Blogger Alexis- 12/26/2019 - Hi Cheer World

Hi cheer world!

 My name is Alexis Barkley. I will be 22 on January 12th. I retired from cheerleading my senior year in 2016 and now I have a little 2 year old girl named Parker. This cheer season I decided to come out of retirement and join my old all star team, Cheer Trixx Athletics. The team I joined is an open level 4 senior team. Open team meaning a mixture of young and old combine forces to create an amazing, wonderful routine. That being said we have all ages from 13 to 25! Even though I have cheered since I was in kindergarten, returning to cheerleading after being off for four years and having a baby, it’s definitely been a crazy ride so far.

I have been very fortunate to have a gym full of amazing coaches who continuously choose to be so open and loving towards all athletes. My gym has been my second home and for that I am thankful. Recently during our crazy practices that are gearing us up for our big season, our coaches have offered us 10-15 minutes group circle to talk our our problems. This is a dedicated time to sit in a circle and release all of our anger, fears, and accomplishments. I can’t even begin to explain how much this has helped relieves the minds of many athletes and reduce the drama. We try to have team bonding monthly in an effort to remind our athletes how special each and every single one of them are to one another. In our gym, we are family. Our booster members go above and beyond constantly to make sure all athletes are well loved and cherished. Our first send off to our competition they rewarded us with special VIP lanyards and little trinkets.

On January 10th-12th we will be traveling to Cleveland Ohio to compete at the Huntington Convention Center at the big Double Down competition. Even though we have already competed once this year, this will be our big first competition of the season. We make sure to condition to keep strengthening our bodies and having the energy to push forward. Every practice we practice perfecting our jumps and reaching the beautiful effortless over extended jumps you love to see.

We have a tiny team, mini team, two junior teams, a senior team, and an amazing adaptive team!

We are here to prove no one will ever stop us this season! 

-Alexis

Blogger Ellie- 12-8-19 LIFE BEHIND THE BLUE MAT

LIFE BEHIND THE BLUE MAT

     On November 24th I got to experience cheer from a different view. Waking up that morning I wasn’t worried about if my hair was high enough, if my makeup was on point, or constantly going over my counts and grips for my stunts. I had a new uniform to wear, someone else’s counts to remember, and making sure my girls were feeling great. It’s a different feeling being a coach and not cheering. Don’t get me wrong it’s still thrilling and you still get that rush right before the music starts and lights go on, but it's different.  One of my favorite things when I was competing was watching my coaches cheering us on because at the end of the day they want to win as much as we do. Now it was my turn to jump up and down and scream my heart out for someone to hit her stunt, to be strong, and work the dance. It’s crazy how everything is in slow motion and that “look” by your coach mid routine can easily remind you to breathe. Maryland Adrenaline Daredevils took on a very close competition and came in 3rd place with a score of 94.48. They came together and worked it. They are working even harder to bring it at our next competition in Ocean City.

Cheers!

Ellie

Cheer Mom Jessica-A New Season

             Hello Cheer4Today Readers, It's Cheer Mom Jessica.  We have just entered our 9th season with our gym and "C" couldn't be happier. She entered this season really hoping to be part of our Elite team in our gym and after 8 years of mini, youth, junior, and senior level teams at various ability levels... she has finally done it! Her team will be striving for that coveted World's Bid. For those who are new to the sport, the Worlds Bid and the Worlds Competition is the competition  that all cheerleaders strive for. They dream of not only attending it, but winning it. When she found out in early June that she had made this team, she was over moon.  

        The reality for "C" didn't quite set in for her until the weekly practices began and the level of training began. This team is a beast and their work ethic is unreal!  I can't say enough about the coaches either.   

      The reality for me set in when I got the first monthly newsletter with the breakdown of costs for her new team. Let me also remind you that we live on the west coast which is nowhere near Florida (Worlds is held at Disney World). Not only to do we have the typical costs of  cheer and team tumbling, but flying to Florida, hotels, transportation, etc...  It's not cheap to fly from one side of the country to another. I might seriously need to get a second job to pay for this. YIKES 

Keep Cheering,
Jessica

We Want You...

**We are looking for some more cheerleader, coach, or parent bloggers this season. Please message us on here or DM us on our Instagram account (Official_Cheer4Today).

Blogger Ellie- 11/18/19

My name is Ellie and I am a recent high school graduate! I have been cheering since I was 11 years old! Before cheer, I was a dancer. 

I cheered rec for 3 years. The last year of rec, we won US finals in the J2 division! 

I started to cheer as an all star in my freshman year of  high school! I have been on a Jr 2, Sr 2, Sr 3 and Sr 4.2 team with Maryland Adrenaline Extreme! 

I graduate high school in May and I also turned 18 that month! I am a student at Paul Mitchell cosmetology school in Annapolis! I am aspiring to be a salon/product owner one day! I am also a make up artist! I actually create the make up look for Max Cheer and assist many of the athletes in getting ready for competition and showcase days! 

I also work part time at a higher end salon in Baltimore. So I am pretty busy trying to juggle school, work and cheer! 

This year, Max Cheer is starting a half year Senior team! They asked me to come back and cheer.  I was hesitant at first, but then I realized that I could make a difference and could help them this season. So I am back! I am a main base with point flyer!!! I can tell you that I bring it in the dance and that is one of my favorite parts! 

Cheer has brought a lot of challenges and new opportunities in my life! I have a ton of friends from cheer, I have traveled to great locations for competitions, I have won jackets and t shirts and bids but it has also taught me to be a leader and a hard worker! 

Even though I will be cheering with the Sr team this season, I will be attending competitions with the Junior and Youth team too so I will be able to share some great stuff out about all of our program! 

Cheers! 

Ellie 

Blogger Cayla- 11-2-19

     Hey everyone, Cayla here! You So this month has

been so crazy... at CA we were getting ready for showcase and our first competition. We were at the gym 3-4 times a week and practices were crazy intense! I don’t even know how many floors of bear crawls we did. My stunt group got changed so that was another adjustment, but we figured it out and worked together to hit!  

 We got our dance, music and uniforms this past month... all super exciting! We also tried out a few different hairstyles before the coaches settled on the one we are going to do. I actually really like it and it’s pretty easy so that will make comp days a lot less stressful. 

Got my first spray tan of the season, which is always a highlight for me. Also got an adjustment and massage therapy at the chiropractor. All that happened on Wednesday then went to practice Thursday and early Saturday practices. Early to bed with a healthy dinner the night before showcase! 

     Showcase was the 27th and I was so excited and scared. It’s really a lot of pressure to be a new athlete on a team that had the kind of season my team had last year! All the CA teams did amazing and it was so much fun!!! I just love my team and my gym! 

First comp is this weekend! Have a great month everyone! 

Welcome Blogger Cayla

October 1, 2019



 Hi everyone, my name is Cayla and I am 16 years old. I cheer at Cheer Athletics, Plano. I am a base on their Senior 2 team, Sabres! This team had an amazing season last year and I am so excited to perform with them this year and to take you along on the journey! I also model for Cheerlyfe and GK Cheer! 

-Cayla