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 20th 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.
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