‘Culture of inclusion.’ Cheer gym starts team for Centre County athletes with disabilities
Every Tuesday evening, nine cheerleaders ranging from ages 8-20 file into the Fame All-Stars gym in Pleasant Gap. In their red and black uniforms, the team is like any other, getting ready to work through a routine of tumbling, stunts and dancing.
But the Angels team is part of the gym’s newest competition team in the CheerAbilities division, open to cheerleaders with disabilities.
Unlike a traditional cheer routine that is evaluated or scored on group performance, CheerAbilities routines are scored based on the skill and ability level of each individual member. Coach and gym co-owner Josh Weidner works with each member to determine a skill or motion they can complete, creating a routine to fit the needs of the team. The nine cheerleaders all have some form of physical or intellectual disability and are assisted throughout their routine by two helpers.
“Their expectations are augmented for any sort of physical or intellectual need that they have, but I treat them with the same level of expectation that I treat anybody else in the gym,” Weidner said. “It is very much a culture of inclusion. We pride ourselves on not making them feel like they are different.”
Keeping continuity with the rest of the gym is a vital part of the Angel’s team for Fame All Stars. The Angels travel and compete with the rest of the cheer gym within their division and are always working to improve their routine.
“The routine is evolving with the athletes at the same time as they’re evolving,” Weidner said. “We do not want them to ever feel stagnated. We don’t want them to think that good is good enough because that’s not how we view our traditional routines. There’s always room to improve; you can always get better.”
Since starting last summer, the Angels Team has continued to evolve along with the CheerAbilities division. For years, Weidner said, CheerAbilities was one division with few regulations or rules. But over the years as its popularity has grown, CheerAbilities now has three competition categories for teams at different levels — exhibition, novice and elite. The Angels team competes at a novice level, which allows for ratings and some tumbling and building skills but not to the extent of the elite teams.
As a first-year CheerAbilities team, Weidner said he’s happy with Angels competing in the novice division. The end goal, he said, is to eventually have the team move to the elite division but with the added competition costs the elite division brings, it will be a future discussion between the team and parents.
Katie Feliz, mother of 8-year-old team member Emberly, said it’s been great to find a place where her daughter can be accepted and be part of a team activity.
“It’s nice to find a place where she can be who she is and be appreciated for what abilities she has,” Feliz said.
Weidner said he hopes the Angels team can help make a lifelong difference in the lives of the cheerleaders.
“They’re only going to be a cheerleader for so long,” he said. “They’re only going to be with me for a very short time in their totality of life. And so it’s not just my job as their coach to teach them how to cheer, it’s my job to teach them how to be the best versions of themselves.”
Weidner hopes to continue expanding the team and provide more opportunities for athletes with disabilities at Fame All Stars. Information on how to get involved with the Angels or with Fame All Stars can be found at the gym’s Facebook page or at 511 E. College Ave, Pleasant Gap.
