From the Mustangs front office to performing center stage with the Fillies, Carlie shows why she is an Arena Bowl nominee
Okay, Ron Howard, Brian Glaser, and all of those at Imagine Entertainment, let me pitch an idea for a new television show. The show’s central character is a talented, smart young woman who is a Director of Merchandising and Communications in the front office of a pro sports team, but also, when game day arrives, like a super hero, transforms by donning an orange uniform to captain the team’s dance squad. And on the family front, she has a bunch of older brothers who add a bunch of wacky fun to the goings-on. It has it all, the interesting situations and characters that are part of pro sports entertainment, handsome football players, and beautiful dancers.
Who inspired this brilliant show idea? It has to be Carlie, who not only is an Arena Bowl nominee, but captains the Fillies Dance Team, and by day is Director of Merchandising/Communications for the AFL’s Milwaukee Mustangs. An award winning journalism grad, with an impressive history of dance championships to her credit, Carlie uniquely is part of both the behind the scenes side of pro sports and is also on the field when the spotlight hits. Carlie shared with UltimateCheerleaders the varied aspects of her life, and although she claims it is not exciting enough to be the basis for a TV show (yeah right; Carlie, have you seen what’s on TV?), let me workshop it for you.
Carlie is originally from Sussex, Wisconsin, growing up with three older brothers. About the effect of being surrounded by brothers, Carlie says, “Even though I was always a girlie girl, growing up with brothers made me tougher and helped me establish a great sense of humor. While it hurt to be picked on by them as a kid, it helped me learn to laugh at myself and not take things so seriously, which is a very important personality trait.” So Carlie, were your brothers influenced to become excellent dancers because of you? “I can’t vouch for their dance skills,” Carlie reports, “But I thank them for my love for Metallica, raunchy comedies, and overusing expletives.”
Carlie and Danielle R during pre-game autographs
Carlie’s lifelong love of dance goes back so far, she only recently found out how she started. Carlie says, “I asked my mom not long ago how or why I started, and she said, ‘You just asked me one day if you could start dance lessons.’ As they say, the rest is history.”
And her dance history started when Carlie was a little one, and continued until she herself was a coach. “I began dancing when I was three years old at a local studio, and I continued tap, jazz, ballet, theatre and classical ballet until I graduated high school,” Carlie remembers. “I also danced for two years on my middle school area dance team, four years varsity poms in high school, one year at UW-Green Bay and one year at UW-Milwaukee. I choreographed for a middle school dance team while I was in high school, I co-coached and choreographed a brand-new middle school dance team in Green Bay while in college, and I also am WACPC-certified and judge dance competitions around Wisconsin.”
“Without dance, I don’t think I would have an identity,” reflects Carlie. “It’s one of the only things I know I’m good at and that I feel good about doing, and I can’t imagine a life without it. It’s also given me good posture and a keen ability to count music.”
Carlie’s dance resume includes an impressive collection of award winning collaborations. Twice her high school team won the state Hip Hop championship, first place national titles for Anita’s Dance Center, first place at Nationals for UW-Green Bay Phoenix Dance Team, top 18 honors at UDA Nationals in Florida for UW-Milwaukee Panther Dance Team in 2009, and she also won an All-Star award at UDA camp. For Carlie, the key attributes of winning competitive dance teams are, “Discipline, dedication, and hard work. It sounds cliché, but it’s so true. My high school dance team, the Sussex Hamilton Chargerettes, was two-time state championship holders in Hip Hop during my four years on the team. My senior year, we were three points away from first. Our pom routines were always in the top four at state, but hip hop was our specialty. We perfected the dreaded ‘3-peat’ or ‘5-peat,’ where we’d perform one routine, rest thirty seconds, perform the next routine, rest one minute, and so on until we’d performed the two-minute routines three, four, or five times. We cleaned each routine extensively, performed in groups of two and used the ‘start and stop’ method, where if our coach saw one mistake, she’d stop the song and we’d have to start from the beginning. Dedication is key!”
Carlie motorcycles onto the field
Carlie received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with an emphasis in broadcast from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, after she had also won Best of Show at the Associated Press Conference as a copy editor for UW-Green Bay’s newspaper. Being so involved with her school newspapers gave her opportunity to report on many things, and when asked her most memorable story, Carlie says, “I covered some good stories, but I’d have to say my favorite was one we covered at Marquette University. They had just hired a new dean, but she was let go when her homosexuality went public. Being a Jesuit school, there was a lot of controversy surrounding this topic. It was an awesome site seeing all the passionate students fighting for someone they didn’t know but something they believed so strongly in. We got great footage and sound bites, which is every journalist’s dream.”
After college, Carlie is now in the front office for Milwaukee’s Mustangs and dancing for their Fillies. So what happened first, trying-out for the Fillies or becoming Director of Merchandising/Communications for the Mustangs? “I began working in the Mustangs office first in February 2011,” Carlie recalls. “Because of the organization’s ownership change, the Mustangs had a late start to the season, which included a late start to prepare for Fillies auditions. Knowing I have an extensive dance background, although at this point, I hadn’t danced for two years, my coworkers suggested I try out for the Fillies. I couldn’t make tryouts because I was still working at Kohl’s on the weekends, but I met with Danielle, our coordinator, and she invited me to practice to check it out. I missed dancing so much the past few years that I was so excited for an opportunity to dance again, especially for a professional dance team!”
And this season, not only is Carlie a part of the Fillies and their captain, she was selected to be a nominee for the AFL’s Net 10 Dream Team that will perform at the 25th Anniversary Arena Bowl in New Orleans. New Orleans would be a new experience for Carlie. “I have never been there,” Carlie explains. “I’m hoping my first time is dancing at the Arena Bowl! Then I’d like to go back for Mardi Gras.”
Carlie’s work for the Mustangs includes managing their online store, website, merchandise, donations, and sponsorship fulfillment. What is it like to work in the front office of an AFL team? “It’s a lot of fun working in the sports industry in general, especially for such a new team,” Carlie answers. “It’s a small organization, so we collaborate on lots of different things, and it is fun to watch the organization grow.”
And Milwaukee is a very fun city, which celebrates the arrival of warmer weather along Lake Michigan. Some of Carlie’s favorite things to do in summer and winter include, “I love going to the various festivals in Milwaukee like Summerfest and State Fair,” Carlie says. “In winter, I try to stay indoors as much as possible; I’m not a fan of snow!”
Where does Carlie like to take visitors that visit Milwaukee? “When friends and family come over, I always take them to Yo Mama!, which is a frozen yogurt place where you can mix any frozen yogurt together with any toppings, and you pay by the ounce,” Carlie replies. “Everyone is always amazed by that place!”
Though she did not love them at first, one of Carlie’s hobbies is Sudoko. Carlie remembers, “I used to absolutely despise them because they were so hard! However, I started doing the ones in the student newspaper and realized there were different strategies to completing them, and then I was hooked. We have a family tradition where my parents buy us calendars each year for Christmas, and last year I received a Sudoku-a-day calendar. Let’s just say I was into March when it was only January still. They are addicting.”
So what is would be the ‘dream job’ for talented Carlie? “My dream job has always been to either be an E! News correspondent or a copy editor for a newspaper or magazine,” Carlie replies. “Recently, I’ve also thought about teaching communication arts or journalism high school courses. Unfortunately, written communication is becoming a lost art thanks to the Internet and texting. Kids still need to know how to properly communicate and spell.”
So despite Carlie’s protestations that her life would not make the basis of a cool TV show (she claims, “Unfortunately, my life would probably seem boring while I’m at work, so there would need to be limited footage shot while I’m at my desk.” Sure Carlie, like you don’t look up from your desk and see mascots wildly chasing each other around the office), I still want to make a pitch to Ron Howard to make a show based on her life. Why him? Because his Richie Cunningham character from the classic sitcom “Happy Days,” which was set in Milwaukee (like Carlie), went to UW-Milwaukee (like Carlie), and had a degree in journalism (like Carlie!). Maybe the main character in a new show based in Milwaukee can be Richie Cunningham’s niece, let’s call her Carlie: Journalism grad, Director in a pro football front office, who also captains one of the coolest dance teams in the country. I think the idea is a winner, just like the real-life Carlie!
It’s an election year, so don’t forget to VOTE for Carlie and the other candidates for the AFL’s Net 10 Dream Team at this link, and Carlie’s Facebook page for the Arena Bowl is at his link. But, don’t worry, we will give equal time to the Fillies other wonderful and worthy candidate Angela in an upcoming interview! Decisions, decisions!
Thanks thanks thanks to Nicole LeBlanc, the Director of Media and Public Relations for the Milwaukee Mustangs Arena Football, and also to Carlie, not only for providing her time for this interview, but because she was so helpful helping me at the game so that I would not be run over motorcycles, hit by off-target passes (ala Marcia Brady), be only minimally terrorized by mascots, and not get lost within the Bradley Center like a scene from Spinal Tap.
And more photos of Carlie are here at this link!
Director Danielle and Captain Carlie during halftime tug o' war
