Samantha Cordray found herself ready to perform at the largest annual parade in America. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade involved three and a half hours of dancing, singing, and much more. This year, 31 million viewers tuned in on Thanksgiving Day according to NBC, and if they saw Cordray performing on TV, they were witnessing years of dedication and passion for the sport that brought her all the way to one of the biggest stages in the world.
Cordray is a senior at Revere High School (RHS). She is a Varsity cheerleader for both the football and basketball teams. Cordray’s commitment and effort created those opportunities for her. In addition to cheering for the school, Cordray also cheers with the competitive team, World Elite.
“I did competitive dance for ten years before switching to cheerleading. I’ve been doing competitions with World Elite for four years now, and this is my second year doing competitive cheer for Revere,” Cordray said.
Cordray is a flyer in competitive cheer. This means that she is the one who flies through the air doing flips and other stunts while being held up by her teammates.
“Tumbling has always been the best part of cheerleading for me. I get to do that when the basketball team has a one minute timeout, it’s my favorite. I also love to perform and get the crowd peppy at assemblies,” Cordray said.
Cordray explained that cheering is a huge part of her life. She said that she treasured her teammates and coaches and the support they give her.
“Cheer has impacted me in a positive way. I’ve made most of my lifelong friends and have learned many ways to work with others…. I have practice or games most days of the week. In my free time when I’m not cheering I enjoy weight training at the gym and coed stunt training in Columbus. I also take tumbling practice once a week,” Cordray said.
Coach Kelly Staats has been the RHS Varsity cheer coach for twelve years. She has spent the last four with Cordray and sees the impact she brings to the team. She views Cordray as an integral part of the team from both performance and personal perspectives.
“She always says something funny, and I think it helps bring the team together. She is very dedicated and very much a hard worker. Very skill oriented and has a high expectation for herself…. This is a good group of seniors and they all work very hard. They all hold themselves accountable and I think Samantha had some part in that for sure,” Staats said.
Due to these traits, Cordray earned the opportunity to go to the Macy’s Day Parade this year. According to one of Cordray’s coaches for the parade, Nicolette Economides, in order to participate in the parade Cordray had to either submit a video audition showcasing her skills and talent, or she had to be given a special invitation from a cheer camp or competition. Cordray ended up auditioning for the position, and she made the cut. Economides explained her position in the parade leading to how she met Cordray.
“I’m in charge of getting all athletes to various planned activities during the week like the Statue of Liberty tour, Empire State Building, Broadway Shows, and Radio City Rockettes. I also assist in rehearsals with teaching the choreography to all performers,” she said.
Economides made sure to mention what a privilege it was to have Cordray around and how limited the experience was. She explained how Cordray was one of the first people to show up to rehearsals, and that she made friends with the other performers immediately. Economides also mentioned how impressed she was with Cordray’s professionalism.
“When they officially started working on the routine she came so prepared knowing all of the choreography beforehand and was such a great performer to watch… Being part of the 100th anniversary of the Macy’s Parade is something so unique and special that only a select number of cheerleaders in the world get to say they were a part of,” she said.
Cordray said she was excited because of how big the event is. It could mean a lot for her future as a cheerleader. Cordray and the group traveled to New York City after all of the rehearsals and were given a position for their performance. They put on their outfits and prepared all of their equipment. 3 million people attended the largest parade in the world to see the colorful floats and performances. Cordray earned the opportunity to perform in front of 3 million people, not to mention that the group paraded through New York City in front of the largest ever television audience in Macy’s Parade history. Nicolette mentioned that the group performed flawlessly for over 31 million television viewers and that she could not have been prouder.
Cordray has spent years honing her cheerleading skills. She has been honored with several awards and opportunities for her dedication. Cordray says she is hoping to cheer in college and that she is excited to perform in front of even bigger audiences.
