Whiz Kids By Leaps and Bounds

The manager of All Star Legacy Manassas Cheer and Dance Teams may be teaching kids about cheerleading, but she says it’s really the students who teach her.

“You hear athletes talk about coaches motivating them to be who they want to be. For me, it’s the opposite. They motivate me,” says Fatima Aniteye, the manager of the Manassas facility of All Star Legacy.

She’s talking about the 96 athletes at the Center Point Lane location, which opened in 2007, and offers tumbling, dance and stunt classes, summer camps and boasts seven travel teams.

“We’re like a travel AAU basketball team, or a travel baseball team, it’s just travel cheer, and we go around to various venues and compete,” she explains.

Their senior level one team took first place and received National Championship jackets at The American Superstarz competition, held April 1-3rd in Myrtle Beach, SC. 69 of their kids—in five of their teams-- competed. All Star Legacy also received the Large Program Award, the program with the highest scores.

 “It’s a feeling you can’t describe when they step off the floor, give you a big hug and tell you thanks,” says Aniteye, who’s been coaching 13 years. “To see where they came from and where they ended, it was completely amazing.”

8-year-old Janelle Girard of Bristow, who started cheering at 6, loved the Myrtle Beach competition. “It was two days but it was very fun. We did a pyramid, where the girl puts her foot in your hand and we push her up.”

“I also enjoy tumbling class where you can work on back handsprings,” she says.

Her mom Trish Girard adds: “It was a lot of fun. They did such a great job. They were amazing, and we were so proud as parents.”

Ashleigh Stewart, 12, also loved the Myrtle Beach competition. “It was a great experience. We have all year to prepare for Nationals and people come from all over the country to compete.”

Stewart enjoys participating in “pyramids and baskets.” She loves “the excitement..it’s the best sport. It’s fun to meet new people and learn new skills you didn’t know before.”

And, she admits, it’s just plain fun to see a big win. “When I heard one of the teams won grand champions, it was great. We felt good that we did so good and beat all the other teams in level one.” 

As a 17-yr-old senior, Shannon Myers, also a cheerleader for Potomac High School, says the Myrtle Beach competition was bittersweet. “This was our [seniors’] last competition together, so it was kind of sad. But we were happy with how the year went.”

 The athletes—peewee (kids 5-8), youth  (11 and under), junior (14 and under) and senior (18 and under)-- are grouped by levels and divisions, but the classes are held for all ages, from 5 up. Aniteye has five staff members who coach. She coached two of them when they were younger. “It’s a family atmosphere, watching them grow up and letting them take the reins,” she says.

 “And without these five staff members, the whole thing wouldn’t be possible.”