5 Things You Should Know About Maddie Gardner

photo from www.MaddieGardner.com It seems that just about every cheerleader is a fan of Maddie Gardner. She has tens of thousands of fans on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Not only is she an incredibly skilled flyer, but she’s also an inspiring athlete. We think she’s helped many people see just how extreme and competitive cheerleading can be. She’s also helped show other cheerleaders how far cheer can take you in life by becoming a show host, a spokesmodel, designer, and a motivational speaker. In honor of everyone’s favorite cheerleader, we present to you five fun facts about Maddie. Her heart is in North Carolina. Not only was Maddie born and raised in a small town in North Carolina, but she also now attends college at of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is majoring in broadcast journalism. On top of classes and appearances, she also cheers for the university’s cheer team! She’s been on four different cheer teams. Although she’s been cheering for 16 years (since she was four-years-old!), she’s only been on four different squads. She first began cheering competitively with Pro Spirit Dazzlers. When she was seven, she made the move to Cheer Extreme Allstars (where she stayed until 2012 when she graduated from high school!). In high school, she was a member of her school team and now she cheers with her college team! She’s had a lot of firsts. Maddie proves her hard work and determination by being the first at many things! In 2010, she was the first cheerleader ever to debut the ball up 360 tick-tock at Worlds. In 2012, she signed with Proformance Sports Marketing and Entertainment, making her the first individual cheerleader to sign a sports management contract. Also in 2012, Maddie was included in Cheer Channel’s very first Superstars of All Stars program. She, along with seven other cheerleaders were chosen over thousands of other cheerleaders and made guest appearances in the first season of Cheer Channel’s web series, “Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader.” In 2013, she had three more firsts ‚ she became the host for the new Cheer Channel series “Cheer Mashup,” became the first spokesmodel for cheerleading company Chasse, and was on the cover of the first issue of our new magazine, CheerLiving. She knows how to balance a schedule. Balancing a schedule when you have so many responsibilities is no easy feat. Only the fiercely dedicated and passionate individuals can survive a busy year. In CheerLiving, Maddie contributed an article on how she balances her schedule. One of the things she says is, “one must try to achieve the perfect balance. Perfection is rarely stumbled upon, and making it work takes dedication.” She goes on to share some of the creative ways she’s had to find time to do homework, like in between full-out routines and in the car. (Subscribe to the digital version of CheerLiving here and read what else Maddie had to say!). She has a guilty pleasure. What is something Maddie loves having in the morning? Starbucks! However, even though she calls it her guilty pleasure, she de-guilts it by cutting back on sugar and fat by making it “skinny”‚ non-fat milk, no whip cream, and sugar-free syrup. The main time she avoids caffeine and coffee is during competitions and performances. She says caffeine “doesn’t pair well with flying” and instead relies on healthy snacks like apples and protein bars for competitions and water and Gatorade for hot football games. You can find out more about Maddie Gardner on her website: www.maddiegardner.com! Are you a Maddie fan? What do you like most about her?