I never want to forget the little moments that make up the bigger story. This space is a way to hold on to those memories while giving others a real look at what it’s like to raise a driven student-athlete. More than anything, I hope it reminds other parents that you don’t have to do it perfectly, you just have to show up, encourage their dreams, and keep moving forward together.
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February 24, 2026
Roselyn’s All-Star Cheer Journey: From Starting Late to Chasing Big Dreams
Roselyn’s all-star cheer journey started because of five simple words: “I want to do more.”
But let’s back it up a little bit and I’ll tell you how we even got there, because her path to all-star definitely wasn’t expected. Her story starts off a little later than most, but when it hit, it hit hard.
When she was 10, I randomly asked her if she wanted to try cheer.
“Hey Roz, do you want to try doing something extra outside of school stuff? How about trying cheer?”
“Sure, that sounds fun!”
I immediately started looking around to see what cheer programs were in the area. After going over our options, we decided on starting off with a Pop Warner sideline cheer team.
One season. That’s all it took for her to completely fall in love with performing. And when that first season ended, she looked at me and said the five words that changed everything.
“I want to do more.”
From Sideline to Center Stage
That “more” led her to audition for Varsity Spirit’s Spring Break Performance at Walt Disney World. An invitation-only national event where cheerleaders parade through the park and perform in front of Cinderella’s Castle.
Roselyn spent weeks learning the dance and counts to the audition routine. Not going to lie, it was pretty cute and wholesome watching her wave her pom poms around in the living room doing the routine probably like 50 times a day. Not kidding when I tell you this kid is dedicated! She recorded her submission, submitted it with fingers crossed, and a few days later she found out that she made it!
Watching her perform on Main Street, USA, with the castle behind her was literally a dream come true. A fairy tale moment if you will. My mommy heart was bursting with so much pride. Disney played such a huge part of my life when I was growing up. You know, all the movies and being a Disneyland Annual Passholder from birth until I moved to Illinois. So getting to watch my little one live out her own fairy tale moment? Truly magical.
Needless to say, I took hundreds of pictures that day.
When it was over and we were home, she couldn’t stop talking about it. Her sideline season was officially over, and the parade was over now too. But she wasn’t done.
Being in the parade made her want even more. She wanted to step it up and REALLY perform. Little miss had her heart set on tumbling, flying and competing.
That’s when we learned about all-star cheer. And that’s when the real journey began.
Starting Her All-Star Cheer Journey With Nothing But Heart
She didn’t step into the all-star world until she was 11. Not to mention she literally had NO experience whatsoever: no tumbling (other than the wonkiest cartwheel ever, sorry Roz LOL), no stunting, no jumps. She didn’t even know what all-star cheer was. All she had was determination and a dream.
We walked into ICE All-Stars together with no expectations and a lot of nerves.
My mom guilt was creeping in really hard. I was terrified. What if she couldn’t keep up? Or if she ended up hating it? What if letting her try something this big just set her up for failure?
But of course I can never say no to her. So she tried out for the quarter season team and was placed on Youth Novice Level 1, the Raindrops! Once she was officially on a team, we enrolled her in her first tumbling class. And because she always wants to do everything she can, she started stunt privates too.
Are We Doing the Right Thing?
I watched her fall. A lot.
Then I felt helpless watching her get frustrated and begin to doubt herself.
But I also watched her get back up. Every single time.
She fell in love with flying. The first time I watched her go up in a stunt, my heart stopped. She had a huge smile on her face and was completely in her element.
In that moment, I knew this was more than a hobby. This was who she was becoming.
It didn’t take long for Roselyn to become fully immersed in the All-Star world. She started watching World Teams on YouTube: Lady Lightning, Panthers, Cheetahs, SSX, Senior Elite, Fever. These teams became her favorites and she would study their stunt sequences and recreate them on the floor.
As her love for the sport grew, so did our sense of urgency. She had a goal: to be on a Worlds Team one day and we knew we had some work to do to get her caught up and on track because she was already 11, which in the cheer world is kind of a late start. It would take some serious work to get her there, but we were willing to do anything to make her dreams come true.
Her First Full All-Star Cheer Season
Her first full season, Roselyn was placed on a Youth Level 1 team at ICE All-Stars, the Sunshine Girls.
And y’all, she went ALL IN. She stretched every single day, watched videos constantly, and drilled skills in our living room. Her lack of experience wasn’t an excuse for her, but something that drove her to be a better version of herself every single day. She had so much determination, tenacity, and grit. She pushed herself harder than anyone else ever could have.
That season taught her resilience in ways I didn’t expect. It taught her that growth doesn’t always look the way you think it will. Sometimes the biggest lessons come through struggle, not success.
There were hard days. Days when skills just wouldn’t click. Sometimes days when her body was sore and exhausted. Days when she wondered if she’d ever be as good as the girls who started younger, or if she even belonged on that mat at all. There were days when she came home in tears.
I didn’t have perfect answers for her. All I could do was do my best to support her and to tell her that everything would work out.
And it did. She kept showing up. Kept working. Kept believing she could close that gap.
I watched her do conditioning exercises and practice body positions in the living room while waiting for dinner. Stretch while doing homework. This kid had decided she was going to be great, and she was willing to do whatever it took to get there.
By the end of that season, she’d learned something crucial: sometimes, knowing when to move on is just as important as knowing when to stay.
Season Two: Finding Her Place at Cheer Athletics Chicago
By the next tryout season, she was ready for more than a new level. She was ready for a fresh start.
She knew what she needed: coaches who believed in her, teammates who supported her, and a place where she could grow. This season she was looking for a place where she could thrive.
Now, in her second year of her all-star cheer journey, Roselyn is on Blue Heat, a Junior Level 3 team at Cheer Athletics Chicago. She’s a flyer and tumbler, and she IS thriving.
The day we found out what team she made, I cried real, full-on mom tears. I had watched every fall, every frustration, every moment the self-doubt crept in.
Watching her now, I barely recognize the girl who walked into her first sideline practice with zero experience. She’s confident, strong, and focused. And no matter how much she’s improved and how far she’s come, she’s still committed to getting better.
What Training Really Looks Like
People ask me all the time how she balances everything. The truth? She doesn’t balance it. She commits to it.
Every week, she trains:
- Tumble class
- Stunt class
- Private tumbling lessons
- Private stunting lessons
- Private hyper flex lessons
- Open gym whenever possible
She takes her training seriously, because she knows that the responsibility falls on her. As a flyer, she knows her flexibility and balance are non-negotiable. As a tumbler, she knows she needs to stay strong and keep her shapes right. So her training doesn’t stop when she leaves the gym. At home she’s working body positions, stretching to stay flexible, doing full-body strength training workouts whenever she can, and always pushing herself even when no one’s watching.
She doesn’t have to do all of this, but she holds herself accountable and does. This kid literally chases excellence because she loves it.
More Than Just Cheer
With all of that being said, Roselyn isn’t just a cheerleader. Her all-star cheer journey is just one piece of who she is.
Straight A honors student? Check. Varsity Cross Country since 6th grade? Check. Bass drum in marching band and percussion in school band? Check. Plus chorus, sideline cheerleading at school, and student leadership council. The kid literally does everything.
She’s also creating content as a current brand ambassador for Rebel Athletic, Go Be Awesome Glitter, Stunt Trainer, and Tease & Toss. She’s also had the opportunity to collaborate with brands like ILSVxCA, CapyEra, and Shelby McNamara FlexAbilities.
When people ask how she does it, the answer is simple: she refuses to choose.
She loves all of it, and she shows up fully for all of it.
There are days I worry she’s doing too much. But then I see the look on her face after hitting at a competition, beating her personal record after a meet, or taking a bow at a concert, and I get it. This is who she is. It’s her choosing to live a big, fulfilling life instead of playing it small and safe. This is her refusing to have to choose between her passions. All of these things are Roselyn. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Competition Day: The Heartbeat of an All-Star Cheer Journey
If you’ve never watched your kid compete in all-star cheer, let me do my best to paint you a picture. The energy is electric and terrifying at the same time.
Depending on your meet time, you can get up at the crack of dawn to do hair and makeup or you can wait around in suspense all day because you’re one of the last teams to compete. We’ve had the luxury of experiencing both lol. Then when all of that is done, it’s time to head to the venue hours earlier than comp time for warm-ups, stretching, last-minute corrections.
Then you sit in the stands and wait. You watch other teams perform. You try not to think about all the things that could go wrong. Which let me tell you, is a lot harder than it sounds.
When it’s finally her team’s turn, everything changes.
The music starts. She hits her opening tumbling pass. She goes up in her stunt. And for exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds, I don’t breathe.
I watch every single second: every skill, every transition, every facial expression. My heart is racing. I’m silently praying for her to stick and stand each tumbling pass, hit every body position and land each skill, and to keep those toes pointed during jumps. Not so silently screaming my head off when she does.
When they hit zero and the routine ends clean? The relief is indescribable.
Competition days are exhausting. They’re emotional roller coasters. They’re some of the proudest moments of my life.
Big Dreams: Cheer and Medical School
Roselyn doesn’t just want collegiate cheer, she wants to graduate top of her class and go to medical school to be a doctor. As of right now, she either wants to be a surgeon or pediatrician.
So it definitely doesn’t come as a surprise that she will be chasing both athletics and academics with equal intensity. We’re already exploring schools that support this kind of balance. As of right now, she has her heart set on Texas Tech, where she’s dreaming of majoring in pre-med and being a part of their Large CoEd team.
Her dream isn’t either-or. It’s both.
Why I’m Documenting This All-Star Cheer Journey
I’m sharing Roselyn’s all-star cheer journey because it’s what she’s living through and it’s not the typical story.
She started late, she struggled, she worked her butt off to “catch up.”
But she had drive. She had resilience. She had a dream she refused to let go of.
This blog is about what it looks like to watch your kid chase something with everything they have. The pride, the fear, the exhaustion, the joy. The moments when they surprise you with how far they’ve come.
This is what we’re living through. The beautiful, chaotic, exhausting, amazing reality of raising a kid who refuses to choose just one passion. Who wants it all and is willing to work for it.
What’s Next
Roselyn is 13 years old, on a Junior Level 3 team, and her all-star cheer journey is far from over. She’s got her sights set on Worlds, not just competing there, but winning it.
She’s dreaming of collegiate cheer and medical school. She wants it all, and she’s going after it with everything she’s got.
She’s chasing every single one of her dreams and I’ll be here for all of it. The highs, the lows, the moments that take my breath away, and the ones that break my heart a little.
The competitions where she leaves everything on the mat. The practices where she’s grinding to get better. The victories that make us cry happy tears. The setbacks that teach her she’s so much stronger than she gives herself credit for.
This journey is far from over. In fact, she’s just getting started.
If you’re navigating this wild world of youth sports, raising a kid with big dreams, or just trying to figure out how to support someone who refuses to play it safe, you’re in the right place. Follow along on Instagram @billielorraine and @itsrozgold for the real, honest, beautiful chaos of what this actually looks like. And if you want to dive deeper into our story, both mine and Roselyn’s, you’ll find it all here.
She’s got so much ahead of her. And I’m not missing a single moment.
