Stowe woman named Patriots cheerleader

The announcement was made Tuesday afternoon, and Martin was already in Foxborough, Mass., at the Patriots’ home turf at Gillette Stadium. She was too busy to talk over the phone, but took a few moments to email her thoughts to her hometown newspaper before it went to press.

“So far it has been a whirlwind of experiences, information and meeting new people. I have enjoyed every moment and am so humbled to have been selected for the 2015-16 New England Patriots cheerleading squad!” Martin said.

“As a Patriots cheerleader, I will not only be cheering at the games on the sidelines, but doing many promotional and charity events. I hope to see a lot of Vermonters at the games and supporting the New England Patriots this season!”

The road to the 2015 squad was a hard one, a monthlong audition process that included a two-week boot camp at the end of March. The boot camp put the cheerleaders though intensive training sessions that tested their fitness, dance moves and public speaking prowess.

Chris Eaton, Stowe High School’s hockey and golf coach, had Martin on his varsity golf squad, and said she earned the Kirkwood scholarship her senior year. Eaton said she’s smart, too, graduating in less than four years.

“She was a very smart young lady, just came out and did her own thing,” Eaton said.

In 2010, Martin, then 14, was crowned Miss Teen Vermont.

The Patriots cheerleaders rehearse twice a week and perform at all the team’s home games, in front of 70,000 fans. This June, they will also travel to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, to shoot the team’s annual swimsuit calendar and video.