With a jam-packed schedule consisting of practices, games, nationals, and academics, the Diamond Gems do it all. Alexa Monteleone, a sophomore at Temple , is just one of many Diamond Gems who has dedicated her life to dance. Monteleone and the rest of the Diamond Gems help keep the crowd energized during Temple’s Divison I sporting events.
“Being out on the Lincoln Financial Field dancing in front of a huge crowd is definitely the most exciting moment of our season,” Monteleone said. “Overall, being a Diamond Gem is exciting because our school is really big and our teams are really good. Every time we go to a game there’s always a big crowd to cheer for, therefore having such a large crowd is exciting because they’re there to cheer on our teams with us.”
The Diamond Gems have a long season and grueling practices that accompany it. Monteleone explains that they perform for the men and women basketball teams, football team, and volleyball team. They practice Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 10 p.m., but sometimes for longer depending on the upcoming amount of performances. For Nationals, The Diamond Gems practice from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. With a hectic schedule between athletics and academics, Monteleone and her fellow Diamond Gems accomplish more than just national titles for Temple University.
The Diamond Gems have had multiple achievements. For starters, the Gems placed eighth in Nationals last year. Monteleone explains that placing number eight in the nation was a big accomplishment for the dance team and that they hope to place even higher this year.
“Another major accomplishment we have as a team is that everyone on the team have really high GPAs even though we are so busy,” Monteleone shares. “It definitely is really hard to manage your time with school work in addition to practices and games. It is amazing that we can plan our lives, do what we need to do, and still maintain good grades.”
With dancing, the girls on the team are vulnerable to serious injuries. Monteleone explains dancing places a lot of impact on the body, and has personally suffered from two serious hip injuries. Unfortunately the recovery for her needed surgery is very intense, and therefore is waiting until after college to finish her surgical procedure. In the meantime, Monteleone keeps her body in check by getting cortisone shots and taking daily medicine.
According to Monteleone, dancing is more than just the flashy routines the fans are shown at halftime.
She says, “Besides being on a dance team, I’ve trained my entire life in dancing since I was two. Every night I would train in styles of jazz, tap, lyrical, hip-hop and ballet. These classes are really intense, and if you ask anyone who has taken these classes can tell you that they are not something you can just waltz into.”
In addition to the Diamond Gems, Monteleone is spending her college years majoring in Journalism and minoring in Political Science, with the hopes of becoming a political journalist one day. She is already getting a jumpstart on her career by practicing her broadcasting skills with Temple’s program “Update Now.” As far as dance goes, however, Monteleone states that her dance career will come to an end after college – unless she decides to try out for NBA or NFL teams.