A Michiana Life in the Spotlight: Emily Troxel

Emily Troxel, All-Star director at Indiana Ultimate in Elkhart, has been cheering since she was around 5 years old. Inspired by her mother’s coaching, Troxel found herself involved in the sport at a young age. She believes her first outing as a baby was to a Northwood High School cheer practice, where her mother was the head coach.

“It definitely started with my mom because I watched her my entire life,” Troxel said. “I just didn’t know anything but cheer.”

With her mother heavily involved in the cheering world and her father eventually joining the management side, Troxel continued to grow her love and advance in the sport.

Troxel cheered throughout middle and high school, eventually continuing at the collegiate level. She cheered for two years at the University of Louisville, and she is a two-time NCAA National Champion. Her freshman year, she auditioned and made the team, but then the unexpected happened — Troxel tore her ACL.

“When I fully recovered, I went back,” Troxel said. “No one thought I would, just because I’m such a homebody, and I’m like ‘No, I got to prove to myself that I can do this.’”

After she had fully recovered, Troxel returned to in-person schooling and to the team, where she competed and won with them again her sophomore year. At Louisville, Troxel got both the college gameday experience and the competitive All-Star experience with the team.

Later, she made the decision to return home from college, but continued to cheer for All-Star. In 2019, she won a World Championship with Indiana Ultimate. Winning this title was not an easy feat though, as it was years in the making. Troxel and the team would intensely practice, honing in on their craft. It’s more than sideline cheer, and there is a performance aspect to the sport.

Now, Troxel uses her past experiences as an athlete to create her coaching style and to help her students along the way. In April, Troxel had a student tear her ACL. With her past experience, Troxel was able to help her and understand what she was going through.

“I feel like I use a lot of my athlete experience to connect with the kids, to try to understand what they’re going through, make practice plans, and really get the best out of them, because I know what they’re going through,” Troxel said.

Troxel always knew she wanted to coach in some way, after she watched her mother and other coaches for many years. She began coaching in high school, where she’d work small coaching jobs and choreograph small parts of the routines. She views cheer as an outlet for kids to become great people and learn life skills as well, and getting to know the kids beyond the sport is one of her favorite parts about coaching.

At Indiana Ultimate, Troxel handles the back end parts of the gym, such as sending emails and phone calls with parents. On top of that, she also coaches during the week. As a director, she oversees all the age groups. Practices are normally two hours, and higher levels have between two-to-three practices per week. Troxel creates practice plans, which can include tumbling, stunting, and practicing their routine. She believes that communication is everything, and reminds athletes of their common goal to help motivate them.

Indiana Ultimate offers tumbling classes, private and semi-private tumbling lessons, and all facets of All-Star. From November to May, All-Star is filled with a competitive nature all throughout the season. The team travels to competitions around the country, ending the season with Summit and Worlds, a competition at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

“It is a luxury sport; it has a price tag on it. It’s not for everybody, but within the tiers that we offer, there is something for everyone,” Troxel said. “You don’t have to do the most expensive thing that we offer to get a great experience.”

Indiana Ultimate offers smaller tiers of All-Star, which is a half-season with half the competitions and less travel. They also offer Rec Cheer, an eight week program, which Troxel said is a great introduction to cheer itself.

Cheering is a lifestyle and a big commitment, and families often have to sacrifice quite a bit, Troxel said. However, her life would be completely different without it. Cheer is where she’s met her best friends and the people who stood by her on her wedding day. She hopes to not only see Indiana Ultimate continue to grow, but herself as well. In recent years, she feels like she has found her niche with coaching, and wants to continue to grow and be the best person she can be for her students.

“I don’t want to be so wrapped up in the sport that it becomes all about winning, it’s not all about that,” said Troxel. “I do love to win, but I want to continue to grow and be the best person I can for kids.”

Beyond the mat, Troxel loves spending time with her family, friends, and her dog. She also has a three year old daughter who keeps her busy. Troxel enjoys shopping, going to the beach or pool, and anytime she can get tan, she’s happy. She encourages people to research and learn more about cheer, and to visit Indiana Ultimate’s gym. 

To learn more about Indiana Ultimate and the programs they offer, visit iuelkhart.com.