Sports
Bringing Home the Trophy
The Wildfire cheerleading team from Heat Athletics earned second place at the 2011 National & International All Star Cheerleading and Dance Championship
Cheerleading at Heat Athletics in Sussex is not about cheering on the sidelines for a football team. This gym has teams in levels 1-5 that focus on stunting, tumbling, dance, motion, pyramids, and basket tosses.
Wildfire, Heat’s level 4 team, won a big team trophy and silver medals for their second place award at the end of their 2010-2011 season.
The Wildfire team has two coaches, Jess Contrino, and Cassie Stack. The team has been practicing all year since tryouts last year in April.
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“This is our biggest competition and the big finale of the season,” said Contrino.
The competition was on March 12-13 at the 2011 National & International All Star Cheerleading and Dance Championship at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, located in the Downtown Disney area of Orlando, Florida.
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The kids won a big team trophy and silver medals for their second-place award after competing against teams from all of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Wildfire has 35 team members ranging in ages 10-18. They are an All-Star team, which means they are not associated with a specific school or sports team. Heat Athletics is a private, for-profit gym, dedicated to competitive All-Star cheerleading. Members of the Wildfire team attend a variety of schools, including Hamilton High School.
“The kids gain confidence in themselves, leadership, and teamwork as part of a cheer team,” said Contrino.
A video of the UCA 2011 performance can be seen on the Varsity website by searching for “Heat.”
“As a coach, the most exciting part of the weekend was during the performance. I couldn’t be more proud of the kids,” said Contrino.
Heat Athletics – a gym for Cheerleading and Tumbling
Heat’s 8,000 square foot facility in Sussex has everything they need for tumbling and cheer practice, including a spring floor, hard floor and trampoline.
They moved to their current location at W248N5250 Executive Drive in September 2008. Prior to that, they were located in Hartland.
The gym has five All-Star teams, classes for beginners and team training classes for area school teams including Templeton Middle School and Hamilton High School.
Tryouts for the 2011-2012 All-Star teams are coming up soon. Details can be found on their website www.heatathletics.com, or by calling Heat at 262-264-0693.
