TORONTO — After cheerleading throughout high school together, Suzanne McLay and Anne-Marie Joyce’s passion for the sport ended up becoming the fundamental root of their career.
Beach Cheer Athletics was founded by the two longtime cheerleading partners and aims to give every member a meaningful experience by building their fitness level, developing self esteem and cultivating teamwork.
“I started in Grade 9 many moons ago, and it changed my life really, certainly from the perspective of becoming a much better athlete than I think I ever could have been, but also the lessons that it taught me in order to be dedicated and committed to something,” said Joyce.
The pair also focus on teaching the fundamentals of cheerleading in a safe and fun environment for athletes from the early ages of three up to 18 years old for those at a recreational and competitive level.
Not only are the athletes learning cheer skills, they are also learning life skills that they can use outside of their classes.
“She’s focused, she’s responsible, she’s committed, she loves her teammates, she loves to learn the news skills and she works hard,” said Melissa Thompson, a mother of one of the members.
Located in North York, the gym offers a space for athletes to gain meaningful experience and relationships with their teammates.
“When you become a team, you really develop bonds that you can’t get anywhere else,” says Joyce.
“Cheerleading started out as a sideline to other sports like football and basketball and then over time the routines became more complex — cheerleading has grown in the last 15 years from junior high, high school, university, to now being clubs like ours.”
Cheerleading allows young girls and boys to develop trust in others through stunt routines and it gives children a chance to build characteristic traits such as perseverance and dedication as they learn new techniques and skills.
“I really didn’t do anything and then when I joined cheer, it was just a big spark!” says cheerleader, Charlise Dixon-Starr.
“I’ve learned much about sportsmanship and teamwork and I’ve just advanced in cheerleading a lot in these past years.”
Since starting up Beach Cheer Athletics three years ago, the mothers and founders of the program said they have noticed how vital the cheerleading training has been to their child’s growth and have seen a lot of progress through short periods of time.
“It’s an amazing thing. It’s supportive and they’re so passionate about what they’re doing and they want everyone to do really well, it’s great,” says Thompson.
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