Cheer Athletics

1994-1995

Cheer Athletics began in May 1994 when co-founders Jody Melton and Angela Rogers began their first practice with 2 athletes at a local park in Plano, TX. While their beginnings may have been small, the goal was huge - build the largest, most prestigious all-star program in the country. Within weeks they had added new athletes, rented space at a "real" gym (the now-defunct Cheerobics Center in Richardson, TX), and started entering competitions. Things began to pick up by the spring of 1995 as Cheer Athletics had won its first national title in the NCA Open Division. Coached and choreographed by Jody, with help from Angela and future CA coaches, the Texas All-Stars (later known as the Cheetahs) was the first NCA Open Division National Champion. Not only was this their first national title, it was the first victory for Cheer Athletics at any competition.

1995-1996

The 1995-96 season brought many new challenges. CA was growing in leaps and bounds, and had more than tripled in size since nationals. Kristi Schimpf and Brandon Brock joined the staff as lead choreographer and tumbling coach for CA's 3 main teams: Panthers, Tigers, Jags. CA now had a total of 58 athletes and was tasting its first success at local and regional competitions. In an effort to further the image and increase their name recognition, CA needed a logo that was recognizable around the country. "When people see their logo, I want them to immediately think of Cheer Athletics and associate us with being the absolute best," Jody explained. After hours of work on the computer, the original CA Claw was born.

1996-1997

Brad Habermel and Gianni DeNegri joined the CA coaching staff in 1996 and brought a winning experience and coaching knowledge that was needed with CA's five teams: Cats, Jags, Tigers, Panthers, and Wildcats. CA was becoming more and more well known and imitated. The traditional CA cheer debuted at the 1997 NCA All-Star Nationals and has become a part of the legacy of Cheer Athletics.

1997-1998

By now, CA was the largest program in the country with 8 teams: Cats, Jags, Tigers, Sabres, Cougars, Panthers, Wildcats, and Cheetahs. Despite their size and growing reputation, they still had no place to call their own. They had been renting out space in various gyms in the area: Cheerobics, Southwest Gymnastics, and the NCA SuperCenter. Plans were made in 1997 to begin looking for the CA gym. By the spring of 1998, Cheer Athletics moved into its own practice facility; a former baseball training center just down the street from NCA's main offices. After moving mounds of dirt and painting over the lime green walls, Cheer Athletics finally had its own 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m²) home.

1998-1999

As Cheer Athletics expanded, there were now 13 teams in the CA Family: KittyKats, Cats, Jags, Bengals, Bobcats, Tigers, Thundercats, Sabres, Bearcats, Panthers, Pumas, Wildcats, and Cheetahs. Interested in this up-and-coming program, the New York Times Production Company sent a film crew to feature two Cheer Athletics teams in a documentary, "On the Inside: Cheerleading" which aired the Discovery Channel.

1999-2000

Cheer Athletics continued to grow at a startling pace. Soon, they had outgrown their gym and were looking for another. After months of searching, Cheer Athletics moved into its Dallas facility in April 2000. They now had the largest state-of-the-art cheerleading training center in the country. The facility would be large enough to hold all 4 gyms that CA had trained in previously. CA also added 2 more teams to the rosters: KittyKubs and Cubs. Through continued hard work by athletes and coaches, Cheer Athletics had claimed over 30 team titles by the conclusion of the 1999-2000 season.

2000-2001

The 2000-2001 season began with a bang. 350 athletes participated in tryouts for the all-star teams. Two more teams were born into the CA family: Kittens and FierceKatz. Not only was the CA family still growing, but also the skill level of each athlete was improving even faster than before. This was largely due to the strong coaching staff and the equipment that was available for every athlete to utilize. The 2000-2001 season was their strongest ever and they brought their team national championship total to 53, which included wins in many of the toughest divisions at the toughest nationals.

2001-2002

This season was the strongest year in their program's history. With a great tryout and Supercamp (again at sunny Galveston) they were off and running. They had actually made the tough decision to cut down the number of teams this year in order to better be able to focus on the athletes and the performances. This really helped them throughout the year at the various competitions. They had planned to compete across the country, with trips to both the east coast and west coast. That changed with the tragic events of September 11. They decided to take a year off from flying and traveling and focus on the competitions in Texas. This paid off in a big way, as they won more national titles than any other program has ever won in a single year. They won 7 divisions at NCA - beating their own record of 4 in a single season. They also won the NCA Grand Championship for the third year in a row. With titles at ACA, American Championships, Cheer America, and Cheer Power, they brought home a staggering 33 team national championship titles during this single season, bringing their overall total to 86. (Team championships only, this does not reflect a large number of individual, partner stunt, and group stunt titles)

2002-2003

02-03 was another incredible year for the athletes at Cheer Athletics. As the world of All-Star Cheerleading grows and grows, they have to work even harder to stay on top. An amazing season with 30 national championships helped CA retain its crown as the top program in the world. They take their overall title count to 116 - despite going to fewer national competitions than the year before. They set several marks for excellence this year. The Jags won their 6th NCA National Championship in a row - the first cheerleading program in history to reach that mark. The Panthers won the NCA Grand Championship with a 9.77, giving CA the coveted Grand Champion trophy. (CA has won each year of the award's ftheir year history.) Bengals also won NCA for the second year in a row and Wildcats win for the 3rd time - giving them the Large Coed title more times than any current program. Their two open teams each placed second with amazing routines. Each coed open team had at least one former CA athlete on it. There were also CA Alumson the top 3 All-Girl open teams. CA Athletes continue to excel even after their days with us.

2003-2004

This year was the most successful year to date, with a record 39 National Titles in a single year. Every regular team came away with at least one national championship during this amazing season. Jags continued their amazing streak by winning their 7th NCA National Championship in a row. Bengals also extended their streak to an impressive 3 in a row. This year also marked a historic event in cheerleading. CA was invited to the inaugural USASF World Championships. This competition was open to top finishers in major national competitions during the season. The athletes competed against the top teams in the country and won the first-ever World Championship. The addition of 2 strong coaches had a huge impact on the success of the athletes. Joe O'Toole and Jason McMahan had each been the directors of their respective all-star programs prior to coming to Cheer Athletics and each brought with them a wealth of knowledge and experience. Their strong coaching staff, combined with the great facility, really helps their athletes achieve their true potential

2004-2005

After the 03-04 season, CA finally outgrew the Hillguard location. They searched for months to find the perfect combination of location and facility and finally settled on the 1st Street complex. With 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²) of "pure" gym space, plus a spacious office area and lobby they had found the perfect spot. Moving and setting up all of equipment took hundreds of man hours, but the result was fantastic - the largest, most state-of-the-art cheer facility in the world!

2005-2006

Their largest and most successful tryout to date yielded a fantastic set of teams for the 05-06 season. New athletes and even some new coaches helped CA achieve the top season in history. A boatload of national titles and 3 World Championships at the USASF Worlds in April put Cheer Athletics alone at the top of the All-Star world. No program has had more National or World Championships in the toughest divisions at the toughest competitions.

2013

First expansion gym - CA Austin

2014

Second & Third expansion gyms - CA Frisco & CA Charlotte

2016

Fourth expansion gym - CA Columbus

2018

Fifth expansion gym - CA Pittsburgh.

2020

Sixth expansion gym - CA Dallas.

Currently: 85 teams, ranging in age from 2 to adult.