brittney has been a member of the USA Wildcats since 2003. In her first year cheering for the Wildcats they captured one national title at WCA in Nashville TN. Her 2nd year she cheered on our Senior Prep team where they captured 2 national titles at the American Open and Jamfest. This past year in the 2005-06 season her team won 4 national titles in Indianapolis IN, Athletic Championships, American Open and Jamfest. Brittney is a student at Sacred Heart HS where she is involved in the Allied Health program and plans to attend college next year to be physical therapist.

Nicole Pernal: (Open Hip Hop)

Nicole Pernal- Nicole has been cheerleading since she was 8 years old. She started off as a Waterbury Patriot Cheerleader and went on to cheer for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Holy Cross High School, and finally the USA Wildcats. While on Holy Cross Varsity she was a four time state champion and as a senior was captain of the team. This is Nicole's 3rd year cheering on the Wildcat Open Team, where she is a 2 time national champion. She began dancing at the age of two at the Connecticut Academy of Performing Arts. Nicole has 16 years of tap and jazz training, and 10 years of ballet and hip-hop. Nicole has done choreography for many Pop Warner, Junior High and High School teams. She is currently an English major at the University of Connecticut, and plans to attend the University of Bridgeport to attain my masters in elementary education and a teaching certification.

Rob Boyles- Tumbling Coach

Victoria Goldgerg- Tumbling Coach

Tumbling Coach-Victoria Goldberg-Victoria has been involved with gymnastics since she was 3 years old. She started competing at the age of five. She grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana. Victoria made the gymnastics team for Valparaiso High School as a freshman. She competed in Sections, Regional's, Semi-State and State competitions. Victoria was the captain for her high school gymnastics team during her senior year. She went on to college where she taught cheerleaders to tumble and she, herself, cheered for Northwood University in Michigan. Victoria graduated with a Fashion Merchandising Degree with a concentration on advertising. Shortly after college, Victoria moved to Connecticut where she continued to teach gymnastics to all ages, infants to adults. Victoria takes pride in implementing Claudiu Catalin Varlem's techniques as part of training her students. Claudiu was a World Aerobic Champion and a gymnastic coach in Bucuresti, Romania. From 2003-2006 she owned her own Cheerleading Training Center . Victoria has helped train many National Champions, not only gymnass, but also cheerleaders. Victoria lives in Newtown, Connecticut with her loving husband, Dr. Scott Goldberg, as well has her 15 year old daughter Hanna. Victoria is very happy to be a part of the USA Wildcats staff. The USA Wildcat spirit has rejuvenated her energy. She loves working with the athletics at USA and looks forward to a bright successful future.

Abby Butler- Open and Senior Elite

Amy Butler- Youth

Katie Card- Minis and Tinys

Katie started cheerleading when she was 8 years old. She has cheered for the Waterbury Knights, SS. Peter and Paul School, Holy Cross High School, and this is Katie's 5th year on the USA Wildcats Open team. She has been coaching for 7 years at the Pop Warner and Junior High level. Katie just graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in Early Childhood Education and Development. She plans to attend the University of Bridgeport to achieve her master's degree in Elementary Education.