Cheers over challenges for 'special' squad

SOUTHAMPTON - Danielle Jacobs giggled with her teammates, then did a perfect cartwheel near the corner of the mat. She was still grinning.

Others around her were also taking part. There were back flips, stunts, dance moves and more on a recent Tuesday night at Diamond Athletics.

The 12-year-old Medford resident is part of “Precious Gems,” a special-needs cheerleading program at the gym. The program has existed for five years, and Danielle has been a part of it since its inception.

“I like tumbling and the stunts,” said Danielle, who is autistic. She also said she likes to compete.

What does she love the most?

“Cartwheels,” she said.

She is one of 16 participants this year. The athletes range in age from 4 to 22, practice once per week, and perform in competitions, just like a regular cheerleading team.

And they love every minute of it.

“It’s amazing,” says Shannon Furfari, a part-owner for two years of Pivotal Training, home of Diamond Athletics, along with her husband, Frank. “When they go to compete, the audience stands up. There’s not a dry eye. It’s pretty moving.”

Kimberly Baum of Mount Laurel has three children who are part of the program, 6-year old twins Ethan and Juliana and 5-year-old Lily. She said they’ve been coming for about a year and a half, and it’s been “incredibly rewarding.”

When they first started coming, her children were only in school for 2½ hours a day, so with “three high-energy autistic children in the house” she had no downtime.

Woodbury school opens sensory room

They all look forward to coming to the gym and interacting with the coaches and their buddies, and it also gives Baum and her husband, Eli, some time when they can relax in the parent waiting area and watch their children have fun, make friends and take part in a worthwhile activity.

“I could relax and sit down for a couple of minutes and socialize and develop relationships with the other parents that have special-needs kids,” she says. “It’s been amazing.”

Co-owner Bonnie Brawn, who coaches almost all 10 of the cheerleading teams at the gym, said it’s a rewarding program to be a part of. Brawn’s husband, A.J., is also a part-owner at the facility, where they’ve been involved for five years.

Brawn, a Clearview High School graduate, said that the special-needs program is free for families and that they donate and sponsor everything for the program, including the coaches’ times, all the equipment, uniforms and more.

The Precious Gems practice once a week for an hourlong session from September through March. They work on fine and gross motor skills, self-esteem and team interactions through activities aimed at developing a comprehensive cheer routine, which includes stunting and tumbling.

They compete at local competitions and are aided by their buddies, who come from a competitive cheer program at the gym.

“They have buddies they are partnered up with to help them remember the routines as well as to build relationships with our other athletes, to kind of bring them all together,” said Brawn, who lives in Marlton.

“They like being a part of the gym and having friends and being able to do all of the skills that in the beginning they didn’t think they could do. We treat them just like we do everybody else. We teach the same tumbling skills, the same classes. It may take us a little bit longer, but we get there.”

Angela Beale of Voorhees brings her daughter Geeanna, 8, each week. They’ve only been coming for a short time, but Beale said Geeanna, who has Down syndrome, loves it.

Beale said her daughter has enjoyed meeting friends, exercising and all of the fun things they do. Geeanna looks up to her older sister Janae, 12, who is a cheerleader in Voorhees, as well as older brother Justin, a senior at the University of Delaware.

“She plays other sports — she does basketball, baseball and soccer — but she likes this,” Beale said.

“Now she’s a big girl, gets to put on the lipstick and stuff and come here so she’s like part of the team. It is a very good program. It just gives them a chance to feel like they’re a part of a team. Nobody looks at anybody differently. It’s just a team sport.”

Beale found out about the program through friend Renee Izzo of Pine Hill, whom she met through a Down syndrome support group. Izzo’s daughter Gianna, 11, also has Down syndrome and has been with Precious Gems for five years.

“I absolutely love it. It’s amazing,” said Izzo, who has three children. “They are wonderful with our children.”

Chris West gets emotional when he watches his daughter Abigail, 14, practicing and participating in the program. Abigail, who is in her third season, has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair.

But she looks forward to coming each week. They sometimes get her out of her chair and let her play on the mats and allow her to get on the trampolines so she can feel the bounce of it.

Camden youth football team embraces challenges

“It’s been a really good thing,” said West, who lives in Medford. “She sees herself as a typical kid. She knows she’s not, but she really doesn’t know. She loves interacting with the buddies that come from her school. In school, when she’s moving around in the hallways, she sees them and they all say hi. The buddies are fabulous. They are absolute prizes.”

West, who has another daughter as well, said they have Abigail involved with baseball, too, but there aren’t many other activities they can get her involved with, so the cheerleading team has been a precious outlet.

“It’s great to be able to find something to get her out,” he said. “There are evenings where we’d rather stay home, but once we get her out, we’re really glad we did. She really enjoys it.”

About a dozen or so team members went through their competition routine and did some tumbling and stunts at a recent practice. Medford resident Jordan Cravins, 11, loved every minute of it. Her cartwheels and flips were on point.

“I like to perform,” said Jordan, who has been part of the program for five years.

Kylie Quinn, 14, has been a buddy for about two years for the Precious Gems. She competes for Senior 5 at the gym but enjoys her buddy role.

“It makes you feel good about yourself and being a cheerleader,” she said. “It feels good to make sure that they can do the things you can do.”

“The buddies that they have here for this program, they are some really remarkable young people,” Kimberly Baum said.

Furfari and her husband have been involved with the gym for years — all three of their daughters are cheerleaders. The oldest, Julianna, 19, a former Bishop Eustace Prep cheerleader, cheers at Villanova University; Gianna, 14, is on Chrome 5; and Mia, 10, is on Junior 2 at Diamond Athletics.

“It was a passion,” Furfari says. “My husband played baseball in college, and he would joke with the girls that cheerleading wasn’t a sport until he came to watch. The respect that he gained from watching them, the opportunity came up and we purchased. We’re here a lot.”

Melissa Healy’s daughter Keira, 9, is in her second year with the Precious Gems. Keira, one of four children, has epilepsy and is developmentally delayed, and the program has been a safe landing spot for her.

“Really, the most important thing is to be able to socialize with other kids in a nonthreatening way and not to feel different,” said Healy, who lives in Medford. “It’s a fun time out for her and to be part of a team. This is her thing she likes to do.

“The other good thing is as a parent, you get to meet other parents who are facing similar challenges. We kind of talk, trade stories, ideas.”

Celeste E. Whittaker: (856) 486-2437; cwhittaker@gannettnj.com