Athlete of the Month

Mandy Shepard - Cincinnati Elite

Mandy is 13 years old .  She is a cheerleader and Cincinnati Elite and currently attends Gray Middle School.  Recently she helped organize a supply drive at her middle school to send has part of the Haitian Earthquake Relief Effort. Mandy was quoted by our local newspaper stating, “If you watch TV, you know how much they are suffering over there, and we all wanted to help, to do something," she said. "We raise money and help families at Christmas time, too, so this was our chance to help on a wider, more worldly level. We would want people to help us if something like that happened to us."

Mandy not only cheers on the Senior Black Team, but she also serves as the Head Peer Coach for the Premier TIGERS Special Needs Team. Mandy choreographed the routine, created the formation and 8-count sheets and worked with her Premier CE coach (Jason Keogh) to create the music. Mandy typically leads each weekly practice. The team and the rest of the peer athletes see Mandy as a role model and leader despite that she is only 13 years old. Mandy also volunteers at the gym to facilitate and lead group birthday parties. Mandy's energy and enthusiasm makes these a huge success. Mandy took it upon herself to learn the music mixer system and can be relied on to modify and enhance cheer routine music. She also cheers for her middle school, Gray Middle in Union KY. As a leader on her squad she helped the coaches with choreography and stunts. She also mixed the routines music for the past 2 years for her school team. 

Her best memories of cheerleading so far are winning UCA in 2007 and winning the Senior Small Level 5 division at the Premier Championships.  Her favorite coach is Clinton Wigglesworth and her favorite thing about cheerleading is perfomring in front of people and making so many friends outside of school.