The first time Centennial head cheer coach Drew Ellison heard about the Sparkle Effect she was more than intrigued.
“I heard about the Sparkle Effect when I went to a legal seminar concerning dance teams and cheer programs,” Ellison said.
According to the organization’s website, The Sparkle Effect is a nonprofit organization that helps students nationwide create school-based cheerleading and dance teams that bring together students with and without disabilities.
After learning about the program, Ellison saw three different Sparkle Effect programs performing at cheer and drill team competitions.
From that moment, Ellison said the Sparkle Effect was on her heart and she wanted to add it to Centennial’s cheerleading program.
“I reached out to staff for assistance. My cheer coaches, Courtney Atwood and Amy Effinger, have been helping as staff members and the Sparkle program is lead by students,” Ellison said.
Senior Ashley McEachern and junior Sofia Effertz are the captains of the Sparkle Squad. They lead practices with adult supervision for four Sparkle buddies – Abby Anderson, Chloe McRay, Anna Hough and Abby Taylor. Teaming up with the buddies are six varsity cheerleaders – seniors Sam Felan, Ally Lucas and Brooke Melton and Juniors Amanda Kaminski, Emma Marrington and Melody Bennett.
“I may have had the vision, but these young ladies are carrying out the reality and I salute them for all their time, effort, energy and love for their classmates,” Ellison said. “Seeing the faces of our Sparkle buddies as they cheer on Friday nights is a priceless experience. We are so happy to be of service to a population of students who don’t get many opportunities to go out and Sparkle.”
Next year, the hope is to get more Sparkle buddies and to have an additional Sparkle effect team in conjunction with the Sparklers dance Team.
“We are excited to see this program continue to grow,” Ellison said.