Baton Twirling to Confidence
Written by Blair Townley. Photos provided by Cheri Stoffel and photos by Anthony Rao
Twirling isn’t for sissies, or at least not for girls who don’t want to become confident women comfortable with performing in front of thousands.
That is how Cheri Stoffel, coach and owner of Superstars Twirling Academy in Fruitland Park, views baton twirling and what it brings to young girls.
“I think twirling brings girls a lot of confidence as they feel comfortable talking and performing in front of a lot of people,” she says. “I also think it keeps these girls focused on something besides their social lives and gives them another purpose almost, something they can work towards.”
One of Cheri’s students has demonstrated the benefits brought by a dedication and love to baton twirling; feature twirler of Florida State University Rosilyn Lammers.
“She was always quiet and reserve but very consistent,” recalls Cheri of Rosilyn who started twirling with Cheri 15 years ago. “When I started working with her privately, I begin to realize her potential.”
This summer Rosilyn plans to attend Drum Majorettes of America National Championships in North Carolina in hopes to become the Senior Majorette Queen of America. She recently won the title of DMA halftime majorette and Advanced Twirl-off and Strut-off champion at the Florida State contest in May.
“Rosilyn sets a goal and goes for it, never saying something is too hard to do,” Cheri concludes. She recalls Rosilyn practicing for 20 hours a week in preparation for her feature twirler tryout.
Much of this dedication could be attributed to the guidance of Cheri, who has operated Superstar for 20 years while helping area schools in Florida with color guard and baton twirling.
“I think twirling is so traditional and a lot of people think it is a dying art form but people are unaware of how big twirling really is,” Cheri says.
Her twirling teams of girls have performed well in local and state competitions and are a frequent fixture at February’s Twirlmania at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
She encourages girls to not blame themselves if they drop their batons during practice or get a bruise while performing as that is a sign they are learning.
“I just encourage them no matter what level they are at,” Cheri states. “I just want them to go out there and have a good time.”
Good times will happen this summer at Superstar Twirling Academy when Cheri begins her summer twirling camp in June. Accompanying Cheri this year with instructing the girls will be Rosilyn, who has made it a point to return for the summer to help.
“She understands what I want to be taught but she does it in her own way and is very patient with the kids,” says Cheri. “She is good in explaining the technique and showing them how to do it.”
The Superstar Twirling Academy summer camp goes from June 8-18 Monday through Thursday and will focus on dance, tumbling, cheer, modeling and contest requirements. The camp is offered for girls ages 4 and over as well as any boys that are interested.
For information, call 360-0580.
Loading ...
