LEGENDS: TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA’S COLLEGIATE UNDERDOG TEAM
Tallahassee, FL – Cheer Nation Athletics, located in the Florida State University college town of Tallahassee, FL emerged on the cheerleading scene late this season, but in a big way. The International Small Coed 5 team(ages 17 & up) which held their first practice on February 27th was conceived in the days that immediately followed CHEERSPORT Nationals in Atlanta, GA where the Division II (less than 125 athletes program) was competing.
The team completed choreography on March 1st, with the session running until after 2:00 am. Coaches Dustin Baker and Dana Brown credit the team’s success to their ability to fill the roster with handpicked athletes who they come from some of the most storied programs in the industry.
Coach Brown credits the past preparations and training of their athletes to their past all star gyms:
Brandon All Stars, Top Gun Infinity All Stars (Jacksonville, FL), Central Florida Athletics, The Stingray All Stars, World Cup
The team traveled fourteen plus hours from Tallahassee, FL to Ocean City, MD over the weekend of April 6-8, 2018. Attending their first, and only event of the season Reach the Beach Nationals, where 3 Full Paid and 6 At Large Bids to The 2018 Cheerleading Worlds were available. The team had only one shot for a bid, Brown added “we were really hoping for a full paid bid, but understood the odds of it happening.” Baker added, “we were ready to raise the funds, but it was going to be a challenge.”
Cheer Nation Athletics | Legends
The team going into the event understood the pressure that they were going to be put under – being seasoned athletes prepared them for the challenge. Day 1 of the event, Brown says “we were proud of the ability to put down a clean routine, with zero deductions. When the day one standings were published, and we were in first – everyone was shocked.” With a building fall on day two of the event, the fate of their season was left in limbo. The team became unsure of what would come next… Against all odds of time and with a deduction, Legends left the event with a coveted Full Paid bid to The 2018 Cheerleading World Championships. “Leaving Maryland, to travel back to Florida, we’ve planned additional practices and have shifted to focus on conditioning our athletes. We’ve added some difficulty now that we’ve got the bid, we feel more comfortable leaving our safe zone” Brown says, of the team.
Their entire season, from conception through first practice, to Paid Worlds Bid Winner all culminated in less than 40 Days – the question is how? “The credit lays in our athletes hard work, dedication, and is an attribution to the high-quality athletes that some of the most notable programs in the industry have produced.” says Brown. As for Legends, from Cheer Nation Athletics, they have moved their sights to the next impossible feat setting their sights on top ten spot to advance out of the U.S. Trials round of the World Championship.
See Cheer Nation Athletics Legends, and more of the best teams in the world at The 2018 Cheerleading World Championships held at Disney’s Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL April 28-30, 2018.
