A Marymount Saint cheers on the Skins

Photo: Redskins-Cheerleader-Kennedys-Game-Day-Photos

When Kennedy Taylor sat down outside of Caruthers Hall to chat about her life as an NFL Cheerleader, it was pretty surreal knowing that one of our own is doing something so special.

Cheerleading for the Washington Redskins is a remarkable accomplishment for those dedicated to the sport. When anyone thinks of professional cheer teams, the first thought is NFL cheerleading. She will never say this, but Taylor has made it. At 19, she is the youngest member of the “First Ladies of Football”. This is her first year on the job, but she hopes to go for more.

Taylor began dancing at the age of 3. Even though her background is primarily in ballroom and ballet dancing, cheerleading is not unfamiliar territory. At 6, Kennedy joined the Junior Redskins Dance Program, which put on halftime performances at Redskins games. The staff that led this program has not changed, and remembers Taylor as a child.

When speaking on the subject, she lightly added, “They changed the age – I was 6 when I did it – now the age is 8 years old because apparently I was too much to handle”.

Throughout the process of making the squad, she first joined the Redskins Training Program, which required her to skip Marymount Dance Team practices once a week.  She then would drive to FedEx Field, the Redskins home stadium, and go through a normal cheerleader practice.

The commitment to NFL cheerleading is nothing to mess with. The Redskins Cheerleaders have two practices a week, both running between 5 and 6 hours long. If need be, they will have additional practice. On game day, the cheerleaders show up 5 hours early to run through a full game performance, and then do promotional events throughout the stadium. At kickoff, they run through their game-long performance.

Taylor  genuinely loves performing in a game atmosphere. As a DC native, she is a true Redskins fan herself. When speaking on the recent Washington-Dallas game, she made it clear: “I’ve never had so much fun as I had at the Dallas game. It was just a lot of passion; I saw so many Redskins fans, I saw so many Dallas fans, I wanted us to win so bad. You just get so into it.”

But when it’s all said and done, school is her number one concern. “School is definitely my priority. Especially because right now I’m trying to get into a law program.”

Specifically, Taylor has her sites set on an accelerated program at Catholic University of America so she can receive her J.D. and B.A. in Economics in five years. Her diverse interests are not unique on the cheer team. There are moms, doctors, teachers and psychologists on the cheerleading squad. Taylor adds to the lineup of diversely educated women cheering on the Redskins.

Kennedy Taylor is a Redskin to many, but to Marymount she’ll always be a Saint!