My Cheer Story

If you’re new here, welcome — I’m Josh.

I’ve been part of the cheerleading world for most of my life, and my journey has taken me from small-town beginnings in Geneva, NY, all the way to competing and coaching at the highest levels of the sport.

This blog is a full overview of my cheer story — how I started, the different eras that shaped me, the programs and teams that helped build my foundation, and the experiences that eventually turned cheer into my career.

It’s not meant to be overly dramatic or too detailed. Just the real story, organized in a way that’s easy to follow — especially if you’re just now learning who I am and what I’ve done in cheer.

The Start

My cousin, mom, and grandmother were all cheerleaders — but growing up, it was never really a big deal.

What actually started everything was a trampoline.

I asked for one as a gift one year and became obsessed with tumbling. Around that same time, my cousin would visit us in Geneva, NY, and she was an amazing tumbler. Watching her and trying to copy what she could do was my first real inspiration.

My neighborhood was full of kids who were on the Geneva Pop Warner team, and everyone was always at my house. We were constantly stunting and tumbling outside, and eventually one of the moms suggested I join the team.

I still remember my first practice like it was yesterday — and from there, I never looked back.

Geneva Junior Panthers

In 2006, I joined the Geneva Junior Panthers, and I spent two seasons on the C and B teams. I loved it from the start — but what really made it feel real was getting to travel for competition.

One of my first big cheer memories was going to Niagara Falls for a national event. That trip was a huge moment for me, and it made me realize I wanted more from the sport.

Transition to All-Star

Panther Extreme All-Starz

After my time with the Geneva Panthers, my coach opened her own All-Star gym in Geneva called Panther Extreme. That was my first real exposure to All-Star cheer — and I remember being immediately impressed.

The branding, the colors, the artwork on the walls… everything felt like a step up from Pop Warner. And the best part was I still got to do it alongside my friends.

During my first season at Panther Extreme, we traveled a few hours out for competitions near Rochester and Buffalo, which is where I started seeing other All-Star programs in the surrounding area. I was already passionate about cheer, but that’s when I realized how big the sport really was — and how many talented, driven athletes were out there chasing the same thing.

Seeing the different teams, performance styles, choreography, and overall energy completely changed the way I viewed cheer. I came home from those weekends feeling more motivated than ever.

Not long after, I knew I wanted to take the next step.

I became really interested in a gym in Rochester, NY, especially because I noticed they had other boys in the program. I asked my mom if I could join Dynamic Silver Bullets, even though it was about an hour away at the time.

She agreed — and just like that, we started driving to Rochester twice a week for practice.

Dynamic Silver Bullets (Rochester, NY)

Northeast Elite (Rochester, NY)

After taking time off to recover, I came back to cheer through a different Rochester program: North East Elite.

I joined the J4 team, and I spent two seasons at NEE — and to this day, some of my closest friendships were built during that time. It was one of the most memorable eras of my cheer life.

Those years also brought my first major competitive highlights. I had the privilege of competing at — and winning — national events like US Finals, and in 2011, I attended and won The Cheerleading Worlds with NEE’s International Open Coed team.

Worlds 2011 was a turning point for me.

Seeing that level of cheer in person — the talent, the intensity, the performance — showed me what was truly possible in the sport, and it made my passion for cheer grow even deeper. After attending worlds 2011 my passion for cheer grew after seeing what was possible.  Post Worlds 2011, I was inspired and had a new hunger to do well at the following world championships.

Moving to Rochester (Churchville-Chili)

When I started high school, my family moved from Geneva, NY to Churchville-Chili. In a way, it made sense — I was already spending so much time in Rochester every week for cheer, and I had built a real friend group and second family there.

During this time, I also cheered for Churchville-Chili Varsity starting my sophomore year.

Core Athletix — Black Diamonds (2011)

In 2011, I joined Core Athletix Black Diamonds, a Coed team that had already made a name for itself at Worlds. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to be part of the program was simple — there were several other boys on the team, and I was excited to finally be in that environment.

That season was the first time I cheered alongside boys who were at the same skill level as me — and it pushed me in ways I hadn’t experienced before. The training, the intensity, the standard… everything felt different.

Black Diamonds had an extremely successful season, and to this day, it’s still one of the most special years of my cheer career — one I’ll never forget.