You know you’re daddy’s little girl when he’s willing to participate in a cheerleading competition in order to show his support.
For the girls who make up the Linden-Boro Chargers Cheerleading program, this is their reality. A group of dads willing to go several extra miles to prove to their daughters they are behind them all the way.
The girls were competing in a cheerleading competition, and it was their coach who asked the dads to cheer.
How did they respond? According to NBC, dad Amit Darji said,
“You can’t say ‘no’ because it’s for the kids. You want to empower the girls.”
The group, made up of truck drivers, police officers, mechanics, firefighters, military personnel, and more, are now the Daddy Bolts. And they can bust a move.
Dad Eric Easter shared,
“We have one thing in common. We all have daughters who are very competitive with their cheer. So we just are doing everything we can to show them that we want to be involved in their lives.”
Easter also shared the following with Fox29,
“A lot of us have sons, play baseball, we’re coaches, police officers, military, and now we’ve found something that we can do to bond with our daughters.”
A Lot of Hard Work
Coach Rachel Amato didn’t know what to expect.
“When we had our first practice a few weeks ago, we didn’t know what to expect. None of these guys have cheered before or have any prior experience.”
“They all were just doing this for their daughters,” she added. “After the first practice, they all said they have a new respect for cheerleaders because this stuff isn’t easy.”
The first practice was more than 6 weeks ago. They practiced each week for ninety minutes. And each of them was amazed at the amount of work it took for their daughters—aged 3 to 18 years old—to learn and master the routines.
“I definitely have a new profound respect for my daughters with practicing and going out onto the mat and doing this,” said cheer dad Jason Shafer. “[The girls] are doing incredible things out here.”
And the dads weren’t going for half measures here. They learned difficult moves like basket tosses, tumbling, lifts, pyramids and a variety of stunts.
The Daddy Bolts are a Hit
In line with going the distance and not being satisfied with half measures, the dads decided they were going to perform in front of a crowd. They did their routine in front of the crowd where daughters’ competition was taking place—the Timber Creek Regional High School in Sicklerville.
According to Easter, they weren’t sure they could pull it off, but all the practicing paid off.
Dad Danny Boguszewski told NBC,
“That was kind of the fun of it. We thought we were going to make a fool of ourselves, and then we realized, we’re getting all right at this.”
The crowd loved their routine, but they hadn’t done this for the crowd, they had done it for their girls. And their girls were proud as they watched their fathers nail their routine.
Boguszewski’s daughter, Kailyn, said,
“I said he’s my hero because what he did was insane.”
Her dad’s reply?
“That’s what it’s about — putting a smile on their face, having them be proud of us, being a girl dad and embracing it and enjoying it.”
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