- Penny Howell is the owner
and director of Power Cheer! and head coach of the Sabres (Senior
Level 5). She has coached her teams to win numerous Regional,
State and National Championships. She was also the 2000 and 2002
National Partner Stunt Champion for the American Championships,
2004 Open All-Girl Stunt Group National Champion and 2006 Open
Dance Ensemble National Champion and formerly a head instructor
for CTC (Cheerleading Technique Camps) and NCA (National Cheerleaders
Association), a Regional Director for the American Championships
as well as a Nationals Judge for JamFest and the American Championships.
Penny grew up in Texas and Oklahoma and began gymnastics at the
age of 5. She started competitive gymnastics at the young age
of 7 and continued with competitive gymnastics through high school
where she was a two time State Balance Beam and Vault champion.
She was also a member of the All-State Gymnastics Team and a
member of the Oklahoma National Gymnastics Team her Senior year.
During this time, Penny also studied Jazz and Ballet. Also in
high school, Penny participated in Honor Society, Fellowship
of Christian Athletes and Student Government, as well as running
track and cross country and Varsity Cheerleading her Junior year.
Penny was named in the book of Who's Who Among American High
school Students her senior year. After high school Penny attended
Fort Hays State University in Kansas on a full gymnastics scholarship.
After her first year of college, she decided to go onto her next
love, Cheerleading and dancing. Her second year of college, Penny
transferred to Coffeyville Community College (also in Kansas)
where she became a member of the Varsity Dance team and Varsity
Cheerleading squad. After her first summer of Cheerleading, she
was named as an NCA Collegiate All-American and accepted onto
the National Cheerleading Association Staff. After CCC, Penny
transferred to the University of Kansas where she had the distinct
honor of cheering for Division 1 Varsity Football and Basketball.
This is where Penny had her "30 seconds of fame" when
she was interviewed and shown on ESPN nationwide during KU vs.
UCLA football game. Penny continued Cheerleading camps for NCA
until she moved to Florida to begin her career as an X-ray Tech.
After a few years, her desire to become involved in Cheerleading
urged her to offer assistance to several area high schools. After
the word got around, Penny was offered a position at Powerhouse
Gymnastics where she took over a very small squad (8 kids) and
developed them enough to attend a competition. Less than a year
later, this single squad turned into 2 competitive teams, which
had outgrown their current surroundings and Power Cheer! was
born! Penny began her program at the Port Orange YMCA until a
year later when she opened her first gym in the Oak Center Business
Park. Less than a year after that, Power Cheer! had grown enough
to have 12 different competitive teams spanning to both Edgewater
and Ormond Beach.
Going into it’s 11th year of competitions, Power Cheer!
consists of a 7000 square foot facility with over 150 athletes
from as far as Orange City and Palm Coast, and is attended by
squads from all over Volusia County, including New Smyrna Beach,
Ormond and Port Orange Pop Warner and college teams from around
the nation. Penny feels that she has truly found what makes her
happy by working with children and teaching them to love the
sport of cheerleading and dance. Her main goal is to make a positive
impact in the lives of each child she teaches, and hopes that
everyone involved in Power Cheer! has a positive experience and
learns the value of commitment, sportsmanship, and teamwork.
She also believes that dedication and hard work pay off as her
favorite motto is: "Everything worth while is difficult
to achieve."
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