After their competitive cheerleading season was cut short due to the ongoing pandemic, many of the Navarro College cheerleaders found themselves at a loss over where they would go next. Because of the team was unable to compete in the National Cheerleading Championship in Daytona this year, coach Monica Aldama revealed to HollywoodLife that her athletes remain eligible for another season at Navarro College.
“They don’t use their eligibility unless they actually compete, so some did come back that would have probably not, like Gabi Butler,” the DWTS contestant explained in an EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife, while discussing her new partnership with Robitussin. “The way cheer works is a little bit different. You get five years of eligibility to compete, and three of those can be at the junior college level. So, Gabby had competed for two years with us and then decided to come back for her last year of eligibility at the junior college level, but since the season got canceled, she is now coming back another year, because she does have that eligibility left.”
Monica, who built the decorated Navarro College cheer program since joining the school in 2000, explained that when the season was cancelled, the team was looking better than ever while preparing for Daytona. “We spent our entire year preparing for that one competition, and we had done 25 full outs and probably could’ve competed in that moment if we needed to. Obviously, we still had a lot of details we wanted to clean up but we were hitting the routine,” she said. “We still had many weeks left of making memories and a lot of special things we had planned, and just bonding and things to do and obviously compete. It just felt so empty.”
Monica revealed that she took an “entire week to mourn the situation” before she could “put it to bed and move forward.” Now, the fan-favorite coach is showing off her moves on Dancing With The Stars this season! At the same time, she’s keeping healthy and boosting her immune system with Robitussin, as the brand is expanding into the natural space.
“I’m really focused on putting good things into my body and focusing on my health. I’ve used Robitussin for as long as I can remember and I’m really excited that they’re going into all-natural products,” she explained. With the brand, Monica is starring in a series of videos to help her “attitude of gratitude” positive mindset as we continue to battle through 2020. “I’m very big on having a positive mindset because it can really change the way you look at things. Being grateful for the things that you do have and not really focusing on the negative so I’m excited about doing these videos to encourage people,” she said.
Be sure to tune in to Dancing With The Stars and see Monica Aldama hit the dance floor with her partner Val Chmerkovskiy, tonight at 8 PM ET on ABC!