A lot of you have seen the pictures & videos of the cheer team Madison is on, the Cheerville Minions. The Minions are a special needs cheer team out of Bowling Green, KY. The Minions are made up of kids of all different ages & abilities. If you haven't seen them perform, you are missing out! This is an AMAZING group of kids who are so much fun to watch. They also have some awesome coaches & helpers. People who take time out of their nights & weekends to work with, encourage, and love on these special kids! Not only do they work on cheer routines, they work on gross motor & strength, and the kids get to play and run.
This experience has been so great for Madison. I've seen such a change in her since she started with this team back in early summer. She has surprised me with how well she pays attention when they are working on routines, and she is doing so much better on doing the cheers/dances/stunts when she is supposed to. Her forward roll has gotten better & she can even do it by herself sometimes. (She still is slow to get up after, but she loves doing rolls! We have to watch her at home because she wants to roll on the hardwood lol). She loves doing the "whip" now & her favorite part of the Whip/Nae Nae is the "bop" part. (Yes they do this in their routine. It's so cute!) I've also noticed her interactions with the kids there are different. She will let them pick her up, hug her, give high fives, hold hands... Things I never expected! She had a UK Cheerleader Barbie, and she will do routines with her & stunts with her other Barbies. She absolutely loves it!!
Madison's first performance was so great. The kids did so well & the feelings of pride and admiration that I had for those kids was more then I can put into words. They had so much courage & determination, and had a huge crowd in Municipal Auditorium on their feet cheering for them. Their second performance was a last minute one they were invited to after someone saw a video from their first performance. The kids went out & did their routine (once again nailing it), and they asked them to stay on the floor. They gave the team a trophy & all the kids medals. Of course I cried because I'm a cry baby, but I saw Madi keep looking at her medal & showing it to everyone. She was so proud of that medal. I don't know if she understood what it was, but she knew she had done something good.
Being on this team is building confidence in my sweet child, and I'm so thankful for the experiences it's giving her that she wouldn't have otherwise. Go Minions!
