Two stars of hit Netflix documentary ‘Cheer’ to visit Derry to host camp

Cheer, a documentary following a cheer leading team and their head coach at a community college in Texas, has become one of the most talked about shows in 2020.

The team have won 14 national championships since 2000.

Two of the stars of the series, Dillon Brandy and Jerry Harris, have been invited to Derry by Galaxy Allstars Head Coach, Aoibheann Carlin.

She said it is a ‘big deal’ to get the stars here.

“It has been quite a whirlwind. There has been so much hype around the show and it is one of the most watched on Netflix at the moment across the world.

“At the minute the cast, including Dillon and Jerry, are touring America and appearing on a lot of daytime shows to chat about the documentary and were on Ellen last week. It is a big deal to get them here.”

Aoibheann said the documentary has helped to put cheer on the map and is helping to dispel many misconceptions about the sport.

“It shows the physical and mental toughness you need to take part in cheer leading and shows it as a very physically demanding sport and the degree of athleticism that is required.

“It is great that people are able to see that side of our sport, as people don’t normally get to see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.”

Aoibheann reached out to Dillon and Jerry when she became aware they were hosting a cheer camp in England.

“Here in Northern Ireland we always have to travel to these things, so I reached out to the guys and asked them if they could pop across to Northern Ireland while they were in the UK to run a camp here.”

The cheer camp has been organised for June 6 and at the minute Aoibheann is busy working out the format of the camp and deciding what age range it will be for.

“There has been a lot of hype about the event already. It will be opened up to cheerleaders throughout the north and we want to make sure they get the most out of it. It is not just about the celebrity of these guys, we want them to learn from them.”

Galaxy Allstars currently has 80 members, aged between three and 19-years-old, and they are ‘so, so excited’ about the cheer camp.

“We announced it to them last week and there were many tears because they are just so excited. The parents are equally excited because the cast of Cheer are amazing ambassadors and role models, whether you are involved in cheer or not.”