Owner and program director, Kelly (Samford) Halcomb has called Duluth home since 1980.  She is a former Auburn University Dance Team member and Captain.  She has been working with gymnasts, dancers and cheerleaders of all ages for over 25 years.  As a 1999 honor graduate of Auburn University, she majored in High School Science Education with an emphasis in Biology.  After teaching Biology and coaching cheerleading and track at Duluth High School for several years, she opened Cheer & Dance Atlanta with her husband Brent in 2002.   As the gym grew to be more successful, they opened locations in Auburn, GA (2013) and Grayson, GA (2015) to better serve the Atlanta area.  Kelly & Brent have six children, Emerson, Samford, Callaway, Banks, Mills, Powell and Australian Labradoodles named Coach & Cotton.

Kelly oversees all Jayhawks All-Star coaches, class instructors and summer camps.  She is CPR, First Aid and USASF safety certified, a member of the Georgia High School Coaches Association and a member of the Georgia Cheerleading Coaches Association.  Kelly has captured 6 GHSA State Championships, and two runner-ups, as well as numerous National Championships at the All-Star level.  In 2006 she coached the Georgia & National High School Cheerleading Team of the Year and was a finalist for Georgia Coach of the Year.   Since then she has worked with high school squads from all over the Southeast. As a coach she has coached levels 1-6 and has won numerous national championships including JamFest Super Nationals, CHEERSPORT, Spirit of Hope and countless others. In 2013 Kelly co-coached the Atlanta JayHawks "Platinum" Level 5 Team who won The Summit Championship in Disney World.  In 2021 Kelly proudly coached Atlanta Jayhawks "SHADE" who captured our first SILVER GLOBE at Worlds in Orlando, Florida.  Kelly has served on the Varsity Coaches Council and enjoys working with industry leaders to improve and grow our sport.  She is a past member of Gwinnett Medical Center's Women's Advisory and takes pride being involved in the community where she grew up.

Kelly enjoys challenging the kids to progress in their skills while enthusiastically encouraging them every step of the way.  She makes it her mission to see every child leave the gym with a smile and a great feeling about their accomplishments.  She is proud of the numerous athletes she has helped train to become college cheerleaders.  Many former Jayhawks have now become successful coaches themselves.  Kelly considers her staff and the families in the gym her extended family and loves building the relationships that will last a lifetime.

Vicki is the one who keeps our Duluth location at it's best.  Stop by and say "Hi" to Vicki Monday through Thursday 9am-5pm!

Alex Cordon is one of the most experienced tumbling instructors in the Southeast. He has worked in the Atlanta area for over 15 years. Alex has instructed tumbling in across many different disciplines. Starting out as a competitive cheerleader at Pro Cheer on the Large Co-ed Worlds Division Team, he competed while also coaching and mentoring the youth at Cheer Factory and Pro Cheer. Since his start he has coached and been certified in Gymnastics, Cheer, Trampoline and Power Tumbling. Alex has led teams to victory at various Cheerleading Nationals, USTA Nationals, USAG meets, and FCA Cheer Competitions. His energy is unmatched and there are few tumbling instructors who share his experience and passion for how physics and biomechanics affect tumbling. Alex believes in taking a positive approach to coaching athletes. He empowers every athlete he works with and provides them with solid tools to be successful. He has been able to create exponential growth in the gym and has contributed to a gym culture of positivity, accountability, and family. Alex has worked with Dream Choreo clients to provide staff training in the form of tumbling class instruction and structure implementation, tumbling clinics for athletes, business consulting to help with gym management responsibilities and coaches training.  He is amazing to work with and we are blessed to have Alex in a leadership role at Cheer & Dance Atlanta Jayhawks!

All-Star Coordinator, Jodi Richardson, has been with JayHawks since 2003!

With CDA since 2007...

Rick grew up in Miami, Florida and began cheerleading for his high school in 1995.   He then went on to cheer two years for Top Gun Co-ed All-Stars where he won several National Championships.  After high school,
he made the varsity cheerleading team at University of Central Florida in 1998 and placed third at the UCA College National Championships in 1999—GO KNIGHTS!! 

He graduated from UCF with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies and a triple minor in history, business and education.  Following college, he continued to cheer for a couple adult open teams in the Orlando
area such as Orlando’s Best. 

Rick’s professional career in cheerleading began the summer of ‘95 not long after he started cheering for Miami Killian HS.  He began as a tumbling instructor and all-star.  Rick worked as a UCA instructor for 5 years with the Florida staff.  During the school year, he coached at top level Florida all-star gyms such as Polk County Galaxy and Freedom Athletics.
He began by choreographing his own all-star routines and then went on to work with other teams all over the
country and in Europe.

Rick works as an international instructor and choreographer working in Europe and Scandinavia.  He also acts a mentor for European coaches who like to learn more about choreography, cheer technique, and tumbling.  Rick has coached teams to numerous State and National titles throughout his career.

We are thrilled to have Rick at Cheer & Dance Atlanta since the Fall of 2007.  Rick works with our all-stars, high school squads and teaches beginner through elite tumbling classes.   Rick is well respected by students, coaches and parents alike for his knowledge and love of our sport! 

With CDA since 2004...

Jami (Maier) Boleware was born and raised in South Florida where she trained as a Level 10 gymnast and was a member of the Meg Segretos Dance Company. In High School Jami was an All-American Cheerleader. After high school she attended Auburn University where she was a member and captain of the Auburn University Tiger Pause Dance Team. Jami graduated from Auburn with her BS in Exercise Science and her MS in Exercise Physiology.

Jami has been coaching gymnastics and dance for over 16 years. Before joining the Atlanta JayHawks staff in 2004, Jami worked at Gymnastics Academy of Atlanta training optional level gymnasts. Jami loves training and working with kids of all ages and it shows in her interactions with the kids at CDA. Throughout her years here she has coached all levels. Last year her Junior Level 4 team won Cheersport Nationals and received a paid bid to the Summit in Orlando.

Jami has a wonderful husband, Jason, and two beautiful daughters, Sara (7) and Lyla (4). Jami works at CDA part-time coaching cheer and dance teams for the JayHawks. We are proud to have an experienced and well-respected coach like Jami on our staff!
 

With JayHawks since 2012.....

Devon was born in Hanua, Germany and moved to Suwannee, Georgia when she was 11 years old. She competed in gymnastics for 8 years and has been cheering for the Atlanta Jayhawks the past 5 years. She competed with the Jayhawks at Worlds in 2012 and won The Summit Championship with Platinum our Senior Restricted 5 team. She attends Kennesaw State University and hopes to continue coaching through college.  We LOVE having past JayHawks come back to staff!!
 

With Jayhawks since 2018.....

Keith started his all-star cheerleading career in 2006 at Infinity All-stars in Jacksonville Beach, FL. and fell in love with the sport. He competed with several programs including Infinity All-stars, Florida Elite All-stars, Heart of Texas, Pro Spirit, and EC Athletics. Throughout his all-star career, he won NCA Nationals, Cheersport Nationals, and competed at the USASF Cheerleading Worlds numerous times.

He graduated and cheered at the University of Texas at Arlington. There he won NCA Collegiate Nationals in 2014 (D1 Small Coed Division). After graduating, he was the Spirit Coordinator at Louisburg College in North Carolina. He built the program up, and placed top 3 in 2018 at NCA College Nationals. In his spare time, he works with USASF (Credentialing and Safety Judging), Varsity Panel Judging and outside choreography.

Cameron is a former collegiate cheerleader from NC State University. His experience includes 3 top five team finishes in the UCA collegiate national championships and a top 20 finish in the individual partner stunt competition. Cameron has 20+ years of coaching experience including National Championship all-star teams, summer camps and individual tumbling and stunting. In addition to his coaching experience, Cameron is a seasoned judge with multiple organizations for National Championship cheerleading competitions.  Fun fact, Cameron was with Jayhawks back in 2005!  After a break from cheerleading he missed us so much he returned in 2019!

Outside of cheerleading, Cameron was also a springboard diver at NC State and currently works full time as a life insurance agent and college savings/retirement planner.

With Jayhawks since 2022....

Christian started cheering his junior year of high school and received many scholarships to cheer at Young Harris College, a D2 Large Coed Advance team. He graduated with a degree in Psychology and is currently getting his Master's in Clinical Mental Health. He has worked for NCA (National Cheerleaders Association for several years and is currently on an open level 7 team.  We love having Christian working with our kids in the gym each and every day!

Tajanea Henson was born in Lancaster, Pa where she began all star cheerleading at 10 years old. She loved the sport so much she cheered all the way through college. After graduating from Temple University in 2018, Tajanea began coaching All Star cheerleading in the Northeast before moving to Atlanta in May 2021. Her main goal as a coach is to help kids develop not only on the competition mat but in the real world as well. We are thrilled to have Coach Taj with Jayhawks since 2022!!