MANSFIELD — Sibling rivalries can bring out the best in athletes, sometimes even national championships.
For William Payne, 11, seeing his sister, Aspen, 8, cheering at Spirit Ohio Sports Academy/Spirit All-Stars made him want to join in the fun.
According to William’s mother, Veronica Payne, William was interested in participating at SOSA when he saw his sister taking competitive cheerleading classes at the gym.
“When I first tried jumps (at SOSA,) what I was doing wasn’t fun to me,” said William, a 6th grade student at Mansfield’s Spanish Immersion School. “I asked my mom, ‘is this what my sister is doing?’ After that, I went away — I didn’t want to do it for that one day.
“But then I came back, and they taught me different things other than simple things; I was intrigued.”
In his first year, William moved up two levels; the next year, he moved up two more. He is now a level 5 competitive cheerleader.
On March 4, William topped 10 athletes in his first-ever individual cheer competition, to win the national title at the Arnold Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships in Columbus.
“I was a little nervous to see the other people in the back, but then I realized some of them were not in my division,” William said. “But I just wanted to have fun out there.”
William said his routine benefited from his high built-in score, which gave him an advantage because his routine’s difficulty was harder than others. William was scored by three judges who gave him 46.5, 44 and 44.5 out of 50 available points.
“It’s not just how you can score in difficulty; you also have to hit it nicely. For example, if you do a cool flip in cheerleading, it’s judged on technique and difficulty,” William said. “If you do something really cool, but it looks terrible, then it might do worse than something simple that looks amazing.”
William said his highest scoring pass, or combination of tumbles, included a backhand spring, a double whip, two more back handsprings and a backflip with two rotations in succession.
“Right before you do your pass, you want to get in the mindset to do the pass successfully, but once you do it, you get to see the world in a crazy blur,” he said smiling.
William also participates in Shurite Kempo, a martial art which William’s father, Shawn believes has helped teach him maturity and focus — two things that have helped him in competitive cheer as well as outside the gym.
“To be in karate, it helps you be flexible. That way you’re not plunkey. In cheerleading you need to be flexible for the jumps,” William said. “Sports have helped me with sportsmanship.
“I used to be quiet, but now I am more vocal. In gym when we take (fitness) tests, I say ‘you can do it. I feel like I’m more helpful.’”
His father agrees cheerleading has helped his son.
“He’s more disciplined, not just in martial arts, but in cheerleading as well. It takes more focus to be able to do the things that he’s doing.”
