Wednesday, January 21, 2004
|
Wednesday, January 21, 2004 |
|
Tucs wins national titles, coaching award Tucs Cheer and Dance Lab is busy displaying three national championship awards won this month in Atlanta at the All-Star Challenge National Cheer and Dance competition. Tucs brought five all-star cheer teams in addition to their junior dance team to the two-day competition, which drew some of the biggest names in the cheerleading industry to the event. Of the six competing teams, three claimed the top spot, bringing three national titles, and the bragging rights that go along with them, back to the young gym only in its third year of business. The Pee-Wee Tiny Titans team came from second place after the first day’s performance to win their first national title and in the process earned one of the highest scores of the six competing teams. The junior dance team jumped, kicked and twisted their way to their second national title in just over two weeks. Arguably the most exciting event of the day for Tucs fans was watching the gym’s senior elite team defeat Georgia All-Stars senior elite team, a team that has become somewhat of an icon in the sport of all-star cheerleading in recent years. Tucs’ elite team is made up of some of the most talented athletes in the area, and they have the routine to back it up. Their bevy of full-twisting layouts, three level pyramids and full-basket tosses proved to be a crowd favorite as well as a judges favorite as the local team was ranked first Saturday and held onto that position for the win following Sunday’s performance. “This win is really exciting for us,” said Tonya Pettus of Peachtree City, whose daughter Joelle cheers on the elite team. “Most people don’t realize how difficult and how competitive all-star cheerleading is until they have a child participating. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication on the part of the coaches and the athletes as well as the parents. These kids all pulled together this past summer, dedicated themselves to performing at a level they never dreamed possible and have maintained that level of dedication throughout the season. We couldn’t be more proud of each one of them.” In addition to the cheer awards, Tucs owner and head coach Lance Stella won a coaching award presented to him by the event organizers. “Not only did our athletes perform well,” said Tucs Booster Club President Karol Jones, “but our head coach was honored with an award given to him because of his level of professionalism, his obvious commitment to the sport and his dedication to sportsmanship, all of which he passes along to each athlete. We already knew he is a great coach but to be honored by the industry in this way is really special for him and for our gym.” All of the Tucs teams finished respectfully, including the mini pee-wees who placed fourth overall out of seven teams. The youth team finished second as did the junior novice team who themselves won a national title at another event earlier this season. Back
to the Top of the Page
|
