We were so excited to finally catch up with Kelsey Baker and get the scoop on how she is adjusting to her new life in Caifornia. Kelsey joined the California All Stars recently and moved her whole life across the country to pursue her dream of becoming a member of one of the country's most high profile All Star Cheerleading teams. Still in high school, Kelsey is doing very well in her new home out West. Kelsey shares her feelings with us as she prepares for a new school year.
We understand you came from Cheer Tyme in Mechanicsburg, PA. Now that you are a California girl and joined the California All Stars, what challenges and lifestyle changes have you had to overcome or adjust to? Do you feel you have grown personally from this experience? Since moving to California, I've had a lot of adjustments to make in my life. First, one was made coming right off the plane to my new loving family. I had to adjust to their personalities and lifestyles. Luckily their daughter Katelyn, and I had a lot in common and clicked as sisters right away. But I had to adjust to a lot more such as culture shock, weather, the stores, restaurants and the geography of California. I think I have grown from this experience because not many 16 year olds move out of their homes, leaving behind their family, friends, and boyfriend like I had to, to live across the country. It definitely taught me life lessons that will forever help me.
What has your summer activities been? Have you had some down time to enjoy any hobbies? Summer has been non stop since it started! Although cheer takes up a lot of summer, we always find fun things to do. The family here wants me to have the best California experience, so they bring me to a lot of tourist attractions. We go to amazing beaches, attend Hollywood entertainment, watch surfers, amusement parks, restaurants, and beautiful lakes!
Why do you like modeling for GK Cheer? I like modeling for GK Cheer because of the amazing staff, and beautiful uniforms. The people working there are very welcoming and make me feel right at home! There's no pressure, just a fun day wearing beautiful uniforms made in that very building! I like being able to represent the cheer sport with a great company that has extravagant designs, and amazing people. When you work so hard year round, it feels good to put on a fresh designed uniform that brings us all together, expresses our team, and unifies us. GK has creative and different uniforms that expresses the personality of each team. I'm always so proud of what they design.
Here at GK, we hear that before a practice begins, you are required to run 5 miles! Tell us about a typical day at practice? Yes, at California All Stars, a practice on my team SMOED always starts with running anywhere between 2 1/2- 4 1/2 miles in the ally behind the gym. After that, you go straight into conditioning, whether it's arms, legs, abs, or butt, immediately after that for about 45 minutes! Then you work on routine skills such as tumbling, stunting, and jumps. The last 25 minutes consist of conditioning again. It's like boot camp. We leave no one behind. If someone starts to lag, someone stronger goes back and pushes them to fight and not give up.
When it comes to a competition or performance, what do you do to get psyched up before you go out on the floor? At a competition, I get psyched by thinking about how amazing I'm going to feel to walk off the floor knowing we hit a routine and made our coaches happy. That's what gets me pumped to get on the floor. I also think about the long hours in the gym and the the time I've put in for that very moment. The talent surrounds you in warm ups and that always pushes you to be your best and to shine with whatever skill you have.
Tell us about your favorite or specialty tumbling skills. How about any stunting skills? Since a very young age, tumbling has always been my favorite thing in a routine. I like doing passes that are very unique, or hardly ever seen! I also like lots of speciality in passes such as whips, Arabians, layout halves, one and a halves, etc. For stunting I also like to do crazy and daring things! I like to make my own spin on a stunt and add creativity.
What are your goals for the future? Do you plan on attending college? I intend on going to a big name college and perhaps cheering. I want to major in something like communications or marketing which will allow me a broader opportunity in cheerleading related designs.
Now that you have traveled across the country, we are sure you want to see more of the world. Name a place you want to travel to next and why? California is just a little taste of what I want to see in the world. I really want to go to Italy because I am Italian, and I love the culture, food, arts, buildings, and history there!
We wish Kelsey all the best with her future endeavors and look forward to hearing more about SMOED California All Stars.
If you love the look Kelsey modeled on page 7 of our 2013 Catalog, check out all of GK's new One Piece Uniform Styles.
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