Asa Ware is still building his legacy at The Valley. Now, the TVCC cheerleader will represent Team USA on the international stage.
ATHENS, TX | Some opportunities are supposed to feel like something you spend years chasing.
For Asa Ware, this one arrived while he is still a student.
Ware, a current Trinity Valley Community College cheerleader, has been selected to compete with Team USA, adding another milestone to a college career that has already taken him somewhere no Cardinal cheerleader had gone before.
Now, he gets to wear USA across his chest while still wearing the responsibility of representing The Valley back home.
“Representing Team USA and The Valley is something I’m incredibly proud of,” Ware said. “Opportunities like this don’t come around often, so I don’t take it for granted.”
And this one really doesn’t. According to TVCC’s Head Cheer Coach Khris Franklin, Ware is only the second cheerleader in program history to make Team USA while still enrolled as a student at Trinity Valley.
Before that, Ware had already become the first TVCC cheerleader to make a Pro Cheer League team.
For Franklin, though, those accomplishments only tell part of Ware’s story.
“Asa has been an impressive young person on all fronts,” Franklin said. “Excellent leader, outstanding teammate, and remarkable student.”
Those are the qualities Franklin has watched Ware carry beyond competitions and performances, and the qualities that have positioned him to represent something much larger than himself.
Franklin remembers meeting Ware’s mother when Asa visited TVCC before eventually signing with the Cardinals.
“She is certainly a no-nonsense kind of person that has high expectations,” Franklin said. “From my observations, Asa certainly seems to be fulfilling those expectations.”
This year’s Team USA opportunity continues a strong history of TVCC athletes representing the program beyond the college level. Ware joins TVCC assistant coach Caylee Odle and several Cardinal alumni as part of this year’s Team USA competition group.
Although Ware will have USA on the uniform, he knows there is another name traveling with him.
“Being able to compete for my country while also representing TVCC and everything I’ve learned during my time here make it that much more meaningful,” Ware said. “The Valley has helped shape me into the athlete and person I am today, and I’m excited to showcase that on an international stage. I want to represent both Team USA and TVCC in a way that makes everyone back home proud.”
The call may have come earlier than most. Asa Ware is making sure he’s ready for it.
The competition will be held in Mexico City on September 25-26.