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Lisa Welsh
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By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
ECE athletes “fly” at NCA
Flying on Jet Blue wings, higher than a level 5 flyer wants to be, it was only fitting that the airplane was the gym color of which many passengers on the flight were affiliated.
Being transported to NCA Dallas last Friday, it occurred to me that Coach AJ was making her presence known, flying with her athletes from East Celebrity Elite based in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed that our flight attendant’s name was also AJ, as his name badge declared beneath a “winged” pin.
Coach AJ
Amy Jones, known to most in the cheer community as “Coach AJ,” passed away in June after a courageous year and a half battle with colorectal cancer.
She was a level 10 gymnast, coached gymnastics for many years and was a member of the Eastern Connecticut State University dance team. The cheer and dance teams Amy coached at ECE received numerous National and Grand Championship wins.
Jet Blue Flight Attendant AJ
Clare Orie from ECE’s CJ
I had the good fortune to sit next to Clare Orie, who cheered on ECE’s Coed J4. Rachel and Becky’s teams compete at the same events as ECE so I’ve seen this impressive group many times before.
“Did you notice his name,” I asked Clare, as Flight Attendant AJ moved on with his drink cart.
“It gave me goosebumps,” Clare said, nodding her head before looking out the window at the white clouds floating about the plane.
Coach AJ (in white) with her Worlds winning dance team, 2010
Amy was a member of ECE’s Worlds’ team, Fame. Her last appearance at Worlds was in 2010 when she led her senior hip hop team to become World Champions. Perhaps last week in Dallas, Coach AJ led ECE’s Medium Coed 5 as it received a Full Paid bid to Worlds, the first time it would attend representing NCA.
As ECE’s C5 was called out at the very end of an amazing cheer weekend, I thought of Coach AJ and everything that the athletes, coaches and parents had gone through last season. They had established the “LYMI” (named for AJ’s motto “Love You and Mean It”) and fundraised for her experimental treatments. They came together many times to support AJ and her loved ones, including her husband Kyle who was also an ECE coach. I thought of the wings disguised as an airplane that transported athletes to Dallas and it gave me goosebumps.
By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
ECE athletes “fly” at NCA
Flying on Jet Blue wings, higher than a level 5 flyer wants to be, it was only fitting that the airplane was the gym color of which many passengers on the flight were affiliated.
Being transported to NCA Dallas last Friday, it occurred to me that Coach AJ was making her presence known, flying with her athletes from East Celebrity Elite based in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed that our flight attendant’s name was also AJ, as his name badge declared beneath a “winged” pin.
Coach AJ
Amy Jones, known to most in the cheer community as “Coach AJ,” passed away in June after a courageous year and a half battle with colorectal cancer.
She was a level 10 gymnast, coached gymnastics for many years and was a member of the Eastern Connecticut State University dance team. The cheer and dance teams Amy coached at ECE received numerous National and Grand Championship wins.
Jet Blue Flight Attendant AJ
Clare Orie from ECE’s CJ
I had the good fortune to sit next to Clare Orie, who cheered on ECE’s Coed J4. Rachel and Becky’s teams compete at the same events as ECE so I’ve seen this impressive group many times before.
“Did you notice his name,” I asked Clare, as Flight Attendant AJ moved on with his drink cart.
“It gave me goosebumps,” Clare said, nodding her head before looking out the window at the white clouds floating about the plane.
Coach AJ (in white) with her Worlds winning dance team, 2010
Amy was a member of ECE’s Worlds’ team, Fame. Her last appearance at Worlds was in 2010 when she led her senior hip hop team to become World Champions. Perhaps last week in Dallas, Coach AJ led ECE’s Medium Coed 5 as it received a Full Paid bid to Worlds, the first time it would attend representing NCA.
As ECE’s C5 was called out at the very end of an amazing cheer weekend, I thought of Coach AJ and everything that the athletes, coaches and parents had gone through last season. They had established the “LYMI” (named for AJ’s motto “Love You and Mean It”) and fundraised for her experimental treatments. They came together many times to support AJ and her loved ones, including her husband Kyle who was also an ECE coach. I thought of the wings disguised as an airplane that transported athletes to Dallas and it gave me goosebumps.
