by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Like most court reporters, 22-year-old Erica Prescott counts typing, transcription and stenography among her skills, but it’s the yelling and the dancing that sets her apart.
Prescott begins her days with a 45-minute downtown commute, sipping her breakfast from a coffee mug. Nine hours later she battles homebound traffic on her way toward a Regency-area dance studio. She changes quickly from legal attire to leotard and takes her place among the other 31 members of the The Roar — the Jacksonville Jaguars’ cheerleading squad.
The three-to-four-hour practices keep Prescott moving until 11:30 p.m. when she crashes into bed, trying to unwind from a 15-hour day that wears her down mentally during the day, physically at night. Still she says her job with the Roar provides her with an outlet for the tension built-up in courthouses and law office conference rooms.
“It is a lot of time, but cheering really is a perfect release,” says Prescott.
She returns to the Roar after taking four years off to finish the Stenotype Institute of Jacksonville. She says it was impossible to juggle cheering with her school work - to graduate, she had to transcribe 225 words per minute - but jumped at the chance to once again spend her Sundays at Alltel Stadium once she graduated and took a job at Powers Reporting on Forsyth Street.
Jaguar fans can take solace in Prescott’s return. In 1999, the last time she slipped on the Roar uniform, the team came within one game of the Super Bowl. Prescott clapped her hands when she remembered that year’s 62-7 playoff stomping of the Miami Dolphins.
“We sent both (quarterback) Dan Marino and (coach) Jimmy Johnson into retirement,” Prescott bragged. Her hazel eyes still blaze when she thinks of a broken-down Marino limping from the field.
Prescott called that game her most exciting. Her most frustrating came one week later when the visiting Tennessee Titans ended the Jaguars’ season and Prescott’s chance at a Super Bowl ring.
“We would’ve all got rings, but it wasn’t just that. The whole season was so exciting, it was sad to see it end,” Prescott says.
Although it doesn’t provide the rush of 70,000 screaming fans, she says she loves her job with Powers. She compares learning stenography - a typed form of shorthand - to learning a new language.
She prefers taking depositions to court reporting. She says the most nervewracking moments come when she’s ordered to read part of the record back to the court.
“It’s intimidating. Your heart drops to your feet and all eyes are on you,” Prescott says.
She welcomes that same attention on Sundays. After admitting to some first-game nerves, Prescott says the hours of preparation give her confidence when she performs at Alltel.
She didn’t always feel confident she would make this year’s squad. Roar coach Robin Valetutto whittled more than 100 women down to 38 finalists during a two-week audition. Prescott slipped during her final dance routine and returned to the dressing room thinking she had missed her chance to rejoin the squad.
“I was disappointed in myself,” she says. “I try to put 100 percent into everything I do.”
Prescott made the team and was immediately rewarded with a grinding work schedule for little pay - she estimates she made $45 per game in 1999. It’s typical of Prescott that she hopes the Jaguars make the playoffs so the season, and her 15-hour workdays, extend into January.
“I complete what I start,” she says. “I don’t like quitting.”