The FHS cheer team faces an unexpected challenge this spring after their longtime coach, Dan Callanta, stepped down from his position. The change has postponed tryouts, delayed the end-of-the-year banquet and left the team leaning on each other, especially their captains, for leadership.
“I was really upset, and I didn’t really know how to feel,” FHS sophomore Mia Katz, the captain of the JV team, said. “He was super kind and nice and was always there for all of us. He was more of an emotional support person than a coach.”
Callanta has worked closely with the team for two seasons. While the exact reason for his resignation has not been disclosed, it left a significant gap in the team’s leadership. Without a coach, the team’s captains have taken on key responsibilities to keep the program running.
“As of now, our head captains, Sari Mai and Jillian Visperas, are leading our team,” returning FHS sophomore cheerleader Tamar Shelly said. “Things are just being managed by the captains.”
The team’s leadership has helped maintain some order, but many challenges still remain. They have been staying in touch with each other in person and on social media to try to keep things in order and stay positive. They hope this will keep up the team spirit. Tryouts for the 2025-26 cheer team, which were initially scheduled for early April, have been postponed indefinitely. In addition, the team’s end-of-year banquet has been delayed.
“We’re supposed to have a banquet, and it’s being delayed by a lot,” Shelly said. “Tryouts haven’t been able to happen because of it.”
Despite the uncertainty in the air, cheerleaders still have hope about the team’s future. Many have expressed appreciation for what their former coach brought to the team, while also looking ahead to what a new coach might bring.
“I hope that our next coach can be very hands-on and actually do things for us,” sophomore JV cheerleader Neyla Montanez said. As the end of the year approaches, the team is very confused but excited for the new season to start next fall. Ava Malashock, a sophomore and one of the team’s co-captains, hopes good news will come soon. “I’m hoping we’ll soon get a new coach,” Malashock said. “I’m estimating that tryouts would take place sometime around the very end of this year, maybe late May, which is coming up soon.”
Many events were scheduled for the end of the year, but were delayed due to this obstacle. Many volunteers stepped up to take over and help end the year with spirit.
“For now, we’ve had quite a few parent volunteers come forward, and then just previous captains and some of the captain candidates from this year organizing our end-of-season banquet and getting things ready for the seniors that are graduating,” Malashock said.
At this point, no official timeline has been shared for the banquet and tryouts. For now, the team focuses on staying connected and supporting each other through the transition.
“We’re still trying to stay positive,” Katz said. “We just want what’s best for the team.”
