CheerExpo 2014 Instructors

Orson Sykes, Oklahoma City, OK Orson and his wife are co-owners of Twist & Shout All Stars…one of the oldest and most successful All Star programs in the World. His teams have won multiple Bronze, Silver and Gold medals at the USASF Cheerleading Worlds. Orson Orson was a competitive gymnast at the University of Oklahoma, where he was a member of the 1991 NCAA National Championship team. He was also the Big 8 conference champion on vault in 1992. Orson was named the USASF Coach of the Year in 2011 and inducted into the Cheerleading Hall of Fame in 2012. He has served on many advisory boards contributing to the development of cheerleading across the US.

Larry Guerrero, Ft. Myers, FL “Larry G” has over 25 years of cheer and dance experience. A former competitive gymnast and diver, he began his cheer and dance careers while attending the University of Pittsburgh. He has judged all over the world for many companies since 1998 and has been choreographing award winning routines around the world since 1989. He is USASF certified. Larry owns The Cheer Show, Inc, a competitive dance and all-star cheer gym in Ft. Myers, FL. LarryG is also a popular host on CheerXM1, an internet radio station that plays professionally mixed cheer mixes from all-star gyms around the country 24/7.

Michael Bolden – Aurora, IL As a former Ohio State University cheerleader, Michael has over 27 years experience in the spirit industry. He is the owner of Champion Spirit Group, Nations Choice and Dance Fest, the Founder of Cheer Force Athletics, and former director of Chicago Elite Allstars and North Central College cheer and dance squads. With over 19 years of judging experience, he is USASF Safety Judge Certified and has judged regionally and nationally for COA, Cheersport, Cheer Ltd., CCE, Cheer Nation, Cheer Power, Athletic Championships, and Americheer. He has written numerous cheerleading articles and is a sought after speaker for several coach conventions and workshops.

Travis Prior, Denver, CO Travis has been involved in the cheerleading industry for 26 years as a cheerleader, coach, and judge. He was the head coach of the University of Colorado for 9 years and a long time UCA staff member. He has worked with numerous teams and cheer events in 8 different countries around the world. He has been judging cheerleading championships for 15 years (NCA, Cheersport, BCA, etc), including the last five USASF World Championships. He is also the owner of Flip and Shout Competitions.

Kyle Peppas, Denver, CO Kyle is the Owner/Manager of Empire Athletics. He has 15 years of all-star coaching experience, and 11 years with the Cheer Central Suns. In university he was captain of the University of Colorado cheerleading team. In addition to multiple National Championships he has coached 4 teams to top 10 finishes at the USASF Cheerleading Worlds. He is USASF Safety certified up to level 5 and has assisted programs in the USA, Australia and England with business model development, program administration, skills training and coach development.

CJ Pugh – Mississauga, ON CJ started of his cheer career off with a bang by winning 4 back to back Canadian National Titles (and many US Championships as well) as a Mustang with the University of Western Ontario. He is the Co-Owner of Power Cheer Toronto Cobras and co-coach of the 5-time ICU World Championship team Team Canada. He coached for many years at the highschool and allstar level before opening PCT.

Natalie Vonlanthen – Mississauga, ON Natalie has 29 years of coaching experience and hundreds of championship titles under her belt. She cheered for Port Credit Secondary School and later at the University of Western Ontario. She coached the unbelievably succussful Catholic Central High School, White Oaks Wildcats and was co-owner of Power Cheerleading Athletics (a camp company that traveled Canada and is largely credited with developing cheer all over the country). She is the Co-Owner of Power Cheer Toronto Cobras and co-coach of the 5-time ICU World Championship team Team Canada.

Amber Koster - Naperville, IL Amber has 19 years of cheerleading and 15 years of dance experience. She has coached at the allstar level for 8 years levels 1-5. She has been choreographing award winning routines for 7 years and has owned an allstar gym for 3 years. She is the co-owner of Champion Spirit Group, Nations Choice and Dance Fest. She is USASF Credentialed to level 5 in all areas and is a 5 year certified USASF Safety Judge. She has judged regionally and nationally for UCA, Spirit of Hope, Cheersport, Americheer, World Spirit Federation, American Cheer Power, Cheer Ltd, Cheer Champion Express, Spirit Sports and Xtreme Spirit

Melissa Moisan - Montréal, QC Melissa cheered and coached for many years and has been the the Technical Director for the FCQ for the past 4 years (Federation de cheerleading du Quebec). She is USASF credentialed and is a USASF credentailer. Melissa was instrumental in the creation of the Cheer Canada Scoring system and has developed a comprehensive training program for the judges in the province.

Chris Cunningham – Toronto, ON Chris has been involved with cheerleading as an athlete and coach for over 15 years. He cheered at Eastern Passage JH, Cole Harbour High School and for Cheer Extreme Allstars. He eventually became a coach at all three programs and received the CheerExpo Canadian Coach of the Year designation in 2008. Known for his innovative choreography and entertaining performances, Chris now lives in Toronto can coaches at PCT.

Ryan Turner, New York, NY & Chris Turner - Superior, CO & (Yes, they’re twins) Both Chris and Ryan are former cheerleaders and have coached and choreographed at the all-star, high school and university levels. Both have been USASF safety certified judges for the past 6 years and judge for Cheersport, Jamfest, Coastal, COA, GLCC, America’s Best, USA, Champion Spirit Group, UCA, AmeriCheer, and US Finals.

Karen Stearns - Plantation, FL. Karen has over 25 years of coaching experience for all levels of both school and allstar and has numerous National titles. Founder and Co-Owner of Power Cheer All Star Gym (US one). Judges nationally for a variety of companies including American Championships, Cheersport, Champion Spirit Group, Pop Warner Nationals, AYFNationals, Cheer Ltd, Canam, AAU Jr. Olympics, and The Cheerleading Worlds (USASF/IASF).

Judges & Review Panel

All Star - Rhonda D. Durham – Los Angeles, CA All Star - Karen Stearns - Plantation, FL

School – Tracy MacNeil – Dartmouth, NS All Star/School - Melissa Moisan – Montréal, QC Dance – Natalie Vonlanthen, Mississauga, ON

All Star - Amber Koster - Naperville, IL All Star – Chantal Lacombe, Montréal, QC School – Allison Cann – Cape Breton, NS

All Star - Travis Prior, Denver, CO All Star - Sophie Samson, Montréal, QC

All Star - Rickey Hill, Charlotte, NC All Star – Carla Taylor, Bloomington, IL

All Star - Ryan Turner, New York, NY All Star - Heather Jeffries – Nashville, TN

Dance – Amanda Mills – Halifax, NS All Star/School Review - Sanaa El-Rassi – Montréal, QC

All Star - Michael Bolden – Aurora, IL School – Stephen Mills – Halifax, NS

All Star - Vincent Thompson – Columbia, MO All Star - Sophie Picard – Montréal, QC All Star - Chris Turner - Superior, CO Dance – Larry Guerrero, Ft. Myers, FL

All Star – Mark Pellegrino, Rochester, NY School – Angela Rushton, Halifax, NS

PARAMEDICS – AMBULANCE MEDIC

Jeffery Brown – Montréal, QC Kelly Dashney - Montréal, QC

Stephen Greene - Montréal, QC Mark Cabana - Montréal, QC

Competition & Practice Floors Provided by Tiffin Mats

Music, Games and Promotional Consideration provided by The Bounce.

ANNOUNCER – Jayme Butt (Q104)