Two teams, 14U & 12U, of twenty-eight Medway & Millis athletes, from the Medway / Millis Youth Cheer program competed their  hearts out earlier this month at the American Youth Cheer National Competition in Kissimmee, FL and brought home 1st & 2nd place trophies which is no easy feat! 14U, made up of twelve 8th grade athletes, brought home 2nd place of their division which concludes their youth experience as 2x National Champions, winning the top spot in 2019 & 2021. There was no season due to Covid in 2020. 12U comprised of sixteen athletes in grades 6-7th, took home the #1 spot in their division, making them reigning 3x National Champions, 4x if the covid year, 2020, is included! 

 

Each year, over 200 Cheer, Dance and Step squads, across all American Youth Cheer divisions in the country compete for a National Championship Title in Kissimmee, Florida, home to Universal Studios & Disney World. 

American Youth Cheer has eight regions including Desert Pacific, Mountain Northwest, Midwest, Southwest, Big East, Atlantic, New England, and Southeast. Each region hosts a regional competition, which is the qualifier for the National Championships. The top 3 teams in each division advance to compete for a national championship. which is exactly what these 2 teams did in 2019, 2021 and again this year the Saturday before Thanksgiving. In 2020, they held onto their national champion titles without competing due to competitions being canceled because of the pandemic. 

 

The cheer excitement throughout the towns was celebrated first by the athletes fundraising at supportive local businesses, then the community celebrated them at the annual parade on a parade float built by parents and now they’re being celebrated with personalized lawn signs highlighting their accomplishment. We are so thankful to all the businesses and individuals that supported them and in turn, the program showed their support for many of them with signage on the parade float and sponsor t-shirts the athletes wore in Florida. 

The heart of these 2 teams hails from our outstanding Program Cheer Coordinator and head coach of both teams, Kayla Ober, a long time Medway resident, former captain of the Medway High School cheer team and current Head Coach for the Medway High School Cheer team. She is passionate, dedicated to the sport, to the athletes and a mentor for them. She, and all the coaches not only have given these athletes cheerleading skills which many will bring to the high school level, they have also given them life skills and confidence that when you have coaches who believe in you which in turn, belief in yourself, work hard, and stay focused, anything is possible. 

The Medway / Millis Youth Flag, Tackle Football & Cheer non-profit program serves youths who reside in the towns of Medway & Millis. The cheer and flag football programs are for children in grades K-8 and the tackle football program is for children in grades 2-8. Additional information can be found on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MedwayYFC.