It was an uphill struggle for this local athlete, but her hard work and perseverance paid off big when she won the silver medal at the United States Aerobic Championship in Manhattan Beach, Cal.
Cassandra Dotson, class of '96 and current professional trainer at The U of M and assistant to the Moss Chair of the philosophy department, competed for the first time in the USAC after only a few months of training.
"I watched it (aerobic championships) in high school and thought that those were some of the best athletes that I had ever seen," Dotson said. "I knew that there were some younger athletes, but it made me train harder because I didn't know what to expect."
Dotson has been involved in cheerleading or dance since she has been five years old and won several awards when she was on Bartlett's squad in high school and on The U of M's pom-pom squad in college.
The Aerobic Championship was Dotson's first individual sport, but she was by no means alone on her trail to the medal.
"Literally, my entire family helped me," Dotson said. "I'm so grateful to everybody."
Dotson also got help from her church and her co-workers, but her biggest supporter is her husband, Philip, she said.
"It's people like that that made winning the medal worth while," Dotson said.
Although Dotson was alone in front of the judges, she had a cadre of people that helped prepare her for the event, including a gymnastics coach, a personal trainer, a choreographer, a costume maker and a composer for her music, she said.
"You want to build and you want to peak at the right time because this is a one shot deal. You have to be at your physical and mental best," said Keith Elder, Dotson's coach from Sega Gymnastics. "It was a learning experience for both of us. I'm very proud of her."
The competition consisted of women from all over the country. Each athlete had to perform a routine that was a 1 minute and 45 seconds long, and they were judged on several different elements, including flexibility, balance and strength as well as a certain number of required moves that have different point values according to their difficulty, Dotson said.
"A lot of power is involved in these routines. It is non-stop for 1:45," Dotson said. "It's high impact and it takes a lot of endurance to do a routine like this. For me the toughest thing was the flexibility."
Despite running and other training Dotson's routine still took her months to be able to complete. It was a big challenge for her to get her body conditioned to compete because of the intensity of the routines, according to her longtime coach, Chris Martin.
"She did exceptionally well in a field that she has never competed in," Martin said. "This was actually a challenge mentally and physically, but she's a good athlete that puts her heart into it. She has a good head on her shoulders."
Despite the competitive nature of the event the athletes wanted each other to do well because they all knew how hard every person worked to get to the championships, Dotson said.
"It's almost like a small family. That's one of the best feelings," Dotson said. "At the end of the day we said, 'see you next year.'"
Dotson has already begun training for next year's competition and hopes to bring home the gold.
"Cassandra has exhibited the triumph capable within the human spirit through this competition. She set her sights on her goal, she got the proper help and coaching, she enlisted a support team and she disciplined herself until she reached her goal," said Cathy Wilhelm, who designed Dotson's costume for the competition and works with her. "I expect her to compete again, and if she does, she will win."
