Last updated 13:02, Monday, 25 February 2008

At a studio in Denton Holme’s Atlas Works in Carlisle the cheerleaders are punching air and ready to rumble.

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“Here we go Heroes...louder...louder” the youngsters are exhorted. And soon they’ve formed a pyramid and are smiling despite concentrating hard on performing each lift and balance correctly.

There are lots of smiles at Heroes classes as pupils learn the cheers, chants, jumps, kicks, tumbles, stunts and pom pom dance routines.

The activities are all part of an athletics discipline enjoyed for decades at sporting fixtures in the USA and becoming increasingly popular in the UK.

In the changing room, on walls decorated with High School Musical posters is another poster spelling out the club’s philosphy: “The ultimate goal should be doing your best... and enjoying it.”

Run by mother and daughter team, Shirl and Shirel Crossley and the first club of its kind in Carlisle, Heroes opened at the beginning of December last year and recently formed its first squad to cheer for clubs and take part in competitions. They’ve already had a lot of approaches to support local clubs and road shows and are working up routines for these appearances and for a cheerleading show at the Sands Centre on July 19.

Oufits are on the way and the squad is training at Carlisle United’s gym as well as at Heroes’ Denton Holme dance studio.

Shirl, 46, has been teaching gymnastics, swimming, trampoline, and dance for 30 years and Shirel, 19, who was coached by her mother, represented Great Britain in the trampoline and is also a dancer and gymnast.

Shirel developed a taste for cheerleading after trying it while staying in Australia for three months and since then, Shirl and she have trained to master level.

“We make a good team,” said Shirel. “Mum is a very good gymnast and I do the choreography. When I was 17 I worked in a family cabaret show bar as a singer and dancer and did my own choreography. I’ve also done lots of panto and was the cat in Dick Whittington.

“Carlisle already had cheerdance with pom poms but cheerleading involves stunting and pyramids, too, as well as gymnastics and dance.”

Teaching cheerleading gives her a real buzz, says Shirel

“I love the smiles on the children’s faces when they do something they’ve not had the opportunity to try before. Some of the little ones had never done a forward roll in their lives when they arrived, now they can do bridges [crabs or backbends].

“They come into class and they’re running up and can’t wait to start.”

Pupils come from many parts of the region including Penrith, Wigton, Brampton, and Gretna, says Shirl. “Everyone gets on really well together and they clap each other when they achieve something. We try to bring the pupils out of themselves if they are quiet and they are all very confident now.”

Heroes pupils start by learning arm motion techniques such as high and low Vs and big and little donuts (the ‘donut’ being formed with the fist). Gymnastics moves include heel stretches (stand on one foot, hold the other high in the air) and toe touches (a jump in which arms and legs are off the ground at the same time, outstretched hands touching outstretched feet). Forming pyramids teaches the youngsters to support each other properly and ‘flying’, in which someone is thrown up in the air and caught in a cradle of arms, depends on proper training and relationships of trust. Special cheerleading shoes are worn – light and flexible and with an indentation to put a supporting finger during a lift.

Classes are run at the Atlas Works studio five days a week. Pupils can start Heroes from the age of four if they are at school. There’s a basics class for these youngsters with musical games incorporating motions and balances. The newly-formed squad – selected in try-outs last month – has members ranging in age from eight to 22 years.

Ella Mae Goddard, eight, is one of the youngest members. “I enjoy the dance and the cartwheels and I’ve made lots of friends,” she said. Cheerleading is a rapidly growing sport in Britain, particularly in the past two or three years, says Shirel.

“It’s a recognised sport because it’s competitive and hard to do and you have to be very athletic. It could join up with British Gymnastics [formerly the British Amateur Gymnastics Association] and might one day be an Olympic sport.”

Shirl and Shirel say cheerleading brings many benefits to the youngsters, including the new athletic skills they learn, their improved fitness levels and the boost to their confidence. There’s a strong emphasis on health and fitness and all the pupils are given a Heroes bottle of water to drink when they take a break together, says Shirl. “They need to drink a lot when they are doing the cheers and chants.”

nHeroes has a limited number of places left at its classes. For more information visit www.heroes-troupe.co.uk or call 077622 85838.