Work earns gym national recognition

DEBRA MCGHAN/For the Frontiersman

WASILLA - In an age when so many people are looking for short cuts, instant gratification and the easiest way to get results, Denali Gymnastics and Fitness in Wasilla is proud to be growing youngsters that understand and appreciate the value of hard work, dedication and responsibility.

"It's all about the basics," said Denali All Stars cheerleading coach Leon Reynolds. "We don't take shortcuts for anyone. Every member of this gym and our cheer squads must prove themselves over the long haul to earn a spot on our teams."

For those willing to dedicate the time and effort, the rewards are proving to be many. Travis Farris, a senior at Wasilla High, tumbled, danced and twisted his way into the record books in November becoming the first male to ever win the state's coveted top cheerleader award during the Alaska State Cheerleading championships held in Anchorage. That win has earned Farris recognition across the nation from top universities vying for his talents.

"I'd never won anything in my life, and I was really skeptical going into this competition," said Farris. "I think it's a lot harder for a guy to compete in a traditional female sport than for a girl to compete in a guys' sport. But what I learned here at Denali really prepared me for this. Leon is such a great coach and has helped me in so many areas of my life, not just here in the gym. He's taught me about respect and dedication which are skills that will help me in a job and all through my life."

Farris believes this win, and the resulting scholarship offers pouring in, will enable him to pursue his dream of a career in architectural engineering.

This makes his decision to join the squad despite his concerns about what others might think that much sweeter.

"I thought when I switched from gymnastics to cheerleading a couple of years ago, the guys at school would give me a hard time. But when they came to see us perform, they saw the incredible talent and how hard we work and now treat me with new respect. They can see what this has done for me. It's made all the hard work definitely worth the effort."

Molly McGuire, a senior from West Anchorage High agrees. McGuire commutes to Wasilla two days a week to work out with the Denali All Stars because she too recognizes the value of the program. A former international figure skater, McGuire was forced to find a new way to fund her college aspirations after she lost her sponsorships in figure skating. She was cheering for West High when a friend told her about the Denali All Stars program.

"I came to the Valley to check out the gym and was so impressed, I just knew I wanted to be part of it." She tried out for the squad and made the cut last spring. "I love to be challenged and that is something I really get here at Denali. I love being part of this because of the incredible coaching and knowledge, but also because of the dedication and determination of the other members of this squad. I respect how hard everyone is willing to work."

More than 4,000 family, friends and fans that packed Fort Richardson's Buckner Field House in November to watch the 2004 state championships, made it clear they agree. They showed their appreciation through a standing ovation of resounding applause.

"We were standing in this hallway waiting to perform," Reynolds recalled. "Everyone in the stands was really getting tired because we were the last of 32 teams performing. It was getting really late and people just wanted to go home. You could hear all this chattering and unrest and then the team walked out of the staging area and the place just erupted in cheering. It was just such an amazing feeling to hear that. And we hadn't even done anything yet. It made me proud of the reputation we're building."

Word is spreading across the United States that the little town of Wasilla is producing an incredibly talented crop of performers. Last year, after qualifying by winning 'best overall' at the Alaska State competition, the 26-member Denali All Stars performed for the first time at a national competition.

"It's very rewarding to go to an elite level competition like that, where no one has ever heard of you. When they find out were from a small town in Alaska, they don't expect much. It's fun to surprise them," said Reynolds. And surprise everyone this squad did. Even coach Reynolds, and his partner and mother, Sandy Reynolds were impressed by how well the kids performed.

"We went expecting little more than to gain experience and look for opportunities to grow and develop our programs," said Sandy. "We did accomplish that goal, but we also placed in the top three our first year. That's unheard of."

Following the experience, the squad came home, went over their notes, pushed up their sleeves and went back to hours of training, push ups, cartwheels, handsprings, sit-ups, dancing, stuntingŠ Yet you won't hear many complaints. "I love performing," said Tara Mayo, a 9th grader from Colony High and member of the Denali Shooting Stars, an upcoming squad. "Hearing the crowd cheer when we walk on the floor makes it all so worth it. I love coming to practice so much, I don't think of it as hard at all."

Mayo isn't alone either. Reynolds believes that kids want to be challenged and pushed when their efforts deliver results. And during the state competition, results are exactly what they saw. Every category that a Denali athlete entered at the state level, they won. They brought home championship trophies for the 5 person stunt group, coed stunting, best junior individual, best senior individual, junior all-stars, and senior all-stars. They also were awarded the title of grand champions and best overall tumbling for the 3rd year in a row.

Yet when it's all said and done, the trophies really don't mean much. "It's the core principals and values we coach with that will live on in the individuals we have helped shape through our training and programs," said Reynolds. "That's what really matters in the end."

Reynolds, and the rest of his team of coaches (his father Lynn, mother Sandy, sister Amy, Dan Piaskowski, and Tracie Hawkins all coach at the family owned gym,) says seeing the success of the kids brings the greatest reward.

"We see so many of our students go on to college and end up in great jobs," said Leon. Some of them have come back to tell us that this gym holds their best memories. They say, 'we were pushed more than we thought we could be pushed at the time but it helped us grow and become more than we thought possible. We're proud of ourselves and we're proud of the process.' To me, it's those life lessons that make everything we do worth while."

The Denali All-stars will be traveling to Atlanta, GA for the national cheerleading competition on February 18th where they will be competing against more than 850 of the best cheer squads in the nation.

"We know a lot more this year about what to expect and we know we're ready and will do well," said Reynolds. "It's exciting. We are not only holding our own, we are actually beating well established and seasoned teams. I can't wait to show them our future teams."