Back in April when Ava Probe won her second cheerleading world title, it didn’t even register that she had just made history as a Saskatchewan born athlete.
Probe won her latest title with the Top Gun All Stars who are based in Florida and hopes her accomplishments can grow the sport in the province.
“It’s amazing watching the sport grow and being able to be a part of inspiring some kids to grow and wanting to push themselves to keep going in the sport because it is an amazing sport and it deserves more credit for what we do,” she said.
Four years prior, Probe was part of another history making team, winning her first title with the Regina Rebels Smoke.
That squad made history as the only Saskatchewan based team to make and then win the final at the World Championship of All Star Cheerleading.
Probe’s coach that year was Eric Bestvater, who was in attendance in April to see his former pupil triumph once again.
“At World’s seeing Eric at the very front of the mat, I started crying. I was fine, and then we ended the routine and I like just looked at Eric, I didn’t even look at my parents, I looked at Eric and the tears just flowed. So, it meant so much that even after I was no longer in Regina, he came and supported me,” said an emotional Probe.
The pair have continued to share a strong bond even after Probe made the move down south two years ago.
“Watching her and her team, I almost felt like a proud parent just watching only her instead of the whole routine. And her and her team put out a flawless performance and were very, very much deserving of their win. So, that was pretty emotional and pretty amazing as well,” Bestvater said.
Probe told CTV News despite being a two-time world champion, the sky is still the limit in terms of what she wants to accomplish during the rest of her cheerleading career.
“There’s another team I kind of want to try out for, but we’ll see. Maybe go to a different state and try out for a different club. I just want to soak in as many experiences as I can before I start going into work and, you know, life,” she said.
Probe said she will be forever grateful to Bestvater and Rebel Athletics for getting her started on her journey, and that she will continue to learn on her former coach whenever she needs helpful advice or a pick me up.
