Touched by an Angel

SubZero All Stars in Buffalo, NY, share how they turned a tragic event into an opportunity to help others.

By Erin Skarda

CBN Aug/Sept 2010

I hope we can help to raise the bar with the community service work that’s done within the industry, because the trophies don’t really matter. Success can be measured in so many different ways.” —Michele Ziegler, owner

It’s not every day that tragedy is turned into charity, the limits on love are tested and defied or ordinary people become extraordinary. We don’t often hear that doing the right thing can be a catalyst for overwhelming change, or that benevolence should be rewarded over winning trophies. In a world where making a difference is an option and not an obligation, there are those who try and those who abstain. And then there’s SubZero All Stars.

This Buffalo, NY–based gym has become the new paradigm for philanthropy after taking a tragic event and using it to effect positive change in the program’s athletes and in the community. On February 12, 2009, as SubZero was prepping for its trip to CHEERSPORT Nationals in Atlanta, Colgan Air Flight 3407, which was en route from Newark, NJ, to Buffalo, crashed in nearby Clarence Center, just about 10 miles short of the runway where the plane was supposed to land. Among the 50 people who lost their lives on that winter night was 24-year-old Ellyce “Elly” Kausner, sister of SubZero’s program director, Laura Kausner Voigt.

“When Elly died, the feeling in the gym changed,” says Voigt. “It was hard. My two greatest passions in life are cheerleading and family. Cheerleading was always something that Elly and I shared. It was something special between us. When the girls competed [at CHEERSPORT] two days after Elly died, and I wasn’t there with them, it was a very different experience for me. They knew I was in Buffalo watching the live streaming, and they performed better than they ever had. And you knew why—they performed for me; they performed for Elly.”

Even though many of the girls in the program never had the chance to meet Elly, her passing has impacted every athlete, parent and coach who walks in the SubZero doors. “It was like the mood changed,” says Voigt. “The girls were made aware that life was about more than just cheerleading.” With this in mind, a group of parents, along with SubZero owner Michele Ziegler and Voigt, banded together to form Elly’s Angels, a community outreach program created to honor Elly’s memory and give each cheerleader the opportunity to experience the rewards of helping others.

“We sat down as a group and decided to run a program that was different from others,” says Tom Thompson, SubZero’s booster club president and one of the organizers of Elly’s Angels. “We wanted to be able to grow and help develop healthy young women, not just athletically, but morally and ethically. These girls are lucky to be where they are; not everyone has that chance. We wanted them to know that there’s a different side to life.”

In June 2009, just four short months after the crash, Elly’s Angels volunteered at their first event, which was fittingly the Flight 3407 Memorial Race. Since then, Elly’s Angels has become much more than an outreach group. They’ve become a reflection of Elly’s spirit—confident, friendly, selfless and passionate about changing the world. “I honestly feel that Elly is a part of this,” says Voigt. “Because of what we do with Elly’s Angels, death doesn’t mean the end to me anymore; it means you continue living in a different way. It definitely sustains her presence, and that’s extremely special for me.”

Do the Right Thing.

Since their first event, Elly’s Angels and SubZero have become known within their community and the all-star industry for their untiring volunteerism. Their work with organizations like Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Adoption STAR, the Special Olympics, Buffalo City Mission and Carly’s Club, among many others, has not only earned them the respect of everyone whose lives they’ve touched, but also helped them win the coveted USASF Chairman’s Cup Community Service Award, which they received at The Cheerleading Worlds VIP Reception in April.

“For us to receive this award and follow in the footsteps of [last year’s recipients,] Jeff and Diana Miller from Pro Spirit [in McKinney, TX,] is just such an honor,” says Ziegler. “I hope we can help to raise the bar with the community service work that is done within the industry, because the trophies don’t really matter. Success can be measured in so many different ways.”

The Chairman’s Cup honors outstanding programs that are making a difference in their communities, while also projecting a positive image of all-star cheerleading to the world. Tegan Jemma Reeves, assistant executive director of the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) and director of the United States All Star Federation (USASF), says the board was unanimous in its decision to choose SubZero for the award. “They were able to take a hard situation and turn it into an opportunity to create good experiences in people’s lives,” Reeves says. “It’s a strong focus on their character, and you can see the positive impact community service has had on the kids. It’s a reminder that we, as an industry, are either giving or not giving our athletes the opportunity to make a difference.”

In many ways, Elly’s Angels has created a ripple effect, where everyone who’s aware of these athletes’ selflessness has been prompted to make a difference within their own communities. It’s exactly what Ziegler and Voigt hoped for their program, even if they feel that they’re not doing anything remarkable. “[When we received the award,] Jim Chadwick said to us, ‘No one is doing what you’re doing, but this is what I want everyone to be doing,’ ” says Voigt. “To us, this isn’t something extraordinary. It just feels like we’re doing the right thing, which has always been Michele’s mantra.”

Elly’s Angels has undoubtedly taken on a life of its own, fueled by the athletes who show up in masses for each event. “They really understand that life is about more than the clothes they wear or the boyfriends they have,” says Ziegler. “We lost an incredible person who was only 24 years old, and it was beyond her control, so what can we do that’s within our control to celebrate life, not only for ourselves, but also for others? That’s our focus, not only inside the gym, but outside of it, too.”

Building and Rebuilding a Vision

Before SubZero was inspiring others through its community service efforts, the gym struggled to find its place in a town that knew nothing of all-star cheerleading. When Ziegler’s now 16-year-old daughter was just 6 years old, she joined Buffalo’s first all-star team at Ryan’s Gymnastics Center (RGC) SubZero All Stars. At the time, Ziegler was a high school cheer coach with almost 20 years of experience. One day after her daughter’s practice, she approached the owners with some suggestions on how to make the team better, and the next thing she knew, she was accepting the role of program director at the gym.

For seven years, Ziegler worked alongside the owners to establish SubZero as an elite all-star program. She succeeded, and when the owners retired in 2008, they offered her the opportunity to purchase the program she had built. But Ziegler’s excitement for taking over the gym she loved so much was short-lived. Soon after, some of the coaches who worked with her decided to break out and start their own program, taking every athlete except seven with them.

“That first year wasn’t easy,” says Ziegler. “At one point, I only had two athletes on the senior team, and one of them was my daughter! But I kept listening to coaches like Casey Jones [from Stingray Allstars], who told me that I needed to do the right thing for the kids, and Victor Rosario [from Top Gun], who said to believe in the athletes. We got through it, and in the end we know that what we did was the right thing.”

As most blessings often come in disguise, so did the opportunity for Ziegler to truly start fresh with SubZero. She hired new coaches who aligned with the vision she had for the gym—treating the athletes with respect, instilling them with self-esteem and teaching them life lessons. “There were times when I had more coaches at practice than athletes,” says Ziegler. “But I knew it was the right thing. Now, everyone knows how everyone works and what the goals are for the gym.” And in two short years, SubZero has rebuilt based on what Ziegler wanted from the program. Now the gym boasts 150 athletes, a staff of 10 coaches and a brand-new facility that they moved into in May.

“It was a leap of faith for Michele to get this facility,” says Voigt, who came to SubZero from a high school coaching job almost two years ago. “But she believes in the [program], and I know [the investment] will pay off. As long as we continue to positively affect these kids, I feel great about it. The numbers don’t matter.” And due in part to Elly’s Angels and the gym’s visibility in the community, SubZero continues to grow, even welcoming back with open arms some of the athletes who left the program in the early days. “In two years’ time, look at what we’ve done with ourselves,” says Ziegler. “Talent-wise, we’re still building and creating a foundation, but it really is about the kids. In the end, if we can make a difference in their lives, then that’s really all I want.”

Good Attracts Good

At 6:30 am on a Saturday morning, most teenagers are sleeping and enjoying their days off. But on any given Saturday in Buffalo, you can find a whole gym of cheerleaders working together to support a cause they feel connected to, whether it’s a bike race or a food drive, all in the name of someone they loved and lost, and who’s affected their lives more than she’ll ever know. “The girls want to be at every Elly’s Angels event,” says Voigt. “And they don’t just show up, they pour their hearts out. It’s like good kids are just drawn to our program, and a lot of it has to do with Elly’s Angels.”

Just as the Angels are changing the lives of people in their community, they’re also changing themselves—and each other—for the better. “No one tells them to do these things,” says Thompson. “They just know what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s the most incredible thing. In everything they do, they show such compassion and love for one another.” And it seems as though this movement is catching on. “Things happen very quickly,” he says. “Little ideas can blow up into incredible things in a blink of an eye. It was such an effortless transition to make Elly’s Angels come together. It just became something of its own. If you can take a teenager and make her see life in this perspective, then that’s going to affect her and change her way of thinking. She’s going to want to pay it forward.”

As for Elly, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that she’s smiling down on SubZero, bringing sunshine to each event they’re a part of and showing everyone what it truly means to be an Angel. “Elly believed in the spirit around her,” says Voigt. “She would have loved being a part of this. And I think she would be so proud that in her name, these girls are being transformed from the inside out.”

For more information about SubZero All Stars and Elly’s Angels, visit subzeroallstars.com.