Congratulations to San Jose SaberKitten Alixandra who will be representing her squad at Arena Bowl XXVI next month in Orlando
Alixandra is thee-year veteran of the SaberKittens and a Captain. She is a junior San Jose State University where she is majoring in Business Finance.
[Alixandra at the Sabercats Website]
From YourHoustonNews.com
The two things junior Scarlett Ellingson used to balance her University of St. Thomas activities and her work as a Houston Rockets Power Dancer was her day planner and her cell phone – to call her mom for support.
Ellingson, a double major in international development and international studies, maintained her studies as a full-time student, was captain of the UST Cheerleading Club, vice president of the Presidential Ambassadors, public relations officer for the International Students Association, treasurer for UST’s Model United Nations, vice president of Celt Crazies (the UST fan club) and she worked in the UST Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Not to mention she was one of only 14 women on the NBA’s Houston Rockets Power Dancers. Somehow, she was even able to get a full night’s sleep.
“It was difficult – I’m not going to lie,” Ellingson said. “I made commitments though, and I told myself this is what I want and this is going to work. If you want something, you do anything to make it work.”
She kept up with school work and clubs, while attending two to three Rockets games a week and Power Dancer practices. She weathered the long Rockets season, which included All-Star Weekend in Houston and a brief run in the playoffs. Ellingson said she was going 24/7.
“I had to learn time management very quickly,” she said. “In a way, it made me really organized because I had a very limited amount of time to study and have free time. No one sees the hard work behind it, and it’s not all fun and games. We have our personal trainer, our practices and deadlines to meet. Just because you have a pretty face and you can dance doesn’t mean you can do it all. We always say, ‘Only the strong survive.’”
Ellingson used her experience with the Rockets to impart a professional work ethic to the women in the University Cheerleading Club. Because of her busy schedule, the girls were practicing at 6 a.m. on Thursdays and midday on other days. Ellingson helped the student-athletes understand that diligence is a must, regardless of one’s skill level.
“I’m at the professional level, but I always told them that they can be, too,” she said. “I would tell them, ‘You should take this just as serious as I take my job.’
“I think they got the bigger picture because we worked very hard.”
Ellingson has a special place in her heart for the fortitude it takes to be a dancer and entertainer. At the end of her senior year in high school, she planned to become a ballerina in New York. Three days before prom, she broke her collarbone in three places and shattered her shoulder. She lost her full ride to the school in New York and had to rebuild. Ellingson went into panic mode when she realized she had deferred all her other acceptance letters but wanted to take advantage of her St. Thomas acceptance. She said UST welcomed her with open arms.
“My classroom was going to be a dance room, so I didn’t know what I wanted to study,” she said. “The last two years of high school, I was preparing myself for the dance world, not for a solely academic world. But the vibe at St. Thomas was like family. I want my education and to pursue my career, and I couldn’t let one distract from the other.”
Ellingson’s internship with World Refugee Day Houston helped her understand the journey of a refugee. This inspired her new plan – to go to law school and eventually work with refugees.
Not even realizing it, Ellingson inspired a fellow UST cheerleader, junior finance major Alessandra Scotto, to follow a similar path. Scotto is a Dynamo Girl with the MLS team the Houston Dynamo. Scotto is a part-time student who is now in the crux of Dynamo season.
“This past semester took me by surprise,” Scotto said. “I knew Scarlett was a Power Dancer, so I thought I would audition for Dynamo Girl tryouts. I was so proud when I made the team. Game days are long hours and there is no rest, but I love my experience with both so far. I hope to continue on both paths, and I’m happy I can make both work in my life right now.”
Scotto, who is also in the UST Cheer Club, plans to get her masters and continue to be a good example for her three younger sisters.
Ellingson and Scotto will continue to motivate the other women in the UST Cheer Club and show them that endurance and ambition will go much further than a pretty face and cool dance moves.
Andrea of the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders
Ravens cheerleader killed in accident recalled for spirit, joy, passion
Cheer facility in Virginia where Dion Bagby worked opens doors for hundreds of athletes, families
By Susan Reimer
The Baltimore Sun
Coaches, athletes and their families gathered at Infinity All-Stars gym in Fairfax, Va., Saturday and Sunday to remember Dion Bagby, a coach at the gym who had recently earned a spot on the Baltimore Ravens cheerleading squad, and who was killed in a motorcycle accident Friday in Frederick.
“The kids were crying and remembering and tumbling and crying and laughing,” said Brad Palmer, owner of the gym, which canceled classes and threw open the doors for mourning. “It was good to have a place for all the kids and parents and coaches to go. A lot of families came and hung out the whole time.”
Bagby, 27, had been a full-time coach at the gym for the past three years, working primarily with the junior and senior teams.
“He was a fixture here,” said Palmer, who encouraged the athletes to write thoughts and stories about Bagby for a memory book to be sent to family in Oklahoma.
Bagby died Friday morning on Route 15 near Frederick when a Volkswagen Jetta driven by Amy Sue Harrison of Thurmont began making a left turn onto Monocacy Boulevard. Bagby’s Suzuki motorcycle struck the passenger side, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
About 100 mourners visited the Infinity gym Saturday and an additional 125 came Sunday, Palmer said. Plans were being made for a memorial service and members of the Ravens organization expressed an interest in attending, Palmer said.
“The news says a man died in a motorcycle accident,” he said, adding that Bagby meant much more to the athletes and their families. “We are trying to find ways to honor his memory. We want to talk about the man he was and the life he led.”
Bagby was an Oklahoma native and had been a cheerleader at the University of Louisville. He was on his way to Camp Woodward in central Pennsylvania at the time of the accident, to work with several of his athletes on the last day of a weeklong camp. He had been selected to be a member of the Ravens’ co-ed stunt team after tryouts in March.
“Infectious. That’s the word that keeps coming up,” Palmer said of Bagby. “His spirit, his joy, his passion. It was infectious.”
The Nu Skin Jazz Dancers held their annual auditions Saturday, and FOX 13 News photojournalist Matt Sampson was there to capture the event. Check out the video for more on the tryouts.
From Tuesday Evening – Brittni of the Washington Kastles Cheerleaders
From Saturday Night – Philadelphia Soulmates Choreographer Michelle Sulpizio and Arena Bowl XXVI Dream Team Member Soulmate Christina
There is a skybridge that connects the Marriott (where the P-R-O Convention was held this year) and the Hilton (where it was held previously). Early on Sunday, before the convention resumed a few of the Gotham City Cheerleaders were kind enough to pose for me there.
The NY Giants don’t have cheerleaders, yet. The Gotham City Cheerleaders are working from the outside to create a groundswell of support, so that the team will finally join the 21st Century and institute a squad.
Lana
Natalie
BriAnna
Colleen
A Baltimore Ravens Cheerleader and an Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader
At the Calgary Stampeders home opener against the BC Lions on June 28th, the Outriders debuted their new uniforms designed by Angela King designs. The Stampeders won the game, and during the game the Stampeders and fans raised over C$100,000 for flood relief.
