Smoky Mountain Cheer Club is celebrating its 10th season in 2026, marking a decade of growth and competitive success for the regional youth cheer organization.
Tonya Clark, known as “Momma” to athletes and families, serves as program director. She said the club began after she and her daughter, Hannah Clark, attended a cheer competition in Myrtle Beach during spring break.
“At the time, I was the coordinator of youth football cheer through Smoky Mountain Mustang- Jackson County Youth Football and Cheer,” Clark said. “We took a team of 12 and 13-year-olds and competed after football season was over.”
What started as a traditional recreational program evolved into competitive cheer and dance. Clark said early teams earned bids to competitions in Nashville and Myrtle Beach, leading to the club’s transition into performance-based recreation cheer with stunts, tumbling and jumps.
Today, SMCC includes 85 athletes, both boys and girls, divided among seven teams for ages 3 to 18, along with one cheer abilities team for participants with physical and mental limitations.
“Everyone deserves an opportunity,” Clark said.
Athletes travel to practice in Sylva from Buncombe, Macon, Haywood, Clay, Jackson and Swain counties. Teams practice once a week, with optional tumbling sessions.
SMCC teams compete throughout the Southeast. Four teams will travel to Tampa this year to compete in the Recreational Summit.
The club faces five consecutive weekends of competition.
On Jan. 10, two SMCC teams competed in the Spirit Brands Patriot Championship in Knoxville, Tennessee. Senior Reign and Senior Blackout each earned first-place finishes and were named grand champions in their respective recreational divisions. Both teams received at-large bids to the Nation’s Champion Cheer Competition, scheduled for May in Orlando.
The club also competed in the Carolina Crown 2026 Cheerleading Competition on Jan. 17 in Greensboro, where multiple teams earned first-place finishes across divisions, according to SMCC coaches.
SMCC will next compete in the Harrah’s Spirit Royale at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino this weekend.
All 11 SMCC coaches are unpaid volunteers and hold current credentials through USA Cheer.
“It is all about the kids,” Clark said. “If I can make a difference in one kid, that is what I want to do. These kids need a positive environment.”
Several athletes attend cheer and stunt clinics and have advanced to middle school, high school and collegiate cheer programs. Clark said one athlete is considering a spring clinic at Tusculum University, while another previously cheered at Lenoir-Rhyne University. One went on to cheer at Piedmont University and another at Western Carolina University.
Clark’s daughter, Ashley Clark, earned a cheer scholarship to Tusculum. Hannah Clark also cheered at Tusculum.
Tryouts for Smoky Mountain Cheer Club take place in April and May. Families are responsible for uniform and competition fees, with many participating in monthly fundraisers.
Donations can be made through the Smoky Mountain Cheer Club Facebook page or by email at smokymountaincheerclub@gmail.com. For more information, contact cheer coach Hannah Clark at 828-226-9943.