They stand in complete silence — eyes straight ahead, bodies as still as statues, faces a mix of sweat and determination — much like soldiers on the verge of an all-out assault. A silent confidence seems to spill out onto the floor around them, as if they know something unbelievable is about to happen; that some force of nature is about to explode out of them.

And then it does.

The floor becomes a blur of red lipstick and teal ribbons; a whirl of twists and flips and twirls. The athletes move as one, dancing in unison and chanting in harmony. Some tilt, some tumble, and some even fly — all to the beat of deafening techno music. For a few shining moments, the group bursts into an army of spirit. And then, before there’s even time to blink, it’s over.

I’m still not quite sure what I saw inside the Kernersville-area gym that night, but I’m fairly certain it wasn’t cheerleading. At least not what I envision when I hear the word “cheerleading.” There were no “rah, rah, rah” chants; no megaphones or varsity sweaters; there weren’t even any pompons. Just raw, unrestricted energy ... extreme energy.

In reality, I was watching the latest routine from Cheer Extreme’s Senior Elite squad. But to me — a cheerleading novice — it seemed more like a turbo-charged Cirque du Soleil concert. Like combat gymnastics with skirts.

“That was actually pretty tame,” says Courtney Smith-Pope, Cheer Extreme’s founder and head coach. “You should come watch us the week before a competition; that’s when it really gets crazy in here.”

For the sake of my still-reeling head, I think I’ll pass. But if that night was any indication, the sport of cheerleading (yes, I said sport) has taken a dramatic turn in recent years, from sideshow to main feature.

Sure, cheerleaders will always have a home at football games and pep rallies. But an increasing number of girls and guys are flocking to competitive all-star cheerleading. In fact, a recent Newsweek report found that more than 1.5 million students are competing on all-star squads, making it one of the fastest-growing sports in America. Fueled by YouTube videos and ESPN-aired competitions, that number is expected to keep growing.

“It’s really like a grand ballet with loud music and intense action,” Smith-Pope says of modern-day cheerleading. “It’s almost to the point where I wish the sport wasn’t called cheerleading, because it’s really a whole   different animal.”

If anyone knows the progression of the sport, it’s Smith-Pope. Having coached all-star cheerleading for more than 15 years, she’s helped the sport grow on a local, national, and even international level.

Today, Cheer Extreme has more than 800 athletes of all ages and backgrounds. It’s ranked as the fifth-best cheerleading program in the country by Cheer XS, a nationally revered cheerleading Web site. And Smith-Pope herself was recently named one of the 15 most influential people in the cheerleading industry by American Cheerleader magazine.

It’s odd to think then, given the program’s unprecedented success, that the Cheer Extreme empire basically began by accident.
Forming a Base

Smith-Pope’s mother, Betsy Smith, still remembers the day it all got started. She was picking up her youngest daughter, Kelly, from Colfax Elementary when another mother asked her if the school had a cheerleading team. After Smith replied “no,” the two women decided to set up a meeting with the school’s principal to inquire about starting a team.

When the day of the meeting arrived, Smith showed up at the principal’s office just as planned. The other mother, however, was a no-show. “That’s when I thought, ‘Uh oh,’ ” she recalls, laughing. “Here I was trying to start a cheerleading team, and I knew absolutely nothing about cheerleading. I mean noth-ing.”

Despite this, the principal obliged, and the first round cheerleading tryouts was held in the school’s cafeteria. In desperate need of help, Smith convinced Smith-Pope — then a freshman at Northwest Guilford High School — to help. While Smith-Pope had taken a few tumbling classes, she was hardly an authority on cheerleading. “She really didn’t want anything to do with it back then,” Smith says. “She actually wanted to be in the marching band.”

But from the start, Smith-Pope showed an incredible ability to instruct and motivate the kids. For several years, she volunteered as the elementary school’s cheerleading coach while also cheering on her high school’s varsity squad.

Eventually, she decided to take a group of her 20 best cheerleaders from Colfax and enter them in a competition in Virginia. The team — dubbed the Piedmont Panthers — did remarkably well, formally inspiring Smith-Pope to become an all-star cheerleading coach.

In 1997, she enrolled in Wake Forest University and cheered on the Demon Deacon’s varsity squad. She also continued coaching all-star teams on the side, renaming the program Cheer Extreme and making its colors teal, black, and white.

For years, Cheer Extreme bounced around different gyms and different towns, but kept growing nonetheless. By the time she was set to graduate from Wake Forest, she had seven teams in three cities.

It was then that Smith-Pope faced a decision — continue her education or become a full-time cheerleading coach. Her dream growing up was to go to medical school and become a doctor. But with Cheer Extreme now erupting across the Triad, she had a large group of kids who were counting on her instruction.

“The more I thought about it, the more cheerleading seemed to make sense,” Smith-Pope recalls. “I just thought that [cheerleading] let me touch more lives and have a bigger impact in the community. So that’s what I chose.”

By all accounts, she made the right choice.

The walls of her Kernersville gym show just how dominant her program has become, as rows of championship banners hang alongside trophies, placards, and ribbons.

To date, the gym has won more than 550 national championship titles, along with countless other honors and awards. But make no mistake about it — as talented a coach as Smith-Pope is, she’s had some help getting to the top.

A Family Pyramid

The closer you get to the Cheer Extreme family, the more you discover how much of a family it actually is. Smith handles all the team’s financial matters, spending countless hours a week paying bills, salaries, and taxes. She also runs the team’s apparel shop right out of her jewelry store, Kernersville Jewelers on West Mountain Street.

Smith-Pope’s husband, Ben Pope, also has a huge hand in the team’s success. After a record-setting quarterback career at Methodist College, Pope went to graduate school at the University of Tennessee on a cheerleading scholarship. While there, he developed a reputation as one of the top male cheerleaders in America. Today, he co-owns the gym while serving as the team’s predominant tumbling and stunting instructor.

Smith-Pope’s younger sister, Kelly, is making a big impact, too. Under Smith-Pope’s instruction, Kelly was one of the top performers in the program before becoming a cheerleader at N.C. State University. She now heads up Cheer Extreme’s Raleigh program, helping it grow by leaps and bounds in its first few years.

Despite not being family, Sarah Swicegood Macrow is an invaluable component also. She heads up the Cheer Extreme’s Winston-Salem program, which practices at Salem Gymnastics on Country Club Road. In addition, Smith-Pope credits Cheer Extreme’s “team moms,” or volunteers, for giving the program an invaluable boost. “We couldn’t do anything without them,” she says.

But ultimately, it’s Smith-Pope who’s been responsible for the sustained success of the program. You can still find her at most practices perfecting routines and shouting commands. When watching her in action, two things become clear: One, her passion for competitive cheerleading is unrivaled; and two, she deeply cares for all of her athletes. This care extends beyond the program, as she frequently uses her connections and reputation to help athletes land on college teams.

“When one of Courtney’s athletes shows up at our tryouts, I know they’re going to be talented,” says Brent Campbell, cheerleading coach at Wake Forest. “Cheer Extreme’s athletes are always ready for the collegiate stage, and that’s a credit to how well-coached they are.”

When asked about her coaching style, Smith-Pope draws a blank, saying she reacts naturally to what she sees. But those in her program say it’s a mix of creativity and tough love that brings out the best in her teams.

“We get pushed to be great when we’re out here,” says Cassie Gardner, a high-school senior on the elite squad. “Everything we do is really challenging, but it’s only because Courtney and the other coaches want us to be our best. The hard work always pays off in the end.”

Cassie and her younger sister, Maddie, are shining examples of the commitment it takes to be a competitive cheerleader at the highest level.

The sisters drive to Kernersville two to three times a week from their home in Mount Airy for practice. According to Smith-Pope, long commutes are often a common theme at Cheer Extreme.

“We get kids from literally everywhere in this state,” she says. “Some drive over four hours to be here. That’s why, to grow the program, we’ve had to open other gyms across the state.”

Cheer Extreme can now be found in five additional spots: Mount Airy, Winston-Salem, Lake Norman, Raleigh, and Danville, Virginia. Despite this, Smith-Pope maintains that Kernersville is, and will always be, its home.

“This is our little corner of the world,” she says. “I’m never going to leave. Our whole business model was to make a wheel around Kernersville, so that’s what we’ve done.”

In the meantime, the small-town team will continue to push for all-world results. They’re currently preparing for the World Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, otherwise known as the “Super Bowl of Cheerleading.” The competition will take place at the end of April and will be nationally televised.

But whether they come out on top or not, team members will continue to show up to practice with smiles on their faces. After all, it’s not the championship banners or the worldwide acclaim most of them remember — instead, it’s the friendships they form.

“We all come from different places and different parts of the state,” says Jordan Fritts, a Senior-Elite member from Davidson County. “But when we get out here, everyone is family. Everybody cares for everybody else.”

Cassie agrees: “When you come to practice, you know everybody here wants the same thing you do — they all have the same love for cheerleading you do. That’s really what’s so great about it, the fact that it brings everyone together.”

Beyond the trophies and the back tucks, the basket tosses and back handsprings, it’s evident that the lifelong bonds are at the base of Cheer Extreme. Banners aside, it’s the friendships formed that truly make the program something worth cheering about.

Try It Out!
Cheer Extreme will hold open try-outs in its Kernersville Gym (747 Gralin St.) the second weekend of May. “Everyone makes a team,” Smith-Pope says. “We just try to get them into a team that fits their talent level.” in addition, Cheer Extreme holds several tumbling classes throughout the week that are open to the public. For more information, call 336-508-8325 or go to http://www.cheerextreme.com.

A CHEERFUL PAST

1865
Students in Princeton University’s pep club create the nation’s first known cheer: “Tah Rah Rah, Tiger Tiger Tiger, Sis Sis Sis, Boom Boom Boom!”

1898
University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell becomes the first documented cheerleader, directing a crowd to cheer “Minn-e-so-tah” in unison at football games.

1903
Gamma Sigma, the first cheerleading fraternity, is formed. At this point, cheerleading is an all-male activity.

1923
Females begin participating in organized cheerleading. Shortly after, gymnastics is fused with cheer routines.

1948
Lawrence “Herkie” Herkimer forms the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) and begins holding cheerleading clinics.

1965
Fred Gastoff invents the pompon — a handheld, fluffy ball made of vinyl and used in cheer routines.

1976
The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders gain national fame after appearing in Super Bowl X. The appearance ultimately causes cheerleading to become more dance-based.

1983
ESPN broadcasts the National High School Cheerleading Competition, effectively introducing competitive cheerleading to the masses.

2000
Universal Picture’s Bring It On becomes a blockbuster hit, causing competitive cheerleading to gain international popularity.