Side by side, at home or away; Tightknit Academy of the Holy Names squad to cheer at Florida game.(Capital Region)

Byline: JIMMY VIELKIND - Staff Writer

ALBANY - They practice together for hours every week. They take classes together. And they help each other with their problems.

And over Christmas break, the 17 members of the varsity cheerleading squad at the Academy of the Holy Names were traveling together to Orlando, Fla., to be part of the pregame show at the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day.

"It'll be like my homecoming," said Kaitlyn Deaton, a 17-year-old senior from Albany who was born in Florida. The co-captain was thrilled when she found out that the ninth-ranked University of Florida Gators, led by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, will play her …