SALISBURY, Md. - As dozens of gymnasts bounce and flip nearby, members of the Nor'Eastern Storm Shooting Stars All Star Cheer team start warming up for their weekly practice in Salisbury.
Cheer coach Karli Boog stands in front and soaks up the many smiles and hugs she gets from each team member.
"I love them. I absolutely love them," said Boog.
The team is made up of people who have special needs. Boog says she formed the group seven years ago as a way of giving an underserved group something at which to excel.
"They need some choreography, they need to learn some motions so they know what to do, but they can absolutely do anything they want," said Boog.
Boog says coaching the team also has its perks. She says each member shows up fully ready to practice and excited to participate, something she says isn't always the case with athletes.
"They're my favorite cheer team," laughed Boog. "Just don't tell my other teams that."
For many team members, the group has become more than just a cheer team.
"They're my second family and I love them to death," said team member Alexis Boyce.
That love and team spirit has paid off for the Nor'Eastern Storm. In February, the team traveled to Texas to compete in the National Cheerleaders Assocation's All-Star National Championship.
They won one of three superior ratings awarded in their division.
"I cried," said team member Danielle Stallings. "But it was happy tears though."
"We came up to Dallas, Texas and on Saturday, February 24th, we got it done," said Josh "Boss Man" Knox.
That victory still brings wide smiles to the faces of team members who wrapped up their cheer season with a final competition in Ocean City, Maryland in early April.
They finished in first place, again.
