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Lisa Welsh
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By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
ProAthletics' ShowStoppers 2011-2012* Photo by Jamie Christian Photography
“Onward and Upward” was the advice I received the other day when I got a bit choked up after being handed the ShowStopper 2011-2012 team photo (above).
The sweet faces of the Youth Level 2 team belied the discipline, motivation and unending desire these kids had. They were champions in every sense of the word, placing second in only one competition all season when ShowStoppers scored .02 less than the first place team at NCA-Dallas.
Coach Holly with (from left to right) ShowStoppers Brianna, Kiley, Le-Le and Rachel, at the "We're going to Dallas" announcement.
“Dallas was very disappointing,” ShowStoppers Coach Holly Boulay said. “I definitely put a lot of the blame on myself. We did CHEERSPORT then everyone was travelling on different schedules.
“Not practicing all week, it was school vacation week and some treated it like a vacation and for the most part, they were not in the state of mind they needed to be,” she continued.
“But (the way they handled the second place) they should be proud of themselves. We didn’t hit Day 1 when they dropped that stunt. Never had done that before but they handled it better than a lot of senior teams I’ve coached. Day 2 was as good as it gets but we couldn’t get past Day 1.”
Of the team’s seven first places, four also earned Grand Champion honors, as they scored higher than athletes twice the age of the youngest ShowStopper: Flyer Faith turned eight years old the day of Athletic Championships in Providence R.I. which they won and earned Grand Champs.
According to Coach Holly, ShowStoppers had a “really, really good, strong but rough season” due to the social media that she thought took away from what the season was all about.
“After the videos started showing up on Fierce Board and YouTube, performance-wise, they were expected to go out and hit,” she said. “I didn’t realize what a big deal they’d become but the first day in Dallas, I thought ‘Holy Crap! They really are a big deal.”
ShowStoppers NCA Dallas Day 2
The moment came for Boulay when ShowStoppers was on its way to the practice area and a “humongous group of about 30 people stopped us and wanted to take photos of the kids but I stopped it.”
Coach Holly with ShowStoppers' after first competition: First Place and Grand Champs
For the naysayers, doubters and pessimists I note, this was a true Level 2 team. In fact my own daughter barely made the required skills at the beginning of the season. At tryouts last weekend ProAthletics’ owner Jason Graham pointed that out to her and noted that she was now executing Level 3 and 4 skills. This didn’t happen by osmosis; Rachel took weekly tumbling classes and spent most of her free time at home practicing her, her flyers’ and the rest of the ShowStoppers’ parts in their routine.
Rachel's first comp as a ShowStopper
They were clean, they were tight but they weren’t perfect. They were kids.
“I teach them, just like I teach all my teams that it doesn’t matter what they did at last weekend’s competition, they have to go out there every time and hit,” Coach Boulay said. “Making me happy and making judges happy are two very different things.”
ShowStoppers debut year was 2010-2011 and they were the first level 2 team in Massachusetts to perform tic-tocs. That year started a little weak but the team gained momentum and ShowStoppers ended its season as the USASF All Levels Virtual Grand Champions for small Youth Level 2.
“That was a big deal but this last year they did stretch to stretches,” Coach Boulay said. “Then people were blown away. That really made them legit.”
ShowStoppers and their $5,000 Don't Fret the Sweat Varsity Award
ShowStoppers 2011-2012 at CHEERSPORT this year they won their jackets and were the second highest scoring team out of 1,000
ShowStoppers started the season winning the Degree Girl “Don’t Fret The Sweat” contest’s Grand Prize of $5,000.
It ended the season earning the USASF’s All Levels Virtual Grand Champion rings and the honor of highest ranking Small, Youth Level 2 team in the country.
In between, they not only won CHEERSPORT jackets but received the second highest score of that competition’s 1,000 teams.
Most of us parents and all of the ShowStoppers were not aware of the following that the team was developing on social media like Fierce Board and YouTube. The coaches worked hard to keep the team grounded and level-headed.
This year ShowStoppers will compete as a small Youth Level 3 team.
“It would be silly, very selfish of me to stay level 2,” said Coach Holly. “It doesn’t make sense to hold them back but it doesn’t make sense to go junior either. They are youth. But this group of kids is just so talented.”
“ShowStoppers is a very hard team,” Coach Boulay said. “Just because they are a youth team, they are not coached like a youth team. They are coached like a senior team or harder but these kids have the talent, ability and mental state to take it.”
Of course the name ShowStoppers stays the same, but the kids change as some age up and out.
“All Levels was their best performance yet and by then it seemed everyone knew the ShowStoppers,” she said. “It’s hard sometimes for the new kids to live up to the name, but the reality is, their name doesn’t get them a score on the score sheet.”
ShowStoppers~2011-2012
*ProAthletics ShowStoppers 2011-2012:
First row/front: Faith, Rachel, Julz, Olivia and Hannah.
Second row/middle: Abbi, Elizabeth, Angie, Jazmine, Gabe, Lee-Lee, Kiley, Ashley and Tatum.
Third row/standing: Monica, Kenzie, Amoi, Brianna, Kelly and Holly.
By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
ProAthletics' ShowStoppers 2011-2012* Photo by Jamie Christian Photography
“Onward and Upward” was the advice I received the other day when I got a bit choked up after being handed the ShowStopper 2011-2012 team photo (above).
The sweet faces of the Youth Level 2 team belied the discipline, motivation and unending desire these kids had. They were champions in every sense of the word, placing second in only one competition all season when ShowStoppers scored .02 less than the first place team at NCA-Dallas.
Coach Holly with (from left to right) ShowStoppers Brianna, Kiley, Le-Le and Rachel, at the "We're going to Dallas" announcement.
“Dallas was very disappointing,” ShowStoppers Coach Holly Boulay said. “I definitely put a lot of the blame on myself. We did CHEERSPORT then everyone was travelling on different schedules.
“Not practicing all week, it was school vacation week and some treated it like a vacation and for the most part, they were not in the state of mind they needed to be,” she continued.
“But (the way they handled the second place) they should be proud of themselves. We didn’t hit Day 1 when they dropped that stunt. Never had done that before but they handled it better than a lot of senior teams I’ve coached. Day 2 was as good as it gets but we couldn’t get past Day 1.”
Of the team’s seven first places, four also earned Grand Champion honors, as they scored higher than athletes twice the age of the youngest ShowStopper: Flyer Faith turned eight years old the day of Athletic Championships in Providence R.I. which they won and earned Grand Champs.According to Coach Holly, ShowStoppers had a “really, really good, strong but rough season” due to the social media that she thought took away from what the season was all about.
“After the videos started showing up on Fierce Board and YouTube, performance-wise, they were expected to go out and hit,” she said. “I didn’t realize what a big deal they’d become but the first day in Dallas, I thought ‘Holy Crap! They really are a big deal.”
ShowStoppers NCA Dallas Day 2
The moment came for Boulay when ShowStoppers was on its way to the practice area and a “humongous group of about 30 people stopped us and wanted to take photos of the kids but I stopped it.”
Coach Holly with ShowStoppers' after first competition: First Place and Grand Champs
For the naysayers, doubters and pessimists I note, this was a true Level 2 team. In fact my own daughter barely made the required skills at the beginning of the season. At tryouts last weekend ProAthletics’ owner Jason Graham pointed that out to her and noted that she was now executing Level 3 and 4 skills. This didn’t happen by osmosis; Rachel took weekly tumbling classes and spent most of her free time at home practicing her, her flyers’ and the rest of the ShowStoppers’ parts in their routine.
Rachel's first comp as a ShowStopper
They were clean, they were tight but they weren’t perfect. They were kids.
“I teach them, just like I teach all my teams that it doesn’t matter what they did at last weekend’s competition, they have to go out there every time and hit,” Coach Boulay said. “Making me happy and making judges happy are two very different things.”
ShowStoppers debut year was 2010-2011 and they were the first level 2 team in Massachusetts to perform tic-tocs. That year started a little weak but the team gained momentum and ShowStoppers ended its season as the USASF All Levels Virtual Grand Champions for small Youth Level 2.
“That was a big deal but this last year they did stretch to stretches,” Coach Boulay said. “Then people were blown away. That really made them legit.”
ShowStoppers and their $5,000 Don't Fret the Sweat Varsity Award
ShowStoppers 2011-2012 at CHEERSPORT this year they won their jackets and were the second highest scoring team out of 1,000
ShowStoppers started the season winning the Degree Girl “Don’t Fret The Sweat” contest’s Grand Prize of $5,000.
It ended the season earning the USASF’s All Levels Virtual Grand Champion rings and the honor of highest ranking Small, Youth Level 2 team in the country.In between, they not only won CHEERSPORT jackets but received the second highest score of that competition’s 1,000 teams.
Most of us parents and all of the ShowStoppers were not aware of the following that the team was developing on social media like Fierce Board and YouTube. The coaches worked hard to keep the team grounded and level-headed.
This year ShowStoppers will compete as a small Youth Level 3 team.
“It would be silly, very selfish of me to stay level 2,” said Coach Holly. “It doesn’t make sense to hold them back but it doesn’t make sense to go junior either. They are youth. But this group of kids is just so talented.”
“ShowStoppers is a very hard team,” Coach Boulay said. “Just because they are a youth team, they are not coached like a youth team. They are coached like a senior team or harder but these kids have the talent, ability and mental state to take it.”Of course the name ShowStoppers stays the same, but the kids change as some age up and out.
“All Levels was their best performance yet and by then it seemed everyone knew the ShowStoppers,” she said. “It’s hard sometimes for the new kids to live up to the name, but the reality is, their name doesn’t get them a score on the score sheet.”
ShowStoppers~2011-2012
*ProAthletics ShowStoppers 2011-2012:
First row/front: Faith, Rachel, Julz, Olivia and Hannah.
Second row/middle: Abbi, Elizabeth, Angie, Jazmine, Gabe, Lee-Lee, Kiley, Ashley and Tatum.
Third row/standing: Monica, Kenzie, Amoi, Brianna, Kelly and Holly.
