Mount Maunganui's Anna Grigson is eager to soak up all she can from her cheerleading experience in Miami. Photo / Andrew Warner
Mount Maunganui's Anna Grigson is eager to soak up all she can from her cheerleading experience in Miami. Photo / Andrew Warner
Mount Maunganui and Miami may seem worlds apart but, through cheerleading, one highly motivated teenager is bridging the gap. Sports reporter David Beck caught up with her.
Anna Grigson used to watch videos of Miami's Top Gun All Stars cheerleaders on Youtube, dreaming that one day she might be ableto join those she idolised.
In March, the 17-year-old helped English club Unity All Stars to two national titles at the ICC British Open Cheer and Dance Championships but still had her sights firmly set on her American dream, telling the Bay of Plenty Times at the time "my dream is to be on an American team so this will help me get there".
Her statement was an accurate one and late in 2019 her dream came true as she finally joined the world champion Top Gun All Stars. She is cheering for the club while also attending a high school in the area.
"I've been following them for a few years and decided to try out. I saw them on Youtube and social media and I've known I wanted to be in their programme for a while.
"It is crazy to actually be there, when I first got there it was a bit surreal. When I found out I was going I was really excited, then I got my visa and moved there. It all happened fast."
Anna slotted straight into one of the club's top teams and said the standard and size of the operation was a whole new level compared to New Zealand.
She first tried cheerleading in Auckland before moving to Mount Maunganui eight years ago. There was no cheerleading club in the region at the time so her mother Rebecca, whose background was dance and ice skating, set up the Bay Twisters Cheersports Club.
At present, Anna is back home in New Zealand for a week and rather than relax she is already back coaching with the Bay Twisters, eager to pass on some of what she has learned so far.
"I had my first competition a few weeks ago, it was mostly good, not the result we wanted but we did as best we could. It was pretty big, especially compared to New Zealand. There were just so many people watching - it was called Battle Under the Big Top in Atlanta.
"I've already found it more challenging which is good to bring my skills up and bring those back for coaching here. I want to learn as much as I can for my coaching so I can teach the kids new things."
Mount Maunganui's Anna Grigson has been honing her craft at the Top Gun All Stars cheerleading club in Miami. Photo / Andrew Warner
She said what she loved most about cheerleading was all the opportunities it had given her.
"I love meeting new people and how intense it gets - it's challenging but that's a good thing. You have bases, tumblers and fliers, I'm a base but I tumble a lot too. I do enjoy that role, I've been doing it for awhile.
"The training and practising in America is on another level which is really hard but it's really rewarding at the same time. We train between three and six times a week, it's quite hard on your body and balancing with school but it's good, I'm managing. It's a great opportunity."
Anna's mum Rebecca said being in Miami was a valuable opportunity for her daughter, both as a cheerleader and as a person.
"It's massive for her cheerleading but for the cultural experience as well, which she's really enjoying over there. America is the home of cheerleading so the things she's learning not only for her personal development but that she can bring back for coaching as well. It's a lifetime experience, not many people get that opportunity."
Anna heads back to Miami now where she will remain until at least the end of the American school year in May at which point she may choose to stay on another year. In that time she will compete at the World Championships, the highlight of the international cheerleading calendar.
