December Athlete of the Month: Charleigh Jackson
Hey all, it’s Coach Katie again. Each month, we highlight a Gem City athlete who brings heart, dedication, and team spirit to everything they do. This month, our Level 1 Elite Youth cheer coaches came together to recognize someone who embodies all of those things. Our December Athlete of the Month is Charleigh Jackson.
Meet Charleigh
Charleigh joined me for a chat before her Tuesday squad practice, calm and soft-spoken with a small smile almost the whole time. She is ten years old, soon to be eleven in February, and a fifth grader at Lincoln-Douglas Elementary. When I asked her favorite subject in school, she proudly said math. I do not hear that very often from young athletes. She also admitted she is a little nervous about heading to junior high next year.
This is her first year on the all-star squad, but she has been part of Gem City since first grade through our tumbling program. Now she serves as a base, and her favorite stunt to perform is called a teddy bear. It is the very first stunt in the youth squad’s routine this season, so anyone who has seen the routine may have already spotted her in action. Her favorite skill in the routine is her back walkover.
Family and Life Outside the Gym
Charleigh is the middle of three sisters. She loves family vacations, especially beach trips to Florida and mountain trips to Colorado. At home, she spends time with her puppy, Evie, who loves playing tug of war.
When I asked her favorite part of being on a competitive squad, she said she loves being on a team and spending time with friends rather than just being in a class. That answer pulled at my heartstrings. When I asked what she would do if she could do anything in the world outside of school or gym, she thought for a moment and said her favorite thing to do is come here. Heartstrings pulled again.
A Natural Leader
When asked for a funny story from practice, Charleigh hesitated. She did not want to share anything that could make another athlete embarrassed. The look on her face said everything. She is thoughtful, mature, and protective of others. That is leadership, especially at ten years old.
She also has an honest take on the cakesicles her mom makes for our Pro Shop through Little Intricate Treats. While I would eat them every day, she said she is a little burnt out on them. She only eats the white chocolate ones.
As for food she does love, she did not hesitate with her answer. Steak. Medium rare with A1 sauce. A bold and impressive choice for someone her age. And when it comes to junk food, she loves Taki’s and anything spicy.
Charleigh already has ideas for her future. She is interested in becoming a nurse or a cosmetologist and even practices makeup at home. She loves to read, and her favorite book series is The Babysitters Club, which gave us something fun to bond over.
Coach’s Take
Her coaches, Christian Klingele and Rylee Mellon, shared why they chose her for this honor. Rylee said, “Christian and I picked Charleigh because she is so easy to coach. She is kind, respectful, always trying her hardest, and she goes above and beyond to fix any mistakes. She has quickly become a great leader and role model on the squad. Charleigh is a great teammate and is always willing to help when needed. Before she was even on the squad I had the privilege to coach her in the recreational cheer class and a few cheer clinics. In one of the clinics, that are just an hour long, I had her try almost every position of a stunt group and at the end I apologized to her, but she is so versatile. It is hard to swap around that much in a stunt group, but she looked at me and simply said to put her wherever I needed because I was the coach. This surprised me, but I already knew how disciplined and well-mannered of a kid she is.”
Her coaches also shared how special it is for younger athletes to practice in the same room as older athletes. It creates a chain of inspiration in both directions. When I asked Charleigh what she would tell a younger athlete who looked up to her, she said, “I would tell them to push yourself to get better.”
A Strong Start to the Season
I interviewed Charleigh before her first competition of the season, but I am writing this after the fact. I am proud to say that her squad earned first place at their opening meet. Charleigh truly embodies what this program is meant to celebrate.
Congratulations to December’s Athlete of the Month, Charleigh Jackson!
Click to read an extended version
December’s Athlete of the Month is Charleigh Jackson! Charleigh is one of our all-star cheerleaders on our Level 1 Elite Youth squad. Charleigh sat down with me, Coach Katie, one Tuesday afternoon before her squad practice to talk about all things her!
The first thing I noticed about Charleigh was her calmness and slight smile almost the whole time we chatted. She was very calm even though when I asked her if she was nervous she said she kind of was. Charleigh is 10 years old, soon to be 11 in February, She is a fifth grader at Lincoln-Douglas Elementary here in Quincy. I was so excited when I asked her what her favorite subject is at school and she said math! I don’t get that answer very often from young athletes! She also mentioned she is a little nervous to be going to the junior high next year as a sixth grader.
This is Charleigh’s first year on the all-star squad but she has been attending tumbling classes at GCGT since she was in the first grade. We love to see athletes that have grown up in our gym take on new and more important roles as they advance their skillset! On the squad, her main role is being a base. Her favorite stunt she performs is called a teddy bear! This particular stunt is the very first stunt in her squad’s routine for this season. The gym will sometime share a video of their routine on social media for anyone wanting to look at Charleigh perform this particular stunt with her stunt group! Her favorite skill, however, during her routine is her back walkover.
Charleigh has two siblings, both sisters, and she is the middle girl. She likes to go on family vacations with her two favorite places so far being the beaches in Florida and the mountains in Colorado! Another part of her family is her puppy named Evie. Evie is very fond of playing tug-of-war!
When I asked Charliegh what her favorite part about being on the competitive squad was, she said she loves being on a team and being with her friends versus just being in a class. This tugged on my heartstrings when she said this because finding true teammates that have the whole group in mind is amazing to find at such a young age! When I asked her if she could do one thing in the whole world when she isn’t at gym she said, “Um, probably like, I don’t know. Probably my favorite thing to do is come here!” Again, heartstring pulled.
Since she loves being on a team, I asked her if she had any funny stories from practice or any funny things that have happened to her or a teammate and her response was so incredibly humbling! She said that she doesn’t like to draw a lot of attention to herself and that she didn’t really have anything to share. I could see it on her face that she didn’t want to tell a story that may make someone embarrassed, and this right here is proof that Charleigh is a leader.
One very obvious thing I HAD to ask Charleigh about is how much she LOVES that her mom is a baker (those amazing cakesciles that are in our Pro Shop, Little Intricate Treats). I stated I would be eating cakescicles every single day if my mom was baking them in the house. She said, very carefully with a small smile, that she is kind of burnt out on them! She said she only eats the white chocolate ones because she doesn’t care for the milk chocolate or dark chocolate ones.
Okay, her taste in cakescicles may be off (I would eat them all, unlike Charleigh), but her taste in food is on point! When asked her favorite food she instantly said STEAK! And not just steak, but medium rare steak with A1 sauce! What a fancy taste for a 10 year old! But we have to agree with this preference. However, we don’t agree with Taki’s being her favorite junk food! For some reason Taki’s have taken over in popularity but I still can’t seem to eat one without my stomach disagreeing with me. But Charleigh says she loves spicy foods!
Charleigh may be young but she already has goals for her future. She plans to one day with be a nurse or a cosmetologist. She even has her own make-up that she uses and practices with at home! I think that Charleigh will be able to do anything she puts her mind to. With math being her favorite subject, and with her love to read, she’ll go far. The Babysitters Club just so happens to be her favorite book series. We bonded over this as I also loved this series when I was a little girl, so we chatted about the books, the new show, and some of the characters we love.
Charleigh is coached on her squad by Christian Klingele and Rylee Mellon. They both had only great things to say about Charleigh when I asked them to give me a few words on their athlete of the month. Rylee said, “Christian and I picked Charleigh because she is so easy to coach! She is kind, respectful, always trying her hardest, and she goes above and beyond to fix any mistakes. She has quickly become a great leader and role model on the squad. Charleigh is a great teammate and is always willing to help when needed. Before she was even on the squad I had the privilege to coach her in the recreational cheer class and a few cheer clinics. In one of the clinics, that are just an hour long, I had her try almost every position of a stunt group and at the end I apologized to her, but she is so versatile! It is hard to swap around that much in a stunt group, but she looked at me and simply said to put her wherever I needed because I was the coach! This surprised me, but I already knew how disciplined and well-mannered of a kid she is.”
The benefit our gym has is that young, noncompetitive athletes get to share the same space as competitive athletes for practice. So we have young kids looking up to the middle schoolers and middle schoolers looking up to high schoolers all in the same room. I asked Charleigh what she would say to a young athlete that sees her practicing with her squad if they said they loved watching her and waned to be like her when they get older. She said, “I would tell them to push yourself to get better.”
I interviewed Charleigh before her first competition, but am writing this after the fact. And I am proud to say her squad earned FIRST PLACE at their first competition of the season! Please help us in congratulating Charleigh over the next month, as she truly embodies the moniker of Athlete of the Month.
