The career of Netflix star and athlete, Shannon Woolsey, is still going strong as she moves on to Texas Tech, but she remains a Navarro bulldog at heart.
Shannon never pictured herself to be in this position. In fact, she was never supposed to go to Navarro. She had a plan for herself: go to a big school and cheer during the football games. Shannon wanted to still cheer for a school, and cheering for the All-Star team at Navarro was her ticket to doing this. Being a part of such prestigious teams, both all-star and in college, have given her a drive to become the best athlete she can be.
Despite her natural confidence for being on the mat, CHEER star Shannon Woolsey got an early start in gymnastics. She used to sit on the sidelines and watch the cheer team practice, which motivated her to sign up for the sport at the young age of six years old.
We first meet Shannon on season 1 of Cheer. You’ll be happy to know that she radiates the same warmth even when she’s not filming. She’s passionate about the sport, and everything she achieved under the coaching of Monica Aldama and alongside her team.
Cheer is a competitive sport; everyone is always trying to be the best. If you watch the show, you know Monica pushes her athletes to be the best they can, both on and off the mat. Shannon acknowledges that she has been blessed with the people she has been able to work with.
“Being coached by Monica, I mean come on, who doesn’t want to be coached by Monica. She is seriously amazing, and I wish I could stay there forever,” Shannon said.
When we last saw Shannon on TV, she had decided to come back to Navarro. Season 2 of Cheer picks up on her third season with the team. The series was given a new format because of the pandemic, and it offers a glimpse on the lives of these athletes and how they cope with the disappointment of their passion being put on pause. Despite Shannon being injured most of this season, her hard work and determination paid off as she ended up making it to the mat.
“Cheer is seriously the most addicting sport out there. I think Cheer, with the adrenaline and family aspect you get, I don’t think any sport out there relates,” Shannon said.
On top of filming what would become a hit Netflix show, Shannon and the team are all still students. Dealing with being a student athlete and newfound fame was tricky at first, but it opened up amazing opportunities for Shannon. From brand deals to appearing on the Ellen show twice, meet and greets, to even touring the Netflix headquarters, so many exciting opportunities that she earned presented to her.
Getting the show done was tricky at first, but quickly the crew became part of the Navarro family. Filming for season two was more up in the air, but their honorary bulldog crew rejoined them, and they began filming what would become the first half of season 2. Hell week of season two is where things changed. Cheerleaders don’t get a spring break, they get "Hell Week." This consists of practicing two to three times a day in order to prepare for Daytona. Shannon revealed that "Hell Week" is the time where you either come together as a team or the cracks begin to show. During the 2019-2020 cheer season, she shared the team looked incredible
“It was my last year, and we were two weeks out and it was all canceled," Shannon recalled.
The day Daytona was canceled is no doubt a sad memory for Shannon. They turned in their uniforms and spent their time reminiscing on the season that was, and what could have been. Now, Shannon would become a viewer of the show, and would watch familiar faces she grew to call family, but only through a screen.
The second half of Cheer’s season two featured Navarro and familiar faces, but it was a strange sensation. “Usually I’m watching myself and my team, and it feels like a vlog of us that somebody would make, but now I’m watching a whole new team.” Cheer is like a home video to her, and holding these home videos close to her heart, she began to root for Navarro from the sidelines as opposed to on the mat.
It's clear that Shannon's love for her team, coaches, and the experiences they shared has never wavered. Life post Navarro consists of many familiar faces at Tech, as TT, Taylor, and Justin, are all her teammates again. Cheering continues to be a part of Shannon. You can see this when she talks about it, her face instantly lights up. Her passion for this sport is an inspiration for others, and shares one of her favorite parts of this new found fame is when people reach out to her.
“I’ll get DM’s from people saying I am having a rough day, and I’ll reply saying ‘Hi’ with a positive message. The fact that one sentence can impact someone so much is probably the best thing that has come out of this. Easily,” she said.
Make sure to follow Shannon Woosely on Instagram and don't miss season two of CHEER on Netflix.