Hope Bucci would have done anything to be cheering with her team.
Instead, she cheered for them.
Bucci is a senior flyer on the St. Hubert High School cheerleading team, and she’s been a key member of the varsity team since she arrived as a freshman.
She enjoyed great years when she was a freshman and sophomore, but her junior season ended before it started.
“Last year, my junior year, I tore my ACL and meniscus in October,” said Bucci, who lives in Bensalem. “I fell out of a full up, it’s like a full twisting stunt up in the air. I landed on my feet, but the leg that was hurt was on an angle. It was more like my toe hit the ground and my leg was in a zigzag shape.
“I didn’t know I was hurt. I mean it definitely hurt, but I didn’t think it was an ACL or meniscus. I thought I overstretched it. Honestly, I’m not that tough, I have a pretty low pain tolerance. I didn’t know what to expect, but when I found out, it was very hard.”
The pain wasn’t the worst part.
Bucci knew she had a long road ahead of her to get back to doing what she loves. It also meant sitting out her entire junior season.
“It was really, really tough, it was hard in every aspect,” Bucci said. “One of my main things was I’m not going to compete with these seniors, and my team at all. It was really hard because I was really close to those seniors. They were a grade above us. Another hard part was one thinking of rehab and thinking of how will colleges see me? If I want to cheer in college, will I ever be the same, will I ever get over the fear, will I be able to tumble? There were so many questions. It was tough.”
She was down, but never let her team know.
In fact, she was the exact opposite.
“I came to every practice, every competition, I was trying to be positive” she said. “I know on the mat, there’s negativity at times. I wanted to be the positive source to be able to rely on. I tried to uplift them, told them I know they could do it. I was watching them watching the whole season, they had support. I was always trying to do that and encourage the best. It was hard, but I wanted to be there for them.”
The entire ordeal was tough.
Bucci proved to be tougher.
It wasn’t easy. There were a lot of tears, a lot of sweat and a lot of hard work poured into the recovery. But Bucci was able to return to the sport in nine months and she’s as good as new. In fact, she might be better than ever.
“My surgery was October (2023) and I was cleared in August,” Bucci said. “I was trying to go in full force but be careful. I was really, really nervous, but I knew my leg was stronger than it was before. I had to get over the mental fear. Trust the people under me. If I can’t, I shouldn’t be doing it.
“It feels really great because I know that I worked so hard. I know I was better. I was working on everything. I just feel really accomplished, that all the work I put into it was worth it. I can do anything if I put my mind to it no matter what challenges are ahead of me.”
First goal accomplished.
Bucci helped her Bambie teammates win the Catholic League championship. Hubert won the PCL Large varsity championship. The St. Hubert Brown team won the junior varsity championship and the Gold team won the junior varsity non-tumbling crown.
“It meant everything,” said Bucci, who was named All-Catholic as an individual after the competition, which was held at Archbishop Ryan. “It was important for us. We’re not where we need to be, but we’re working so hard to get there. This was a great win for us, but it’s just really the beginning.”
The Bambies still have the District 12 championship to worry about as well as the state championship. Their Super Bowl is in February when they compete for the national championship in Orlando.
Those are all huge goals, but Bucci is still working on other big things ahead of her.
One of them is picking a college.
“I do want to cheer in college, but I’m not sure where I’m going yet,” said Bucci, a former competitive dancer. “I want to study physical therapy. I want to do health behavioral science. That can open up broad opportunities. I feel like it’s been something I always thought of being a trainer and being around athletes getting hurt. But being in that rehab process, my physical therapist was great. She was a huge reason I was able to do it and she helped me so much. I want to do that for other people.”
Bucci praised her physical therapist many times for helping her get to where she needs to be.
She also said her mom was massive in helping her get back to cheering.
“My mom tore her ACL twice, so she knew how it was,” Bucci said. “She knew the mental toughness it takes. She knew the pain I’d be enduring. She hated it, but I could talk to her. She’s a nurse, too. The first week after my surgery was really hard. I couldn’t pick up my leg. She had to carry my leg when I went anywhere. She supported me.”
Now no longer focused on getting back, she’s just focused on getting better. And Bucci knows the sky is the limit for the Bambies.
“Coming back and flying has been truly amazing. I would do whatever the coaches needed,” Bucci said. “Seeing how much the team has grown, our skill level is so high. We have worked so hard to get there and we didn’t think we’d be doing what we do now. This is a really hard-working, determined team of young athletes.”
The following athletes were named to the All Catholic cheerleading team.
St. Hubert: Camryn Bickel, Hope Bucci, Ryan Collins, Isabella DiDonato, Allie McNesby, Morgan Reilly, Sophia Sermarini, Isabella Bringhurst, Laina Fitzgerald and Addison Miller.
Archbishop Ryan: Francesca Brunkel, Adrianna Moffo, Kylie Twelves, Jocelyn Cavallaro, Adrianna Hoover, Gabriella Jones, Callie McPeak, Isabella Petrella and Kayla Morris.
