Cheering for leadership Local cheerleading gym offers more than athletic conditioning

It's more than just pom-poms and pep.

That's the message Nicole Levelsmier, owner of the Flathead Valley's only cheerleading gym, wants to make perfectly clear about the sport she loves.

"It's not just a skirt and a name," she said. "It's an athletic sport that needs to have respect, just like any other athletic sport.

"These athletes work just as hard as any others."

Cheerleaders go through conditioning just like athletes in other sports, and they learn complex tumbling and stunting skills. But Levelsmier's gym, NW Athletic Cheer, is about more than just cheerleading. The program seeks to shape the girls' characters as well, "to build athletes, not just girls."

"It's more of a leadership-quality program," she said. "We're building an individual instead of just cheerleading."

During the school year, athletes dress down and then spend 30 minutes in mandatory study hall. Levelsmier wants to make sure the girls are "well-educated leaders."

They also receive etiquette training. Later this month, they'll be tested on their ability to set tables for casual and formal meals, and they're taught respect in true Southern fashion by learning to say "yes, ma'am" or "no, ma'am."

"It's a sign of respect in this gym," Levelsmier said. "I come from the South. If we didn't say it, we got in trouble."

Girls who go through Levelsmier's program will learn to "be presentable and a lady," she said. The program seeks to build leaders who will represent the Flathead Valley and Montana well.

Building confident leaders can begin at a young age, she said.

"A lot of people don't understand that you can put kids in cheerleading very young," she said. In Texas, where she was raised, "we start cheerleading when we're barely able to walk."

Levelsmier was a cheerleader for nine years, including four competitively, from fifth grade through college at Texas Tech University in Lubbuck. She also served on the National Cheerleading Association staff in Dallas and taught classes at Cheer Factor in Richardson, Texas. Several of her students went on to cheer for colleges around the country.

She moved to the Flathead Valley four years ago with her husband, Whitefish native Jeremy Michels.

"Last year, my husband saw I was homesick," Levelsmier said. "He knew cheerleading was my life in Texas."

Michels suggested she get involved with a local cheer program. She helped teach a couple of clinics at Glacier High School and volunteered with the Montana All-Stars, a competitive cheer program.

Still, Levelsmier believed there was a need for a cheerleading gym in the valley. She began planning in October 2007, and NW Athletic Cheer officially opened its doors April 15.

There are about 30 girls - and one boy - ranging from 6 to 16 years old. They're divided into age and skill levels, with the very youngest cheerleaders playing games to get their heart rates up.

To condition, 6- and 7-year-olds play games like Red Light/Green Light, leap frog and "Herkie Says," named in honor of Lawrence "Herkie" Herkimer, who founded the National Cheerleading Association.

"They love it," Levelsmier said. "They giggle. They think it's great fun."

Young cheerleaders learn basic arm movements, jumps and tumbling skills. The more experienced they get, the more skills they learn, until eventually they can put the moves together in complicated, competitive routines.

Levelsmier said she would love to see her youngest girls one day cheering for the valley's Little Guy football teams.

"It gives kids at a young age an understanding of what teamwork is," she said.

She hopes older girls will be on an international squad in three years, traveling to competitions all over the world. Cheerleading is huge in Australia, England and Ireland, she said, and is gaining popularity in China and Japan.

The National Cheerleading Association's world championships are held in Orlando, Fla., each year, and the girls already have their sights set on the 2011 competition.

"These girls, if you ask what their goal is, it's to win worlds," Levelsmier said.

When competitions begin this fall, the girls will have a tournament each month, she said, including one at Columbia Falls Junior High School in October. They'll also compete at national meets in Portland and Tacoma, Wash., and are fundraising for a competition in Hawaii.

Some proceeds from a Mission Mountain Wood Band reunion concert Friday may go toward the Hawaii competition, she said. Band member Rob Quist is a longtime Michels family friend, and he volunteered to talk with the band when he heard about NW Athletic Cheer.

Most concert proceeds will be used to help girls who want to be part of the gym but who can't afford all of the expenses. It can cost about $1,700 a year to be part of competitive cheer, or $65 a month for individual classes. Girls also buy their own uniforms.

The benefit concert takes place at 7 p.m. Friday at Majestic Valley Arena. Tickets are $20 and are available at Super 1 Foods and Midway Rental in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish.

Information about the concert and the gym are available at www.nwathleticcheer.com or by calling Levelsmier at 871-6542.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com