When Maine Stars Glory took the mat at the 2025 Cheerleading World Championship in the Level 6 Limited Senior Extra Small Coed division, the team from Eliot, Maine, wasn’t there to blend in. With 16 athletes—nine of them rookies—and three coaches behind them, Glory hit back-to-back zero deduction routines and earned the gold medal. For the first time in program history—and the first time for any Maine team—Glory was crowned World Champions.
It was the culmination of a multi-year journey for the D2 gym, now beginning its 25th season. “This win meant literally the world to us, it took 17 years for us to field a Worlds team,” the coaching staff said. “In our first year we won silver, in 2024 we won bronze, and in 2025, GOLD! We hope other gyms are inspired by our success.”
Glory’s Worlds weekend began as it always did, with a full-team morning at the coaches’ house. “We always get ready for Worlds all together at the coaches’ house,” the staff said. “This is where we set the positive vibes for the day and we get excited to take on the world all together. The parents come over and make breakfast for the kids, music is playing, and all the athletes are getting ready. It’s a tradition we will always do.”
That sense of unity has been foundational to Glory’s identity this season. In its third year, the team was driven by a shared purpose. “This team was very young, with nine rookies. Their bond was something special, all 16 athletes had the same dream. This was something that really kept the team focused and part of the reason why their dreams came true.”
Glory’s path to Worlds wasn’t perfect. “The biggest hurdle this team had to overcome was being able to hit their routine both days at comps,” the coaches shared. “We hadn’t hit both days until our last regular season competition that we added before Worlds so we could go into Worlds with confidence.”
The decision paid off. “This team never gave up. They came in extra every single week to get reps of stunts to be more consistent! We then hit our best two routines of the season at Worlds!”
The coaching staff— Lori McPherson, Kelsey Daigle, and Mikaela Leighton played a pivotal role, not just in skills but in mindset. “Our role was to be the team’s biggest supporter, pour belief into them, and be sure they were prepared,” they explained.
Before taking the floor, the message to the team was clear: “We told them to go out on the mat and have the time of their lives with their best friends, and just enjoy performing this amazing routine for the very last time. We told them that the only thing they could control was performing the routine to the best of their abilities, leaving it all on the mat and hitting zero—and that is exactly what they did.”
Back in November, months before they would compete– The team made a collective decision to pursue gold with intention. “The biggest takeaway we have from this season is you have to 100% believe it to achieve it,” the coaches said. “Back in November we decided that we would be the 2025 World Champions without seeing any other team in our division. The kids wrote it down and hung it in their bedrooms to see every day.”
The results proved their strategy. “Once they believed, they worked extra hard to make their dreams come true.”
Glory’s progression has been linear and historic. “Last year we won Bronze, which was so special to us. In 2018, we won Silver! This year winning first place and getting Gold meant we, as a small D2 gym, ‘finished the set’ which was our goal going into Worlds [this year].”
The win wasn’t just about the medal count. It was about what it meant for the future, “This is such an incredible accomplishment as a small gym and we are forever grateful.”
More than a personal milestone, the title marks a breakthrough for the broader cheer community in northern New England. “We are the first team from Maine to win a World Championship,” the coaches noted. “We have athletes from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Together these amazing athletes came together and achieved a lifelong dream.”
Families and communities showed their pride: “Our families and our communities are beyond proud of our success and we thank them so much for their support always.”
To athletes just now experiencing Worlds success, the Glory staff offered simple but powerful advice: “Congratulations for a job well done. Now work even harder, because you just proved that you could achieve it once— So now go after it again.”
As for the culture they hope to foster, their values remain unwavering. “One of the values we instill in our athletes is to always be ‘Grateful for Today.’ In fact, we end every practice with it. We don’t take any win for granted, and we accept defeat graciously. We want to be looked upon as a hard working, caring and respectful gym.”
Their approach to competition is similarly grounded. “Level 6 is hard and we don’t look to separate ourselves from anyone. We know the blood, sweat and tears that all Level 6 athletes go through. We appreciate the support from our competitors and we work hard to reciprocate that. We are truly all in this together.”
The win, though celebrated, isn’t the finish line, it’s the foundation that Maine Stars Glory will build upon. “This championship humbles us. We have been so inspired by so many teams in the industry. We hope the small gyms out there will look at us and be inspired to do great things… Because anything can happen when you are a true team. Glory 2025 was exactly that and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us!”
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