Kindness - Commitment - Leadership - Confidence
Brooke Hockley
Brooke began dancing at the age of 5 at her local dance school Fi Steps. She went on to train in a variety of dance styles from Ballet, Tap, Modern and Jazz to Hip Hop, Commercial, Freestyle and Musical Theatre. Her youth resume also includes training at Sylvia Youngs Theatre School, Italia Conti School of Dance as well as number of West End Productions.
After leaving college she was torn between her academics and her prospects of going on to Professional Dance College but made the decision to study BSc Television & Broadcasting at The University of Portsmouth. It was here that she found a love for Cheerleading by gaining a place on the Level 3 University Team – Portsmouth Phoenix. In her second year, Brooke became Team Captain and began volunteering as a Coach in local schools as part of the Up for Sport programme where she went on to be the Winner of the Contribution to the Community Award at the University’s 2016 Athletic Union Sports Awards and the following year was promoted to Head Coach of Portsmouth Phoenix.
Brooke & Rachel have been best friends since meeting through Cheerleading in 2014 and established Wildcats together just before graduating in 2017. Brooke currently oversees all squads choreography and training alongside working a full-time in broadcasting.
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Maddie McDonald
Maddie’s love for dance started when she joined Irish dancing aged four. Over 13 years she travelled the country competing as a solo and group dancer, dancing at events and theatres and competed in Irish Dance World Championships in Ireland and Germany. Maddie and her dance group went on to perform on Britain’s got Talent, making it to the semi finals and children’s TV programme The Slammer.
Before leaving Irish dancing to go to university, she found a passion for teaching the younger Irish dance classes in preparation for competition’s and shows.
In 2015 Maddie started her degree at the University of Portsmouth in Human Communication Sciences. She completed multiple placements working with children with complex disabilities and decided that working with children was something she loved and wanted to do as a career. Maddie was keen to get back into a group sport and became hooked on the idea of being part of the Portsmouth Phoenix cheerleading team. She joined the team as a level 3 back spot alongside Brooke, Rachel, Carley and Whit. Within a year, Maddie went from knowing nothing about cheer to competing at level 3 around the country with Portsmouth Phoenix.
After university the perfect opportunity arose when Brooke offered Maddie a coaching job at Wildcats. She now works a full time job in Occupational Therapy working with children with complex disabilities alongside coaching.
Rachel Abbott
Rachel started her sports career as a gymnast aged 4. She trained as an elite artistic gymnast for 9 years, and travelled all over Europe representing her club. She gained titles in her age group as county champion, regional champion and competed at numerous British Finals. At 13 Rachel switched lanes and began Team Gymnastics which comprises Tumbling, Vault, Trampette and team Floor routines. Rachel and her team consistently placed 1st as British Champions most years at national finals. Rachel went on to represent team GB twice at the European Championships in Denmark and Iceland aged 16 and 18.
Torn between continuing as a gymnast or moving away to university to study BSc Psychology, Rachel made the tough decision to stop competitive Gymnastics. It was at the University of Portsmouth that she began cheerleading; something she thought of as similar to gymnastics but at the same time completely new. Rachel began as a level 3 Base on the competition squad of Portsmouth Phoenix. In her second and third year, Rachel competed as a level 3 Flyer and also gained the role of Kit Secretary which saw her design the new competition kit for all of the Portsmouth cheerleading teams. She also volunteered as a Coach in local schools as part of the Up for Sport programme. In her final year she was nominated for ‘Coach of the Year’ at the University Sports Awards.
After graduating Rachel moved to Crawley with Brooke to open Wildcats and also works full time in the B2B events industry as a Business Development Executive.
Carlie Martin
Carlie has been a Wildcats coach since 2017, focusing particularly on tumbling. She grew up around dance and gymnastics since the age of 4 where she started competing at a very young age. During primary school, she decided to focus her attention on gymnastics. She has a long line of competition success behind her, winning many gold medals at each yearly competitions. Until her teens, she competed in individual artistic gymnastics (bars, beam, floor and vault) and then transitioned to team gymnastics (tumbling, vault, trampette and team floor routines) competing in regional and national competitions. Unfortunately, her gymnastics career ended due to injuries in the sport which repeated itself, resulting in ankle instabilities and too risky to continue.
Years later at the University of Portsmouth, she studied BSc Psychology and also decided to join the Cheerleading team to try something different and fell in love with it. She trained, competed and represented the University alongside Rachel, Brooke,Whitley and Maddie as a level 3 base on the competition squad of Portsmouth Phoenix. Whilst at University, she studied and thrived on the sports and educational psychology units which focused on children’s learning, behaviour and effects on performance. This confirmed she wanted a career in teaching sports to young people. Then, taking up a tough year achieving a postgraduate degree in teaching secondary physical education at the University of Sussex, she has earned a QTS and is now teaching full-time at school as well as coaching at Wildcats.
Whitley Walters
Whitley started cheerleading in 2011 when she joined her local all star club, the Carshalton Cheerleaders. She loved the sport so much that she immediately joined the university team when she began her studies at the University of Portsmouth. During this year, she competed on the level 3 competition squad and the events squad. She also began her coaching career as an assistant coach in the Up for Sport programme, which teaches cheerleading in local primary and secondary schools.
In her second year, Whitley moved to Toronto in Canada to study abroad and joined their collegiate level 7 cheer team. This was a fantastic experience she enjoyed immensely, with memories such as competing at a venue next to Niagara Falls! She returned to the UK and was a member of the level 3 competition squad whilst working full time on her placement year.
Whitley was elected to the position of President of Portsmouth Phoenix in her final year at university. In this year, she was a member of the level 3 all girl and level 4 group stunt competition squads. She also launched the club’s level 1 competition squad, coaching and choreographing this team herself. After graduation, Whitley joined the Unity Allstars programme, competing on their level 4.2 team. After two seasons, she made it onto her first worlds team - Unity Allstars Steel. She still loves to compete and has no plans to retire anytime soon!
Having cheered at university together, Brooke offered Whitley the opportunity to join the Wildcats coaching staff in 2018. She is dedicated to teaching excellent technique, whilst encouraging athletes to show off their personalities. Whitley is committed to continuing to create an inclusive environment where all athletes feel valued and welcome. She is an active advocate for increasing the participation of black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals in cheerleading. She has loved the opportunity to pass on her knowledge and inspire the next generation of cheerleaders, and can’t wait to see the continued growth of the club!
Sarah Parker
Sarah started her career as a gymnast aged 5. She trained recreationally for a number of years and at aged 9 joined her clubs gymnastic squad where she competed regularly, specialising mainly in floor and vault.
In 2010 she went to the University of Hertfordshire, where she discovered her love for cheerleading. Instantly hooked, she competed at all girl level 3 with the Hertfordshire Sirens as a base for three years, and all girl level 3 group stunt for two years. During this time, she was awarded tumbler and base of the year.
After graduating university, Sarah joined Surrey Starlets, where she got to compete at the 2014 Cheerleading Worlds at Disney World, Florida.
After Worlds, Sarah decided to take a step back from cheer but couldn’t stay away for long! She decided to join Sparks Allstars, where she competed in coed Level 5. Alongside this she completed her levels 1-6 cheerleading qualifications which also allowed her to gain coaching experience.
In 2016, Sarah took a short break from cheerleading and started coaching recreational gymnastics and sports acrobatic gymnastics along side her main job as a personal assistant. Doing this allowed her to achieve her Acro level 1 qualification through British Gymnastics, as well as qualifications in Pom and (not so cheer related) hair and beauty.
In 2021 she was offered an opportunity to start coaching a brand new cheer team starting from scratch. Jumping at this opportunity, she developed two teams which competed their first season at Junior level 1 and mini Pom. In 2022 she joined the Wildcats family and couldn’t be happier!
