BELFOREST, Alabama — The hours. The training. The jumping, tumbling, stunting and sometimes — the falls, the pain and the injuries. Is it all worth it?

For the members of the elite all-star cheer team known as the Black Diamonds from Gem of Champions the answer is,"Yes."

Collectively, they say they all love the competition of their sport and knowing that every member of their team is supporting each other every step of the way.

Every step started with one leap into commitment last summer when the athletes — coached by the husband and wife team of Chase and Sarah Brett—set their goal of making it to the ultimate competition, the 2012 Cheerleading and Dance Worlds.

"Just competing well enough to get the bid to worlds is a big deal," said Chase Brett. "No team from this area has ever gotten this far. We are the first in our division. They worked hard and they deserved to get it. Now we're going to go down there and show what we can do."

The team leaves Baldwin County Wednesday bound for Orlando, Fla. for the two-day competition which begins Friday. It will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort. The weekend competition will include national all star cheerleading and dance teams and international teams. The Black Diamonds team will not only be representing Southwest Alabama with girls from Baldwin and Mobile counties, but will also be representing True Sport which will act as their corporate sponsor.

"The only teams that get invited to this are senior-level 5 which is the highest level in all-star cheerleading," Brett said. "So we scored high enough in our competition in Atlanta and impressed them with our display of athleticism and tumbling and acrobatics that they chose us to represent their company at worlds.

“So we're all excited to be considered among the best of the best from around the nation and to have a chance to go and find out truly who the best is."

The Bretts cheered together in high school at West Jones, near Laurel, Miss., and went on to cheer at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss.

"Home of the 'Fighting Okra'," said Sarah Brett of DSU's less formal mascot. "Officially it's the Statesmen, but everybody loves to cheer for the Okra. Because we're mean and green," she laughed. “The baseball players used to have to “fight” through the okra field whenever somebody hit a home run. Somebody had to get the ball.”

And anyone who has ever picked the prickly vegetable — a.k.a, the angry pickle — knows it can be very rough on the hands and arms.

After graduation, the couple coached cheering at the junior college level and opened a gym for all-star youth level cheering before moving on to the four-year level at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

"We coached a small co-ed

team there and we actually won the national title as coaches there. And after that, we decided to move to Atlanta and learn a little more about all-star cheerleading which, Atlanta, is like the heart of the sport," he said.

After they got more comfortable in the business side of things they had an offer to come to Baldwin County and open the Gem of Champions. "By then we were ready to move back closer to home anyway and it's just worked out great," he said.

The GOC is on Hwy. 181 between Daphne and Fairhope in the heart of the Belforest community.

Assistant coaches Jeremy Lumpkin and Alli Greer are already in Orlando training to compete as part of Team USA.

THE ATHLETES

At 14, Kori Wilbourn is one of the all-star "veterans" on the team — this is her sixth all-star season, but just as everyone else, it’s her first trip to Worlds. One of her first teammates from those early days is also a teammate this year, Alyssa Lott, a junior at Spanish Fort High.

Meredith Flowers, Ashli Roley and Wilbourn cheered on Daphne's junior varsity squad and just made varsity for next year, along with fellow teammate and varsity member from last year Hannah Jo Wilson. 

 Wilbourn said it’s worth all the extra work on top of school and cheering at school. 

“It is completely worth all the extra practice,” she said.

“When I get up on stage, it helps me through the performance to know that I've worked my heart out to be there and helps me to do my best on the mat. It's hard to juggle school, school cheer and all-stars, but when I go to bed at night, I know I've worked hard at something that I love with all my heart.”

Teammate Hannah Jo Wilson echoed that passion “This sport means so much to me and I wouldn't trade it for anything,” she said. “All of the hard work at practice pays off at the end when you know you've accomplished something that means so much to you and that you've worked so hard for.”

Mikaela and Aspen Albrick moved here from California, where they both competed. Proving it’s a small, small “Worlds” after all, they'll be meeting up with their former team this week at Worlds.

The youngest member of the team is Mallory Odom, who just turned 13 and is in seventh grade at Fairhope Middle School. The oldest member, who will be competing in her last all-star competition this week, is Payton Bryan who graduated from Baldwin County High in December.

Amanda Bailey, a junior at Daphne has been in gymnastics since she was four, but started competing in all-star cheer when she was 14. Ellie Melton, Corbit Cate and Hannah Jo Wilson were also gymnasts.

Three of the Black Diamond girls have been featured in the sport's top magazine, "Inside Cheerleading" — Wilbourn (recently nominated for their national Cheerleader of the Month award), Mikaela (a member of their Junior All-American team) and Odom (featured in their Junior Cheer section).

Catherine and Ellie Melton and Corbit Cate are making it to World's during their first full season of competitive cheering on the Black Diamond team.

In all, there are six high school varsity cheerleaders representing Daphne, UMS-Wright (Kelly Lassiter), Spanish Fort (Catherine Melton) and Baldwin County High (Bryan), as well as four junior varsity girls who all represent Spanish Fort (Ellie Melton, Corbit Cate, Mikaela Albrick and Sarah Jaye).

Wilbourn added that working as part of a team and traveling to see new doors open to her are valuable parts of the experience.

“I would have to say the most valuable part of the all-star experience is competing with all of the people that mean so much to me and who I work so hard with everyday.

“I also love traveling to competitions and meeting so many new and talented people. I've had some opportunities so far that I wouldn't normally have had. I've worked with some great people and interesting companies. Now, to be going to World's at 14-years-old gets me so excited. I can't wait.”

In their first year with Gem of Champions, Chase and Sarah Brett were nominated by the editors of Cheer Biz News Magazine, along with the governing body of all-star cheer, the USASF, for the Gym Owner of the Year award. The winner will be announced Thursday night at the Worlds VIP Gala.  

So good luck to the Black Diamonds and the Brett’s on their quest. Belforest will be rooting for you. And that area has grown its share of championship okra before. But now, it’s Black Diamond season.