Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefanie Grooms.
Hi Stefanie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my cheer journey as an eighth grader and continued cheering through high school and All Star cheer. From there, my love for the sport grew into coaching and working with athletes at multiple levels, including college cheer.
I spent several summers working with Legacy Spirit, traveling to high schools and running cheer camps. That experience gave me the opportunity to work with different programs, help athletes develop their skills, and learn what it takes to build strong, successful teams.
Later, I moved to North Dakota and joined Badlands Gymnastics as a beam, floor, and preschool gymnastics coach. While there, I helped launch their recreational cheer program, which grew to around 75 athletes who cheered on the sidelines for local football programs.
After returning home, I coached All Star cheer with Western Elite Cheer and later became involved with local studios in the Fruitland area, where I helped develop and grow their cheer programs.
Eventually, the opportunity came along to build something of my own—and I took it.
With a lot of hard work, determination, and probably more than a little chaos, Colony Athletics was born.
We started with one team of just 10 athletes. Within only a few months, we grew into a full athletic program serving more than 150 kids through cheer, tumbling, gymnastics, and other programs.
Owning my own gym gave me the opportunity to create the environment I had always wanted for athletes: one where kids can be challenged while still feeling safe, supported, and valued. At Colony Athletics, we strongly believe in proper skill progressions. Athletes aren’t pushed into skills simply because they can attempt them—we want them to develop the strength, technique, and confidence necessary to perform those skills safely and successfully.
We are now entering our third season, and I couldn’t be more excited about what our athletes are already accomplishing.
Last season, our athletes earned a bid to compete at a Worlds competition—an event that brings together thousands of teams and athletes from around the world. That accomplishment was incredible, but what makes me proudest isn’t just the awards or bids.
It’s watching these kids grow.
It’s seeing an athlete finally accomplish a skill they’ve worked months for. It’s watching teammates learn to trust and support one another. It’s seeing kids become stronger, more confident, and more resilient than they were when they first walked through our doors.
As a coach and gym owner, I couldn’t be prouder of the determination, teamwork, and growth our athletes continue to show.
We may have started with 10 kids, but we’ve built something much bigger than a cheer program, we’ve built a Hive.
One hive, One family All HEART!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We’ve definitely hit some bumps along the way, but I never imagined we would experience so much growth so quickly. And with that growth have come some growing pains!
This season, we had athletes get injured right before competition, forcing us to make major last-minute changes to our routines. But watching our coaches, parents, and athletes come together showed exactly what it means to be part of the Hive. Everyone stepped up, supported one another, and found a way to make it happen.
One of the biggest challenges we continue to face is changing the way our community views cheerleading. So many people still think cheerleaders simply stand on the sidelines and yell and yes, sideline cheer is part of what we do but what these athletes are actually capable of goes far beyond that.
Our athletes tumble and flip like gymnasts. They lift other athletes over their heads, balance them on one leg, and perform skills requiring incredible strength, flexibility, timing, trust, and coordination. Our own teams are throwing athletes high into the air and safely catching them again. These skills don’t happen overnight. They require hours and hours of training, conditioning, repetition, teamwork, and dedication.
My mission is bigger than just changing the perception of our own program. I want our community to recognize and respect all cheer athletes, whether they compete through rec programs, studios, all-star gyms, or high schools.
These kids are athletes. They are training, competing, pushing their bodies, overcoming fears, and working toward opportunities that can take them into collegiate cheerleading, scholarships, and even professional teams.
I want our community to see what cheerleading really is, understand the work happening behind the scenes, and be just as proud to support these athletes as they are athletes in any other sport.
Cheerleading deserves a seat at the table and I want Colony Athletics to help make that happen in our community
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve spent years working in the wedding and prom industry, so when I was given the opportunity to step into the world of cheer uniform and apparel design, I jumped at it. It was the perfect way to combine two things I already loved, design and cheer.
What I didn’t expect was how many incredible relationships that opportunity would bring into my life. Through designing uniforms and gear, I’ve met so many amazing people throughout the cheer industry. They’ve shared their knowledge, offered advice, opened doors, and encouraged me during the moments when I questioned whether I was doing enough or whether I was taking Colony in the right direction.
Those connections have grown into some really exciting opportunities that are coming next, and I can’t wait to share more about them.
But the part that means the most to me is knowing those opportunities don’t stop with me.
Every connection I make, every door that opens, and everything I learn gives me another opportunity to bring something back to our athletes and our community. Being able to give kids in our area access to experiences, training, connections, and opportunities they may not otherwise have had is one of the best parts of this entire journey.
If a door opens for me, my goal is to find a way to hold it open for our Hive, too.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memories would have to be the ones I made on the back of a horse, especially riding bareback through the fields. I grew up around horses, competing in both the show world and rodeo, and so much of who I am today was shaped during those years.
Horses taught me patience, discipline, consistency, and resilience. They taught me that trust is earned, confidence is built through repetition, and sometimes the biggest growth happens after a setback. You can’t force progress,you have to build the foundation first.
Looking back, I realize how much those lessons have influenced the way I coach today. I want my athletes to understand that success isn’t about being perfect or mastering a skill immediately. It’s about showing up, putting in the work, trusting the process, and having the courage to try again when things don’t go as planned.
Some of my best lessons as a coach were learned long before I ever stepped onto a cheer floor, they were learned in the saddle.
Pricing:
- We have programs for every price range from a fundamentals class that has a one time fee
- Recreational class are a monthly fee
- Competitive cheer teams have affordable option for every family, I believe there is a place for everyone.
- We are partnered with multiple other companies to help fund programs for kids , as well as fundraising options
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Colonycheer.com
- Instagram: Colony_athletics
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19HJeGaVrW/?mibextid=wwXIfr
