Sussex Cheer Club Heats Up World Competition

Cheerleading may not be as big in Wisconsin as it is down south, but within the walls of Heat Athletics in Sussex cheerleading is of worldly proportions.

Heat Athletics is an all-star cheerleading gym in Sussex off of Lisbon Road and Highway 164. Kids ages six to 19 from all over the state who tryout for a spot on their internationally competitive team. Heat is sending two of its teams to World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando later in April.

It’s the only club in the state to send two teams to the global competition.

New Leaders

Under the new leadership of Sean and Brandi Mars, the gym is fast becoming the elite cheerleading training facility in Wisconsin. Sean Mars has 18 years experience in cheer and coached at Heat for four years before purchasing the gym in March. Brandi has over 20 years experience in cheer. 

“We loved the gym and loved everything about Heat athletics, and instead of starting a new gym we purchased this one on March 15 because the owners were ready to move on to other things,” Sean Mars said.

In just over three weeks, Sean and Brandi have added a new spring board floor, reorganized the entire fitness and weight gym, and plan to add a third floor soon. They have also hired a professional tumbling group to train their athletes at the facility and to work with their current staff.

Sean Mars is a former police officer, and also owns a law enforcement software company in Franklin. He said the gym is more than about competing. 

"We want to help kids become better people, learn punctuality, respect, hard work, give 110 percent, and reach their goals," Mars said. 

'Cheerleading on Steroids'

But what exactly is competitive cheerleading? If you asked that question in Texas, you’d get a different response than up north in Wisconsin. It isn’t what you see on the sidelines at football game. Sean Mars summed up the sport quite simply.

“It’s basically cheerleading on steroids,” Mars said. “The biggest misconception is that cheerleading is not an athletic sport. In a two-minute, 30-second routine these athletes are working non-stop, 110 percent, it’s one of the hardest things you can do. Being in shape is very important.”

Down south, there may be 20 different cheerleading gyms within a 20-mile radius. In Wisconsin, there may be 20 gyms total. But Heat is making a name for itself in Wisconsin, and around the nation.

“Most people know when they compete against Heat Athletics, they know they are going to have a challenge," Mars said. "The kids work very hard on routines.”

When a team receives a full bid to the Worlds Competition, they receive $25,000 to travel down to compete in Orlando, FL. The team’s highest finish was eighth in a past Worlds competition.

“These competitions are extremely competitive. We’ve competed in a number of state competitions to get the Worlds bid,” said Courtney Joers, who has coached at Heat since it opened in 2004. “Everyone is shooting for the same thing. It’s cutthroat, and sometimes it could be a tenth of a point separating a team from a bid.”

On Wednesday, the Firestorm team was working hard practicing its routine for the competition later this month. If there was any doubt about the athleticism of the team, just watch the video. Remember, they were flipping and jumping all night.

The team will put on a two-minute, 30-second routine in Orlando. However, the team works for months pulling together all the pieces of their elaborate routine. The higher the difficulty of the routine, and better it’s performed, the bigger the points.

“I’m looking forward to both teams having a good performance. I just want both teams to hit their routines perfectly, and just be happy with how that turns outs,” Joers said.