NeuroPOWER!!!

I don't know why, but cheerleading attracts lots of neurodivergent athletes! I think this is fabulous. If we can provide a safe place for them to be who they are, succeed, achieve and feel part of something, I am one happy coach.

I adore all our cheerleaders, dancers, and students. When they learn a new skill or master a turn, I am ALWAYS the one cheering the loudest. YES girl!!! You got this!

Neurodivergence is a superpower. It isn't a deficit, it's a brain that works out of the constraints of what we have been conditioned to believe is normal. They often see more, they almost always feel more than a neurotypical human, and that is simply beautiful.

To not have the barriers that so many of us do holding our brain to a certain way of thinking and believing is truly mystifying. Imagine a world where nobody was judged for being a bit different, quirky or weird, wouldn't that be something!

Scientifically, I honestly think that there is a reason neurodivergent children are drawn to cheer. Maybe it's something in the repetitiveness of the counts, or the thrill of the heights for flyers and tumblers. The cheers of the crowd, the lights and action at competition must often be something of beauty to those of us who's brains don't have limits!

The chosen people who see things in an untraditional way, and somehow are always able to deliver kindness in unfiltered amounts. I really hope they feel the love we have for their infectious personalities.

When a neurotypical mind hits the mat they naturally feel apprehension. They think into the future, of what MIGHT happen. They stress about the moment, and if they will hit their tumble pass, or their double to a single turn.

I genuinely believe that people gifted with the SUPERPOWER of being neurodivergent are not afflicted with the same trepidation. They are more able to live in the here and now, and I LOVE IT!

I am here for that buzz with them, that self love they feel when the routine hits, and they do what they have practiced. There isn't a moment I ever doubt any of our athletes, but I am acutely aware that they doubt themselves daily. So, when ANY of our team members achieve and feel proud, I am ecstatic, but especially my little superhero's, who battle daily in their own minds with things we cannot begin to understand as "regular" people.

So next time you are at a competition and you see a child stood off to the side, not joining in with the dancing, or sporting ear defenders like they were glued to their head, give them a smile.

Let them know they are beyond enough and have nothing else to prove. Make them belong, because cheerleading isn't about being the most successful team, it's about loving the same thing in an inexplicable way.

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How to be a cheer mum

I have been the mum of a cheerleader for 15 years, and in that time I have learnt what to do and what not to do to make it the best experience for your child.

While I do not claim to be the all seeing oracle of cheerleading parents, I do feel confident in my advice having now seen it from the angle of coach and mum.

First of all, be on time. Be where you should be when you should be there. Seems simple, but things happen and if you are going to be late, let someone know.

Advocate for your child, but not too much. Trust the coaches, and if your athlete comes home feeling disheartened about their place in a routine, or how many times they got critiqued, let them know that wherever they are in the routine, their coach has a reason for it. There isn't one single spot on that mat that is less important than another.

So you were a flyer last year and this season you have been placed as a base...it's where you can best help your team. Your coach told you the same correction 3 times, so listen and fix it. If you have chosen the right gym for your child, you must trust that they know what they are doing. We have all been guilty of thinking well my baby should be at the front, my daughter isn't point jumper, why not?! Quite simply if you have chosen the best team for your child, one that fits her capabilities and personality, then you need to back up their coach.

Do not get distracted by what other parents are doing. They are doing what is right for their child, and your athlete is a completely different person.

Make sure your child knows when they sign up for competitive cheer, just what they are signing up for, (and that you do too!) There are going to be parties, school events, holiday clubs, shopping trips, family days that they just might have to miss out on. When you sign your child up for competitive cheerleading, expect that there will be extra rehearsals, costume fittings, and times classes run over. It's all for a purpose, and if you or your child aren't serious enough about the sport, don't sign them up. That's it, just don't sign them up.

Do not let your child try out for a team they have no intention of taking a place on. This is a biggie! Programs build teams around they children who attend try-outs, so if they are just trying out because their friend is, or as a backup incase they don't get into their first choice, think twice. Also, if your athlete gets offered a place, remember, there is another child out their who got a rejection email.

Do not message/call/email your coaches after classes have finished, or before normal working hours the next day. They/we work hard and give everything we have to our athletes. We do not need to be getting a message at 10:30pm asking what colour trainers to wear at tomorrows exhibition just because you can't be bothered trawling through your emails to check what they said.

Don't be bitchy. This seems simple, but when you are stood outside class, and other parents are being derogatory about someone else's child, or what the coach has said ( it happens to all of us) don't join in. If you see a team bite it at competition and they are against your team, don't laugh, or cheer or make a remark, we're all here for the same reason, and next season when your child wants to move teams because her friends are, but the coach heard your remark and doesn't want that negativity on her team.... don't say I didn't tell you so!.

Teach your child that they aren't always going to win. There is no team in the

world that is always going to win at a cheer competition, and you have to show them how to behave when they don't.

Do not throw a fit, don't blame the choreo/music/coaches/other athletes. Don't say that the team they were against should not have been in that division. Don't tell your athlete the judges were wrong!

IF the judges made a mistake, your coaches will pick it up and question your score, after all, surprisingly to some parents, judges are human! They do miss things and make mistakes sometimes!

I guess basically what I am trying to say is don't be a... well, you can fill in the rest of that sentence however you wish!

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Are they all like this?

Are all sports like this? Do all sports foster the kind of friends forever family environment that cheer does? I'm not sure they do.

There is so much to cheerleading that makes it the perfect place for unbreakable bonds to grow, close friendships flourish and not just with the children.

I have met some of my favourite people in the world through cheerleading. Coaches, parents, even people who worked events when I did a stint behind my bow stall for a couple of seasons at a well known UK EP.

Is it because we are all living in the same crazy world? Perhaps it comes from our love for the sport, or from seeing our children achieve, but whatever makes it happen, I am eternally grateful to it.

There are fundamental rules we insist must be followed in our team. I know every club/team has their own rules, but ours were built from our own experiences, and knowing what type of place we wanted to create.

We had goals for our team from its inception, and the biggest one was to establish a place where everyone is celebrated.

Throughout the years we have had both positive and not so positive experiences in the cheerleading world, and from that we built a strong foundation of what we wanted our team to be.

Sure, we make mistakes, it's been a steep learning curve and we have not been infallible.

We have however never wavered from our ultimate goal. We love our athletes. We can tell if they're off their game, without them saying anything. We take 5 minutes at the beginning of class to ask if anyone has anything exciting to tell us, because we want to know what is important to them. We listen when they come to us with questions.

My daughter spent most of her time with one cheer and dance school, and everything in our life was centred around it. They were not just a team, they were a family.

As I write this she is training with them in another part of the country, and sleeping at one of their houses tonight. She does this weekly, and I can guarantee she wouldn't do it for anyone else but these girls, this coach and this team.

The thing that made the the stars collide and the planets realign to make the first ever Phoenix, WOW. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an unannounced solar eclipse the day that team got together. A miracle sent from the heavens full of glitter and pom poms.

They really we something special. A group of 11 girls who all had the same love, and were all exceptionally talented. Even more importantly, worked their butts off for a COMMON GOAL.

High fever? Still at class. Broken toe? Still at class. Lost a family member? Definitely still at class to be with people who love them.

One has danced at Universal Studios for a full season. More than one has a degree in dance. A number have first place World Medals. One works on a cruise ship dancing full time. One is in Westend shows for a living! And the one I am crazy about has her very own team and Phoenix family.

From 11 little girls who all love the same thing, to 11 amazing adults who are all equally spellbinding.

There is no easy way to the top. It is HARD WORK.

A very famous cheerleader once said "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard".

None of the anointed 11 skipped this process, they all worked, sweat and bled their way to where they are now. They all celebrated each others wins and have been the biggest cheerleaders for their friends throughout their lives so far.

There isn't a shortcut, and I think that knowledge evades some athletes (and parents) in 2026. Maybe it is the way children are treated now, with all the "sports days are for fun, there is no winner" and "here is a medal for turning up".

You don't get that in the cheer world. Ok, so you do get a medal for participating in a competition from most EPs, but they actually have to go on the mat and put their heart out there to get it, not just arrive at the venue and sit down.

Every single thing in cheerleading is earnt, from your place on the team, your position in the dance, your tumble slot, if you get a solo, if you keep that solo for the season! T

here is not a single part of a routine that is given to an athlete simply because we like them, they are cute, they have been here the longest, or they are related to us.

Some can handle that pressure, others can't, and that's ok! This is the fundamental reason that cheerleading isn't for the muggles. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

After all diamonds are formed under pressure.

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