Central Community Athletics: New Name, New Home, New Faces

Left to Right:  Co-Owners Mindy Callendar, Kristin Perrin, Stewart Messer, and Laura Messer

    Central Cheer Athletics is now Central Community Athletics! CCA is welcoming two new owners and now has a new location. Familiar faces Kristin Perrin and Mindy Callendar are continuing as co-owners of Central Community Athletics. Kristin is a graduate of Central High, wheere she was a cheerleader, and she was an art teacher and cheerleading sponsor at Central Private School for 5 years before opening CCA. Mindy, also a CHS graduate, was an All-Star cheerleader and a cheerleader for Central High. Both Kristin and Mindy volunteered their time to help coach the CAYSA Biddy Cheerleaders, and that is where they began discussing their aspirations for opening a gym in Central. CCA opened its doors in November of 2010, offering tumbling classes, cheerleading basics, and a youth recreational cheerleading team.

    In 2013, Kristin and Mindy met two new Central residents, Stewart and Laura Messer. Stewart is a CHS graduate, and he was introduced to cheerleading in college at Northwestern State University. Shortly thereafter, Stewart was hired by Varsity under the Universal Cheerleader Association, the company that puts on the cheer competitions on ESPN. Stewart went on to cheer at both ULL and LSU, and he instructed for nine years at programs around the country and overseas. He even helped establish what is now known as Varsity China. Stewart’s other credits include time as an elite tumbling instructor at CG’s Gymnastics, Acadiana Gymnastics, and Precision Athletes.

    Stewart and Laura met at ULL, where they were cheering partners. Laura is a graduate of Mount Carmel, and she is the current cheerleading coach at Central High. Her athletic background includes elite level spring board diving and swimming. In high school, Laura cheered for Brother Martin and was an All-Star cheerleader in New Orleans. She was a member of the ULL cheer squad, and she worked for U.C.A. for six years. When she and Stewart moved to Memphis returned to Louisiana, they had dreams of opening a cheer gym. Laura began selling cheer uniforms for GK Elite Sportswear, allowing her to meet gym owners around the state. It was through this job that she met Kristin and Mindy, a meeting that opened the doors for a partnership that Laura says happened through God’s providence and intervening. Stewart and Laura Messer are now co-owners of Central Community Athletics, along with founders and co-owners Kristin Perrin and Minday Callendar.

    Central Community Athletics now has a new home at 12470 Hooper Road, next to Carlton’s Seafood. They will be offering a full cheer floor, moms and tots classes, toddler tumbling, home school children classes, tumbling classes from beginning level to elite, and a recreational youth cheer program. This is a facility that they feel the Central community has needed for a long time. For the CCA schedule or for more information, check out the CCA website at www.centralcommunityathletics.com or call 341-2401. You can also find them on facebook at Central Cheer Athletics.