Extreme-Supreme: Cheerleading at a New Level

As published in the Newport News Town Square section of the Daily Press on Thursday, February 21st.

With practices on Tuesday and Saturday, the confines of World Class Gym, on Bell King Road, now serve as the home base for a local competitive cheerleading squad.

In short, it’s not the cheerleading you remember. Even the team name says it all – Extreme Supreme.

Huddled around a tiny table in a crowded coffee shop, the coach and one of the athletes from Extreme Supreme take turns explaining the differences between competitive cheerleading and regular cheerleading – the type that a reporter remembers from attending high school 30 years ago.

Angel Ackerman, the coach, is more analytical in her explanation. “The biggest difference is that we are not there to root for a team. We are the team. Regular cheerleaders will stand on the sidelines. They do one stunt, or tumble, and try to stir up the crowd. We’re there to put on a show. It lasts two and a half minutes, but it’s non-stop – there’s dancing, tumbling, throwing. There’s a great deal of skill involved.”

Sarah Allen, the athlete, is more direct with her comparison. “We fly!”

Perhaps it’s the aerodynamic aspect of competitive cheerleading that drew Allen to the sport. Now 18, she started cheering at the age of six, in the traditional rec league setting. About “three or four” years ago, Allen crossed paths with one of her colleagues, Ackerman’s daughter-in-law, who told her about the new competitive team. Says Allen, “she talked me into joining.”

Ackerman, now in her 20^th year of coaching, also sprouted her roots on the rec league circuit. “I started there, coached some All-Star teams. I started Spirit Empire (her other team) six years ago and branched out.”

Currently, 35 girls, between the ages of three and 18, compete for Supreme Extreme. The competition schedule mirrors the school year, with the season running from September to May. Competitive cheerleading has an ardent following. The state competition, held at VCU’s Siegel Center this year, will draw well over 10,000 spectators. The best state teams qualify for a national competition.

Though she competes with traditional cheer squads to recruit athletes, Ackerman is willing to share. “I allow our cheerleaders to cheer for other teams. The only thing I ask is that they respect our team. If there’s a competition coming, I expect them to be at my practice.” She feels the relationship with traditional cheerleading is a symbiotic one. “We have girls that work on dancing, tumbling. That helps with (traditional) cheerleading.”

Despite the name, competitive cheerleading is not a cutthroat, win-at-all-costs type of sport. On the Extreme Supreme Facebook page, their motto reads, “Where winning isn’t everything, but wanting to is.” Ackerman adds to that thought. “The best part for me is seeing a child accomplish something that they couldn’t do before. For example, if a girl couldn’t do a back handspring, and then completes one in a competition, I’ll cry like a baby.”

Allen adds, “Yeah, she will!”

The trust and caring aspects of competitive cheerleading appeal to both athlete and coach. Allen, now a senior at Woodside, says that the sport has “taught her how to deal with people.” Upon graduating, she plans on attending Thomas Nelson as a stepping stone toward nursing school. “I want to do pediatrics and work with younger girls.” Ackerman interjects, “and she’ll probably be coaching with me!”

The trust piece is obvious. There are two main positions in competitive cheerleading – base and flyer. In a sport where young ladies get thrown ten feet into the air, the flyers have to rely on the bases to catch them. Says the coach, “It’s definitely a sport that teaches girls the importance of depending on each other.” But there’s something to be said for putting on a show that combines athleticism and showmanship. “They (girls) get to be not themselves, to be out of the box. Some girls are quiet, not outgoing, but when they put on the makeup, the uniforms and the glitter, they’re someone else.”

The Extreme Supreme team practices on Tuesday evening and Saturday morning at World Class Gym on 343 Bell King Rd. (off Jefferson Ave.) in Newport News. There are plans to form an adult team this spring. For more information, you can find their page on Facebook, or call Coach Angel Ackerman at 757-871-7607.

TrackSide Magazine - Let The Revolution Begin

On Sunday, the revolution began. TrackSide, the parent magazine of the TrackNation movement, launched on the Internet (www.trackside1.tracknation.com) and with it, the hopes and aspirations of many of us involved were awakened.

My involvement with the project was almost accidental. I happened to “like” TrackNation upon seeing it listed on Facebook. In short, my vote of approval was consistent with an effort I have been making to “like” all track related pages. Mostly, these affirmations reflect my involvement as a correspondent with the Daily Press here in Virginia, but my motivation is geared closer to approving all track related pages and projects, with the simple hope of doing a small part to continue promoting the sport.

Long story short, Travis Masters, the force behind the movement and editor-in-chief of the magazine, was working on his own vision. Travis has been looking for a unified movement, one which will truly promote track, particularly when it comes to the interests of the athletes. He took his vision to the recent U.S. Track and Field convention and was pleased to find a great deal of support for his fledgling magazine. When we first spoke, a couple of months ago, he rattled through the names of people with whom he had talked. It sounded like a Hall of Fame lineup – Bob Beamon, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Justin Gatlin, Greg Foster, etc…

Oh yeah, why were we talking in the first place? As it turned out, Travis was looking for writers for his new magazine. I’m bold enough to believe that I cover cross-country and track as well as anyone in our neck of Virginia, so even though my overall portfolio is at less than 150 articles, I figured that it was worth the effort to cull through the 50-60 that dealt with cross-country and track and find a few good samples to send.

Hopefully, the rest will be history.

I am relatively pleased with my first three TrackSide entries. My initial interview was with David Prince. David’s story is inspiring, but you have to read through a lot of tragedy and hard times to get to the happy denouement. Regardless, David’s life as a world record setting Paralympic runner is a testament to the power of hard work and faith. It’s hard to find an athlete, even a world class one, who proclaims to “like” hard work, and the pain, and the burn. Many put the work in, but rarely enjoy the process.

Ironically, David is about to become much more well known, and not for anything I have done. Tonight (Monday at 10), he will be appearing on Fox News, more specifically, the Greta van Susteren program, speaking as someone who knows and has competed against Oscar Pistorius, whose fiancée was shot dead last week in South Africa – with Pistorius being charged with the crime.

My second interview was with Sean Pena, a renowned physiotherapist who works on everybody who is anybody in track, including Gatlin, Allyson Felix, Lolo Jones, and Shawn Crawford. He will be writing for the magazine and his insights into the field are going to blow away the mindset us coaches and runners have grown up with. Some of the most cutting edge technological equipment for physical therapy sits in his living room, and the A-list of track stars stop by his house for treatment when in Florida.

Finally, I had the opportunity to speak with legendary hurdler Greg Foster. He’s someone I grew up with, as his reign at the top of the high hurdling heap ran from the late 1970’s to the early 90’s. His showdowns with Renaldo Nehemiah were legendary, and ironically, Nehemiah is another runner I am currently trying to track down for an interview. I really enjoyed my 30 minute talk with Foster, and for a short time, almost forgot this was the same man I saw in all of these meets on TV. His best time of 13.03 for the 110-meter hurdles would win a lot of races now, and it still places at 12^th or 13^th on the all-time list.

I’m truly looking forward to this opportunity to work with Travis and the rest of the people on TrackSide. The first issue looks great, with its interactive features. But there’s more than sizzle with TrackSide; in fact, the information within, on topics like nutrition, training, and such are beneficial to runners of all ages and abilities.

Please feel free to give TrackSide a look. I think you’ll find it to be worthy of the hard work that has been put into this first issue. 

Inside the Mind of President Lincoln

February brings together Black History month and President's Day. And it's easy to combine the two by thinking of one particular president --  Abraham Lincoln. The interest in Lincoln has revived recently, mostly due to a full-length Hollywood biopic featuring renowned actor Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. Although I haven't seen the movie yet, the reviews appear to be favorable and the awards are starting to come in. It will be interesting to see how the film and its players fare in the upcoming Academy Awards.

To know Lincoln was to know that like many others of his generation, he was a man of letters. Because of his limited formal education, he was apt to seek the advice of others when confronting a situation. In the heat of the Civil War, and only fifteen months after the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln consulted with three Kentuckians and his review of the proceedings show the personal turmoil which conflicted the president.

Abraham Lincoln, Letter To Hodges, April 4, 1864

In early April of 1864, President Abraham Lincoln summarized, by letter, a conversation which he had with three fellow residents of Kentucky. One of them was Albert Hodges, the editor of the Frankfort Commonwealth. Another, Thomas Bramlette was the Governor, and the third, Archibald Dixon, had previously served as a senator. Bramlette, in particular, was opposed to the recruitment of black regiments in the state of Kentucky.

Abraham Lincoln. Our 16th
President was a conflicted
man who presided over the
most divisive period of
American history

The letter gives great insight into the thoughts of President Lincoln. He initially states, “"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel.” In earlier times, Lincoln had proposed non-interference with regard to the issue of slavery, but he realized that the thoughts of many of his constituents had changed. As quoted in his letter, Lincoln writes, "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me."

For Lincoln, the dilemma came from his ability to serve his oath as the new president, and serve his desire to free the slaves. While he swore to defend the Constitution, he vowed that “life and limb must be protected.” Lincoln added, “By general law life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated to save a life; but a life is never wisely given to save a limb. I felt that measures, otherwise unconstitutional, might become lawful, by becoming indispensable to the preservation of the constitution, through the preservation of the nation. Right or wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I could not feel that, to the best of my ability, I had even tried to preserve the constitution, if, to save slavery, or any minor matter, I should permit the wreck of government, country, and Constitution all together.” Strong words.

The 16^th president was in a pressing situation. The North was fighting against the South in the United States and a division was imminent. But, to Lincoln, the act of slavery was wrong. At the end of his letter, Lincoln wrote that if God removes a great wrong and “wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God."

Youth Wrestling Returns to Newport News

Published in the January 17th issue of the DAILY PRESS' Newport News Town Square section

Nestled in the hallway bowels of Denbigh High School, a nondescript room houses the spot where the youth wrestling movement has revived in Newport News. Off of these corridors, next to the Patriot cafeteria, roughly 40 young grapplers, from ages 4 to 14, meet at 5:30 PM three evenings per week to showcase their skills while preparing for future high school competition.

Thanks to the efforts of Oliver Walmon and others,
youth wrestling is back in Newport News

Founded by Oliver Walmon, the Newport News Warriors team has brought local youngsters back to the sport. “For a while, kids were going to York and Poquoson to wrestle because they didn’t have another option. They’re coming back now.”

The Warriors are one of 16 teams which comprise the Peninsula Youth Wrestling League, covering the Peninsula, Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck.

The early numbers came as a pleasant surprise. “I thought we’d max out at 25 or 30,” adds Walmon. But he is optimistic about the future. “Next year, we are hoping for 75.”

Part of the reasoning for starting a youth wrestling team is to build up the pool of wrestlers in Newport News. “There is no feeder system to the high school.” In fact, local high school coaches have had trouble building a full team, and no Newport News high schools were represented in last weekend’s Virginia Duals, the largest meet of its kind (high school and college matches together) in the world.

Walman continues, “I cannot stress the importance of providing the children of Newport News with an outlet such as wrestling.  Not all kids play basketball or football or baseball, but everyone loves to wrestle.  We want to feed the high schools with disciplined and quality kids and build a dynasty that will last.  Our kids are having a blast and the results are already showing.”

Teante Gray is one of the eight Warrior coaches. Gray and Walmon share a bond, having both wrestled for Denbigh (Walmon is from the Class of 1989, while Gray graduated in 2000) and the two shared a common coach. Gray, who finished third in the State for his weight class as a high school senior, generally works with the older and more advanced wrestlers. But with so many coaches, Gray adds, “we’re able to give kids individual attention, with the idea being to build something that is going to last.”

“Wrestling in this area had kind of fallen by the wayside. We’re trying to get kids ready to compete with Poquoson and Great Bridge,” continues Gray when explaining his vision for the Warriors.

The early results are encouraging. In mid-December, the Warriors competed in their first tournament, the North of the James Tournament, held at Bethel High. Of the 16 wrestlers, 14 earned medals. In total, there were seven golds, five silvers and three bronzes. Madison Hinnant, one of the team’s two female wrestlers, won both a gold and bronze medal as a contestant in two separate brackets. The results were especially favorable considering that five wrestlers were competing in their first tournament ever.

A week later, four grapplers, between the ages of six and nine, took part in the Grassfield Holiday Wrestling Classic, with all winning medals. Trevon Gray won gold, Khaleo Smith and Temonte Gray took home silver medals and Karon Smith earned a bronze. Being a Tournament of Champions qualifying meet, Walmon was pleased to see all four advance to the next round.

The Warriors have been able to cover the $5,000 needed to cover their season expenses, thanks to sponsors such as National Counseling Group and Village Bicycles (formerly Conte’s Bike Shop). But as the team grows, so will the cost of the operation, a fact that is not lost on Walmon. “We have others (sponsors) who say they are interested, but we need some to step up to the plate. We all support keeping our kids safe from the negatives of the streets and want to do all we can to support our youth and the bright future they have in front of them.”

Newport News Warriors’ North of the James Tournament Results

Gold – Seth Naotala, Jalen Terry-Winston, Madison Hinnant, Khaleo Smith, Karon Smith, Ricky Flores Jr., Ricky Palm

Silver – Marc Jackson, Koa Naotala, Temonte Gray, Anthony Chamblee, Jacob Walmon

Bronze – Hinnant, Tyreece White, Noah Williams

Fourth place – Trevon Gray, Kyle Jackson

For more information on the Newport News Warriors, or other Peninsula Youth Wrestling League news, please visit their website at www.pywl.org.