Inside The

The Lost Art of Basicstips from tumbling expert JR Zeringue

From The Outside InFrom ACL tears to LSU tryouts

WORLDS Road To

It is with great pleasure that I introduce INSIDE THE TRIBE

to the cheer and gymnastics world. For quite some time, I have had a vision for this publication to reach our many athletes, family, and supporters across the nation. This magazine is for you, the person who loves cheerleading and gym-nastics. Our sport has great appeal, integrity, and requires tremendous talent from its athletes. Throughout this and further issues, you will find helpful information on how to improve your performance, whether you are an athlete or a coach. For those younger hopefuls who are interested in cheer or gymnastics, INSIDE THE TRIBE is exactly what

you need for a front row seat. ACE Cheer Company is the nation’s leading brand for All-Star cheering and we are happy to share our secrets to success with everyone.Enjoy the informative and celebratory articles, charismatic pictures, and out-standing support from our sponsors. Join our Facebook page and let us know what you think about your magazine and how we can improve.GEAUX TRIBE!!!

Letter From the Editor….JR Zeringue

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http://www.jamiechristian.net/

The biggest news for ACE of Gadsden this year is our facil-

ity expansion. Doubling in size, the expanded area provides 14,000 square feet for cheer and gymnas-tics training. In addition to offering multiple party rooms and an ACE pro shop, the expanded facility will include a competition cheer spring floor, a competition cheer flat floor, and a competition gymnastics spring floor. ACE of Gadsden will also have a dedicated preschool gym with age-appropriate equip-ment and many other appealing features for our youngest athletes. ACE of Gadsden is proud to provide a talented staff that is pro-fessionally trained and certified by AACCA, USAG and USASF. We continue to offer top-notch training from seasoned tumbling and cheer experts, coaches that you can trust to train your athlete to his or her highest potential. New in 2013, ACE of Gadsden has added ACE at Your Place, an after-school tumbling and cheer program designed to take place on location at schools in the community. In ad-dition to providing instruction to a school’s cheer squad, ACE at Your Place also provides tumbling and cheer classes to the community sur-rounding each school’s location. Our instructors and coaches strive to make this program a great benefit not only to cheer squads but to the entire com-munity. For our younger tumblers

and cheerleaders, ACE of Gadsden has added the Just Kiddin’ program, which follows the same principles of ACE at Your Place but is conducted at preschools and daycares.

Regarding our All-Star program, ACE of Gadsden had an exciting year, adding our first half-year team, the Noccalulas. The Noccalulas, Coosas and River Warriors all had successful seasons. The Coosas took 1st place at WSA VIP and the River Warriors won four out of five competitions and placed third at Cheersport Nationals. The Noccalulas did outstanding with a short season. ACE of Gadsden continues to sup-port the schools in our community by building our school squad training program both on-site and at the ACE of Gadsden location. We are thrilled to serve the majority of the surround-ing area’s Junior High and High Schools, as well as the Recreational Cheer Programs. ACE of Gadsden will continue to advance our athletes’ condition-ing and technique training through our Summer Camp and Skill Clinic program. This program offers weekly

opportunities for athletes to build their overall skill set while also having a great time in the expanded facility. By offering camps and clinics to focus on flexibility, strength, body aware-ness and individual tumbling skills, ACE of Gadsden anticipates an even stronger showing from our All-Star Cheer program. We expect noticeable advancements from athletes in our Class, High School and Recreational Cheer Programs. ACE of Gadsden is aspiring to begin a competitive dance program with additional information soon available online. As northeast Alabama’s most suc-cessful cheer company and talented gymnastics facility, ACE of Gadsden has set a new standard of success for the coming year. The road to excel-lence is paved with diligence, deter-mination and an undefeatable spirit! GEAUX TRIBE.

GADSDEN

Raises The Bar by: JR Zeringue

As we wrap up our very suc-cessful fourth season, ACE of

Atlanta is excited to announce the opening of our new training facil-ity in Peachtree City, GA. The new location offers over 13,000 square feet of space. Some of the outstanding features of this new facility include: abundant parking, covered athlete drop-off, large open lobby for check-in and customer service, separate commons area for athlete storage and a parent view-ing room. We are also proud of our new in-house pro-shop, conference/birthday party room, upstairs fit-ness area, multiple outdoor seating areas, playground, basketball court, and even golf cart parking.

The spacious open floor plan is com-plimented with larger training areas for the athletes that include space for teams, additional classes, and multiple hard floor strips for High School tumble training.

Families will enjoy the new facility which offers access to area restaurants, shops and spa boutiques. Not only will athletes enjoy this new location, but parents will appreciate the com-munity environment.

Our fourth season was a record year for ACE of Atlanta. Enrollment of All-Star athletes exceeded 160 and 7 full year teams! In our first season of youth All-Stars, we were repre-

sented very well by the ACE Golden Eagles. In addition to the Eagles; ACE introduced the ACE Talons, our first Youth Hip Hop Dance Team. Five athletes and Coach Julian Little enjoyed amazing success, includ-ing winning the Cheersport Atlanta Grand Championship in January. We look forward to another great year with our Youth All-Stars and Hip Hop Dance Team.

ACE of Atlanta will continue to advance our athlete’s conditioning and technique training program through our new Summer Camp and Skill Clinic. This new program will offer weekly opportunities for athletes to build their overall skill set while having a great time in the new facil-ity. We anticipate an even stronger showing this season from our All-Star Cheer and Dance programs by offering camps and clinics to focus on flexibility, strength, body awareness and individual tumbling skill. ACE is also optimistic about the advance-ments from our athletes in our Class, High School, and Recreational Cheer Programs.

Obviously with our growth, we are expanding our professional staff. Our new additions include: Jennifer Whaley of Virginia, Kayla Rogers of Pratville, AL and Carla Wingfield of Fayettville, Ga. Jennifer brings over 20 years of experience in gymnas-tics instruction. Her knowledge of

technique, conditioning, flexibility and strength training is outstanding. Kayla is a former Assistant Coach for Troy State University’s Cheerlead-ing program. She has over 10 years of cheerleading experience and will bring great organizational strength to our program. Carla brings 15 years of All-Star coaching to our organization and demonstrates the highest level of commitment to excellence. We welcome our new additions and are excited to see their results.

ACE of Atlanta is certainly looking forward to an amazing upcoming season. We know it will be our best yet! The exciting advancements in the Atlanta gym and the entire ACE Cheer Company will definitely shine a bright light on the cheerleading industry and the advancement of our sport. Go Tribe!

The Future Looks

By Chris Treherne

Bright

Journey to

WORLDSThe pennicle of Competitive Cheerleading

The Sequoyahs have developed so much character through

adversity along their journey to Worlds Competition. Life lessons are truly learned during times of strife and with the help of parents, coaches, and these amazing ath-letes, this team has taken it all in stride. As a small coed team that began the season with three strong male ath-letes, the Sequoyahs were prepared to demonstrate a great deal of strength in stunting and tumbling. Unfortu-nately, after the summer, we lost two of our males and needed to do some serious work to regain our strength. Through this process, other male athletes have stepped up and proven they were equal to the task as well as

our females providing solid support in elite stunt sequences and tumbling. As a traditionally “top heavy” team, we faced challenges of some girls being forced to become bases. They all rose to the occasion. All season this group has displayed a “team first” attitude. In their hearts they all have the same goal of reaching the top 5 at Worlds. Due to injuries and the twists and turns of our journey there have been times of self-doubt; however, after a solid parent and team meeting, the decision was made to focus on the positive. Our athletes realize our actions and performance is a direct reflection of our attitude. We imple-mented “A Champion’s Creed” and increased our mat talk to encourage

Family On The FloorThe Sequoyahs’ Journey to

By Chasity Carter

rlds Wone another. We discovered that writing our goals one by one will help bring the dreams of this team to real-ity. The journey of the Sequoyahs has been far from boring. It is an honor and a privilege as a coach to watch these young athletes grow and mature while perfecting their craft. The final chapter of this journey is yet to be written, but the destination is sure to be worth it all. I am excited to see this team pull together and give the performance of their lives while mak-ing memories never to be forgotten.

On Tuesday May 15, 2012, the ACE Warriors All-Star

team had their first practice of the season. One Year Bible’s daily devotional was based on the story of David and Goliath. Immedi-ately, we saw a connection between the story and the season ahead of us. We realized that we are all equipped with “five stones,” and through our faith and teamwork, we would defeat the giants. With new talent, we faced an uphill bat-tle. Our only option was to rely on each other’s strengths as coaches, athletes, friends, and Tribe family members. We began our journey to fight for the Globe. We worked through the summer months on skills that would make the routine as strong as possible. Many extra hours were spent in the gym. The work ethic and discipline became contagious as more athletes joined. By the end of the summer 45 athletes were competing for 36 spots in the routine. The Warriors went into choreography camp full of excitement and ready to accomplish more than

any other team had before us. ACE Cheer Company holds a special kick-off event every year in Birmingham called “Meet The Tribe.” This event showcases the talent of all the ACE teams. Before the event, team members seemed to burn out. Veteran athletes felt aches and pains from old injuries and newbies felt stress they had never experienced before. By the time we hit the floor at Meet The Tribe in October, we were down to 32 athletes. This event was a turning point; we won a major battle by making it through our first perfor-mance. Warriors never quit. We are always hungry for more. The team worked hard to regain its strength and power. We accom-plished short-term goals and com-peted in December with a team of 36. We were ready for 2013. With our five stones and faith in tact, we headed to New Orleans in January for our first bid to World’s. Once again, obstacles fell in our path. We lost teammates due to poor decisions and injuries. We pulled it together for the competition and gave an amazing

performance but walked away empty handed. Life is full of ups and downs and cheerleading is no exception. We prepared for CHEERSPORT with renewed passion and hopeful hearts. The Warriors had so much at stake in Atlanta. As the five-time defending champion, winning this competi-tion was a must. After day one, the Warriors were in second place by 1.9 points. We knew we needed to give the performance of a lifetime on day 2. The team worked diligently and delivered. The performance was near flawless. The Warriors left Atlanta with its 6th CHEERSPORT Champi-onship and a bid to World’s. We used the comeback in Atlanta as a catalyst for the rest of the season. We proved with our five stones and faith that giant obstacles could be de-feated. As we look to NCA Nation-als, UCA Nationals, and World’s we are more prepared for battle. We will stay hungry, committed, and faithful. We are champions. We are Warriors.

Fi ve Stone s And A Little FaithBy Ryan Hicks

The 2012-2013 Thunderbird Team from ACE of Atlanta has a great story of

courage, commitment, and confidence in their journey to World’s. This group began the season together last May with a fundraiser for Madeline McTier. The Pray for Madeline fund was set up to honor a great athlete battling brain cancer and intense treatment. This experience created a lot of bonding for this team. They dis-played great compassion and truly set the tone for their season. They realized they could do anything together and became a force in the Senior Medium Coed division.The 32 members of the ACE Thunderbirds began summer practice regimen on May 9, 2012. Training was tough, focusing on strength, physical conditioning, tumble and stunt technique. As always, the athletes rose to the occasion. The team goal for the summer was to prepare for our first routine at “Meet The Tribe” day. We attended two summer camps to enhance our strengths including ACE Skills Camp and the annual Hot Shots Camp in Miami. With the help of outstanding coaches and a great choreography routine by Happy Hooper, the Thunderbirds were well prepared to perform alongside other Tribe members in October in Birmingham. ACE’s annual “Meet The Tribe” Day proved to be an awe-some event for our team. The Thunderbirds performed for family, friends, an expert judg-ing panel and the cheer world via CheerLive.net. Despite overcoming injuries and facing other challenges head-on, the Thunderbirds were amazing delivering a solid routine capped off with one of the best dances ever. We took the advice of the expert judges and continued to fine tune our routine. With the Cheersport competition fast approach-ing, the Thunderbirds worked even harder to achieve their goals. While preparing for Cheersport in Atlanta, many ACE athletes were competing as members of their high school squads in the Georgia High School Cheerleading Competition. ACE had an outstanding showing at the GHSA Cheer-leading Championship. Thunderbirds were members of the state champion coed squad from Ola High School as well as four of the

top five teams in AAAA division. Cheersport Grand was a great opportunity to perform in front of the home crowd. Although it was not a perfect performance, the Thunderbirds came away with the 1st place trophy and were on the way to the next competition. The Spirit of Hope Nationals in Charlotte, NC was our first shot at a partial paid national bid. After having a rough day during round one, the Thunderbirds were in 2nd place. We took the judge’s notes and strengthened our performance and day two we showed out. Thunderbirds took to the stage and performed a routine full of high energy, great stunts, and high flying pyramids. At the end of day two we came away with the partial paid bid to World’s and the confident knowledge, “we can hit!”Cheersport Nationals was the next stop on the National journey and one of the larg-est cheerleading competitions in the world! Thunderbirds competed against 14 of the top Medium Coed teams in the nation with a Full Paid Worlds Bid on the line. Day One again proved to be a weak point for the Thunder-birds; a stunt fall, timing issues on stunts and tumbling and form issues, put the Thunder-birds in 8th place. After regrouping with a practice and small tweaks to the routine, Day Two proved a much stronger perfor-mance. A small stunt bobble and one “hands down”moved Thunderbirds up in score Day two, but remained in 8th place overall for the weekend. It was definitely not a high point of the season, but we knew we had two weeks to prep for NCA Nationals.Leading up to the NCA Championship in Dallas, our team took everything we learned from the year, good and bad experiences and made the most of our training time. We were determined to perform well in Dallas and come away with one of eight full paid bids to World’s. Day One: NCA National Championships. After a great warm-up, we headed to the Arena to take the competition floor. Thun-derbirds nailed an AMAZING routine with zero deductions and the crowd went wild! They came off the floor with excitement, confidence and an overwhelming amount of emotion that left the athletes, coaches and

parents in tears. Thunderbirds were in 7th place out of 23 Teams after Day One and 7th in line for one of the 8 Full Paid Bids offered at the competition. The judge’s notes told us to increase running tumbling difficulty and form for higher scores day two and to have a more confident look on the floor. Day Two: NCA National Championships. We headed into warm-ups with new planned running tumbling passes to help build the dif-ficulty score and the confidence that we could do it one more time. We had one last chance to hit the routine and prove to the judges that we were confident and we deserved a paid bid. After a great warm-up, we headed down the corridor to the Arena. Adrenaline was pumping and the team was ready to hit the stage once again. Thunderbirds hit their routine for the second day in a row with only one minor deduction for a touch in the open-ing. The feeling was unreal! Two days, two amazing routines and one happy team! Now it was in the judge’s hands as we sat back and watched the last 6 teams in the division perform before awards. After a very surpris-ing turn of events in the placements, Thun-derbirds remained comfortably in 7th place in the division. Although it was not a National Title, it was a HUGE win for the team to hit those amazing routines two days in a row. The World Bid announcements were not until the end of the competition so again, we waited. It was the moment we had all been waiting for. The announcements began and we were listening closely as the 8 teams were called out. Team 1, Team 2, Team 3 and so on… then the words came “And receiving a Full Paid Bid to the Cheerleading Worlds… From the Senior Medium Coed Division; the ACE Thunderbirds!” A rush of emotion came over me as I heard the athletes in the stand scream in excitement! We did it! A FULL PAID BID TO THE 2013 CHEERLEADING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! Following the announcements, I ran out of the Arena into the arms of the Thunderbirds and I knew that we were ready to make Worlds the most amazing experience of our lives.

Thunderbirds: Motivated By Sweet VictoryBy Chris Treherne

Custom Cheer and Dance Music

Buddy Pearson

Buddy@acetribe.com

contact

Competitive Cheering is growing by leaps and

bounds. Tumbling plays a powerful role in this in-dustry and is sometimes an overwhelming worry for coaches, athletes, and parents. Let us not forget tumbling is only one part of the score sheet and in most cases weighs evenly with stunting, baskets, and pyra-mids. Frequently, if you ask a coach what an athlete needs to do to reach a spe-cific level, a tumbling skill or sequence is the answer. Parents and athletes will concur almost always. Tumbling is the reason I am in this industry. It is the best skill I bring to my team. I was never a cheerleader and never aspired to be one. In fact, as many people around me know, I disliked cheerlead-ers as a whole before I entered the industry. Okay, hold off a minute before you start yell-ing at this article, my feelings toward cheerleaders has taken

a 180 degree turn. I have had an awakening! My athletes are the third love of my life, following Jesus and my wife. Now that I have illustrated how my mind can be changed, I sometimes have to do that with my athletes regarding tumbling and reverting back to the basics. When I am conducting a tumbling clinic or class and start at the most basic level, I will hear moans and see eyes rolling. “Why do I have to do handstands,” an athlete will ask, “I need to have my standing full by next week for tryouts.” I cringe when I hear this. I want to help everyone understand why basic tumbling skills are very important. The first thing a baby learns to do is hold their head up. Next they learn to roll over, crawl, stand, and so forth. I have never seen a baby go from rolling over to walking in one week. It takes time to build muscle strength, coordination, balance and

memory. It is a gradual process to more complicated movements. If we can all understand this simple concept, we should be able to apply it to all aspects of our lives. Tumblers need to be able to master a skill by developing muscles, strength, balance, and mem-ory with skills as simple as forward or backward roll before attempting the same move-ment in the air. Front flips and back tucks are simply more progressive movements of a forward or backward roll and an athlete must work up to this level.

The Lost Art Of Basics

The Lost Art Of Basics

So many coaches start out with cartwheels or front and back walk-overs. Independent of age, every tumbler

should start with the most basic skills of for-ward and backward rolls and variations of each.

Other basic skills often ignored are the headstand and hand-stand. The headstand, although rarely taught, is the first skill that can be performed by the youngest athletes and

teaches balance and muscle control/strength through-out the body. Handstands are a natural progres-sion and raise the balance bar to the next level. Handstands build strength in the arms, shoulders and

core. I of-

ten ask, “How many tumbling skills pass through the hand-stand position?” An athlete will visit the handstand posi-tion in cartwheels, round-offs, front walk-overs, back walk-overs, back handspring, back flip, etc. You get my point. Handstands are like water, they are in everything!

Carztwheels on both sides are another basic skill of-ten ignored. Why should an athlete do cartwheels on both sides? Symmetry is the answer. A body builder does not go to the gym and only work on right arm curls. This principle applies to tumbling. Everything done on the right side should be done on the left and every forward should be trained backward to some degree. Round-offs and twist-ing are the exception and are typically performed in one direction. Sometimes we skip front and back walk-overs. As I mentioned earlier, the front

and back walk-overs develop strength, flexibility, and bal-ance. These techniques are used in more advanced tum-bling skills as well. When a coach or an athlete finds themselves struggling with a particular skill, ask yourself have you mastered the basics? It’s human nature to day dream about your ulti-mate goal and strive to reach it, but athletes are well disci-plined creatures and realize the importance of patience in honing our skills. As a tumbling expert, I couldn’t be happier sharing my talent with the cheer industry, feel free to contact me with any questions or requests. GEAUX TRIBE!

Email JR Zeringue at jr@acegadsden.com

Tumbling Techniques by JR Zeringue

At the age of 14, competitive cheerleader Elizabeth Giattina

needed to nail a double full for her team routine. She had been around the industry long enough to hear about a popular coach in Gadsden named JR Zeringue. Elizabeth made the 45 minute journey north of her home in Trussville. Four years later, she is still training with JR and looking ahead to her fresh-man year at LSU. “At first I was taken by surprise when JR asked me to do a cartwheel and other basic skills,” explains Giat-tina, “I mean I was there to get my double full.” Zeringue is the kind of coach who pays attention to every de-tail and he likes to start every athlete

at the basics. Elizabeth trusted JR and throughout the process she learned more about herself and her ability than she could have imagined. Along the way, she felt a connection to the ACE Gym in Gadsden and to her coach. “JR improved my performance as an athlete, but he also motivated me spiritually,” says Elizabeth. “JR is patient but challenging. At his gym he has created a safe haven for ath-letes. It’s a family atmosphere. It feels so good to be here. When people walk in the door, they automatically become family.”

Unfortunately, Elizabeth suffered a major injury when she tore her ACL. After surgery and a delayed recovery, some might have been afraid to get back in the gym. Elizabeth says her de-sire to go back to work is because her coach believed in her and kept her motivated. Prayer is not found in a lot of gyms these days, but Elizabeth makes the point that ACE in Gadsden and the Zeringue family are pretty exceptional and set their own standards. “Some coaches would feel like they are crossing some line if they talk to you about your spiritual life,” explains Eliz-abeth. “JR and ACE of Gadsden train the entire athlete, not just

our physical strength, but mental and spiritual as well. Small things make a huge difference and I got through my recovery physically and emotionally because of JR and my ACE family.” In the fall of 2013 Elizabeth will be living in Baton Rouge and she will be trying out to cheer for the LSU Tigers. Even though her two older sisters, Anna-Marie and Victoria at-tended Alabama, the younger sister says she is in love with the Tigers. Coach Zeringue is a native of Loui-siana and just may have influenced Elizabeth about her choice. Despite the hard time her older sisters have given her about the choice, Elizabeth, who lights up a room with a constant smile on her face, is thrilled with her decision.Although Elizabeth Giattina has nev-er officially been an ACE All-Star, she is adamant about the superior quality of her training experience. People al-ways say companies are a reflection of the personality, values, and attributes of its leaders. JR Zeringue and his colleagues at ACE Cheer Company continue to enhance the lives of their young athletes. This is a pretty good explanation as to why there are so many champions inside the tribe.

From TheOutside In

By Rob Goodwin

a new

Becoming part of “the TRIBE” has been a refreshing new di-

rection for ACE of Mississippi. As with all new journeys, we received unexpected help from many caring people and were given support that is so important in a change such as this. In 2001, we began as a small All-Star gym in South Mississippi. Through countless hours of hard work, talented coaches, terrific parents, and athletes with humble confidence we have now experienced our first year as part of one of the most prestigious All-Star programs in the country, ACE ALL STARS. For this reason alone we are grateful. We are very lucky to be housed in a state of the art facility. This 13,500 sq. ft. facility was built in 2009 for the sole purpose of having a growing all-star cheer program. ACE of Missis-sippi has two full competition spring floors, two half floors, one of which is spring and one that is non-spring to cater to our school teams. With an in ground 50ft tumble track, 20x20ft pit, in ground Olympic trampoline, and state of the art equipment, ACE

of Mississippi is equipped with all the resources for the growth of any indi-vidual. ACE of Mississippi also offers a 120ft observation deck, 2 tanning rooms, Pro-Shop, party room, free Wi-Fi, and 24-hour surveillance for the convenience of all clientele. This year we added six large All-Star cheer teams, three Hip Hop dance teams and one special needs team to the ACE family. Over the course of the year, ACE of Mississippi coached and choreographed twenty-two school teams across the states of Mississippi and Louisana. Last but not least, owner, head coach and choreographer Brandon Roberts, has a staff of employees that reflect many years of experience in cheerleading, expertise in teaching tumbling and dance, and a commit-ment to teach children many of life’s most important lessons through teamwork and perseverance. ACE of Mississippi believes that with positive role models, every moment in life is a time to help individuals grow not only physically but also mentally. We consider ourselves a “Tribe,” which can be defined by Wikipedia as “a unit

a new

By: Brandon Roberts and Cheryl Farris

Beginning

consisting of a group of families who share a common ancestry and culture”. Plain and simple, our “TRIBE” is de-fined as a group that stands together to help promote the positive growth of individuals through gymnastics and cheerleading, while always insuring the since of family. The future of “ACE of Mississippi” is bright. Our goal is to continue to be a powerful teacher for the children in our “tribe”. Our hope is to teach athletes to be accepting, forgiving, humble, and to present the opportu-nity to explore and develop virtues such as sportsmanship, honesty, and courage. We look forward to a suc-cessful future as “ACE of Mississippi” and feel extremely blessed to be a new member of “the ACE TRIBE”.

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