We want your pictures!

Calling all parents! All fans! All cheerleaders! All dancers!  Send us your pics from competitions or practices or any team event!  We'll post them on our facebook page and here on the blog!  Email them to kvaughn (at) premierathletics.com.  GO MIX!

MIX Alumni Feature!

This past year has been an extremely successful and exciting one for former MIX cheerleader Katrina Williams! She took a chance and moved down south to follow her passion, and in her opinion it was “the best choice [she] could have possibly made.”

She started the year off at the University of Louisville try-outs, competing with hundreds of amazing athletes to earn a spot on one of the top programs in the nation.  After three rounds of cuts (and to her surprise!) she made Louisville's Small Co-Ed Cheer team.  The excitement of making the team was overwhelming and little did she know there were much better times to come.

In the spring she competed at NCA College Nationals, ending the weekend with a clean sweep:  Dance, Large Co-Ed, All-Girl, and Small Co-Ed all left Daytona as National Champions! On top of that, U of L competed in STUNT, a new competition style which has been designed with the goal of being considered for NCAA Emerging Sport status.  Participating in (taking first place!) the competition was monumental and a major step towards cheerleading becoming an NCAA sport.

Along with competing at the collegiate level, she found time in her busy schedule to practice with GymTyme Pink.  They had an extremely successful year, winning leather jackets at NCA Nationals in Dallas, Texas and ending the year scoring the highest score of the competition and becoming back-to-back World Champions!

During her first year at college she brought home with a Collegiate ring, NCA Jacket, World Champion ring, and a World Grand Champion ring.  Katrina says, “Michigan Xtreme will always be home and I hope I was able to make everyone proud.” 

Katrina, we’d say you’ve done just that!

Coach Spotlight!

Name:  Debbie Cross

Hometown: Belleville, MI

Years with MIX: This is my 2nd year!

Cheer Experience:  I have a lot of experience being a special needs coach, but this is my first time as a special needs cheer coach...  I'm hooked!!

Where do you get your inspiration to be competitive cheer coach?  I get my inspiration from my athletes, their big beautiful smiles, hugs, and looks of accomplishment.

What is your most memorable “cheer moment”?  When our VIP's performed for the first time... The look on their faces when they received their medals!

What do you love about Premier Athletics - Michigan Xtreme?  The Athletes, the coaches, it's one big family!

What keeps you busy when you’re not at the gym?  I am very involved in Special Olympics and I chair and run a car show for autistic kids in Garden City.

FUN stats:

Favorite movie:  Mama Mia

Dream vacation spot: Hawaii

Coolest celebrity I’ve ever met:  LOL, I'm not that cool....  :o)

Three things you can’t live without:   My Family and My Pepsi

My dream job:  I'm doing it...  coaching special needs kids.

Lucky number: 16

Little known fact about me:  I like to sing Karaoke

Drum roll please...

Congratulations to the winners of the Michigan Xtreme Photo Contest!!

Lauren and Kirsten and their MIX-spirited pup took FIRST PLACE!  The prize is a FREE month of tuition at MIX and a $50 holiday shopping gift card!

And the Coaches' Choice winner is Halie!  Her prize is a $50 holiday shopping gift card!

Here are the other Coaches' Choice selections!

Cheerlebrity Maddie Gardner!

Michigan Xtreme was treated to a surprise visit by Cheerlebrity Maddie Gardner!    

Here she is pictured with the Georgeson girls.  More on Maddie below…

From the Varsity All Star website:

Full around ball-up to left stretch tick-tock to right stretch.   Is that sequence in your cheerleading arsenal?

Full around ball-up to left stretch tick-tock to right stretch - was a highlight at The Cheerleading Worlds in 2010.  And what a highlight it was as everyone in the Milk House jumped to their feet in applause for Maddie Gardner and her full around ball-up to left stretch tick-tock to right stretch which helped to ensure Cheer Extreme's Large Senior team took home gold medals.  Maddie Gardner is a cheerlebrity.

Born in the small town of Mount Airy, NC, "where everybody knows you and will do anything for you", Maddie was first introduced to cheerleading at the age of 4 - she loved watching the high school cheerleaders and desperately wanted to be the mascot.  But when all star cheerleading showed up on her radar, she knew she had found her calling.  Maddie didn't want to be inside a mascot costume she wanted to shine on the competition floor.

At age 6, Maddie went to Cheer Extreme and her love for cheerleading developed into an all out passion.  Never one to shy away from hard work, Maddie dedicated her time and developed her talents with the help of the Cheer Extreme Staff.  Maddie lights up when she talks about her coach, "Courtney Smith-Pope taught me so much in my first few years at Cheer Extreme.  Today I am still learning not only about my sport, but myself."

To date, all of her major accomplishments and memorable moments have revolved around cheerleading.  She's been a recognizable athlete for Cheer Extreme for many years.  During her three years on the L5 junior all girl team, her team took first place at NCA All Star Nationals in 2005.  Shortly thereafter she was asked to join the Senior Elite L5 All Girl team.  "She takes emotional presence to a new level when she performs.  She's an innovator, risk taker, and conscientious teammate" says Courtney Smith-Pope."

Maddie's a leader.  She takes on leadership roles not only with her all star cheer team, but also with her school team where she's cheered for three years.   She's a junior in high school and has been captain for her school team for the past two years.   Leadership doesn't stop with cheerleading for this young athlete as she also takes an active role in her community.  When she's not cheering or doing schoolwork, you'll find Maddie volunteering at the local hospital and participating in fundraisers for various charities and organizations.  She is an active member of student government and the Interact Service Club.  Maddie is a self-proclaimed perfectionist, "I strive for excellence in my school work and never settle for anything less than perfect in all that I do."

Upon graduation Maddie plans to attend college and one day become a broadcast journalist.  Aside from her obvious determination and passion for cheerleading she attributes much of her success to her friends and family.  "My friends are awesome and I have the greatest, most supportive family anyone could ask for.  The people I meet through cheerleading keep me motivated not only in my sport but in my life.  I wouldn't be where I am today without the love and encouragement I have received from the people who surround me."

Athletes like Maddie, who excel on and off the mat, are an inspiration to us all.

Coach Spotlight!

Name: Stephanie Gagleard

Hometown: Canton, MI

Years with MIX: 5 years

Cheer experience: Cheered and coached at Plymouth-Salem high school, Varsity Coach & Competition Consultant for Plymouth Canton Steelers, Head Instructor & Judge for UCA Staff, Creator/Director for Premier Cheer Zone, 10th Year Coaching competitive cheer

Where do you get your inspiration to be competitive cheer coach?  The athletes inspire me to be the best possible coach I can be. They work so hard and deserve the best.

What is your favorite “cheer moment”?  I love when the girls are happy to see me.

What do you love about Premier Athletics - Michigan Xtreme?  I love learning (when I’m interested in a topic) and our gym offers a lot of coaches’ education and we are soooo much better because of it.

What keeps you busy when you’re not at the gym?  Designing, photography, and spending time with my niece. I love all things creative!

FUN stats:

Favorite movie:  Legally Blonde

Coolest celebrity I’ve ever met:  Jamie Foxx was pretty cool 

Three things you can’t live without:  Family, camera and iPhone

My dream & current jobs:  Designer, photographer and coach

Lucky number:  7

Little known fact about me:  My favorite person in the whole world is my one-year-old niece, Brooklyn Emma. We’re best friends!

A letter from special needs cheer team coach Debbie Cross...

Hi Everyone!

The VIPs are an amazing group of athletes!  We have 3 young men and 9 ladies on our team, and they range in age from 5 to 24 years old.  We practice once a week on Sundays from 12:30 – 2:00.  We are adding a new stunt to the VIPs routine this year...  You’ll have to come and see them perform to see it!  The VIPs embrace each other in a way other athletes don’t.  They don’t focus on what they can’t do, they applaud each other on what they can and have accomplished.  I am so proud of each and every athlete; they put their all into every cartwheel, forward roll and round-off!  We have exhibition performances in Detroit and Warren, MI, and Columbus, OH.  Our first 2011 – 2012 competition is at NCA on December 3rd in Warren, MI!! 

Coach Debbie Cross