She’s a rising star for a Bulldog team on the rise. No, she doesn’t play basketball. Or volleyball. Or softball. Wilber-Clatonia High School alum Shelby Timmerman is a versatile and skilled athlete who happens to be one of the top competitive cheer performers in the GPAC. She’s reached that level after just two seasons of collegiate cheer. Naturally, there’s plenty of reason to believe the best is yet to come.
Timmerman is exactly the type of student-athlete Head Coach Mandi Maser has been looking for while pushing a program forward that is still young in terms of its status as an official varsity sport. A deeper look lends insight into why Timmerman’s presence has coincided with a major improvement in the Concordia Cheer program as a whole.
Says Maser, “I knew she was a hard worker and wanted to make her mark during her time here at Concordia. Shelby is a determined, motivated competitor that helps to lead our team. She works hard in the weight room, does additional private tumbling lessons during the offseason and is always willing to come in and work with teammates during open gym opportunities. She is in communication with us coaches consistently wanting to do more, try harder skills and introduce new ideas for pyramids and stunting combinations.”
On March 1, Timmerman made history when she became the first Bulldog in the program’s history to earn all-conference accolades. The recognition came out of an individual performance at the conference championships that required Timmerman to execute a series of stunts while under the microscope of the judges and all other athletes present at the event. It was a sign that Timmerman was ready for prime time, not just athletically, but also mentally. Led by Timmerman, Concordia Cheer produced its highest ever team score in 2022 and placed fourth in the GPAC.
The team routines aren’t nearly as nerve-racking as the individual all-conference performances, but Timmerman had to get over whatever fears she may have had. Maser and assistant coach Emilie Ashenbach saw that Timmerman had what it took to make that leap as a sophomore.
“I had no intention of ever doing it,” Timmerman said of her attempt at all-conference honors. “I just wanted to be here and compete. At the end of year freshman meeting, our coaches said that this was their goal for me to try out for all-conference. At the time I thought it was crazy. I didn’t have the tumbling skills to try out at the end of last season and I hadn’t learned new tumbling skills in four years. This past summer I had to get back into that. It was a lot of training I hadn’t done in a long time, but I’m so glad I did it because then I was able to be at a higher level than I have been my whole cheer career.”
What makes her such a marvel of an athlete is her strength for someone as fit and small in stature as the 5-foot-4 Timmerman. She packs a punch in that frame. As Maser aptly put it, “When you look at her you have no idea how strong she is.” Timmerman’s range of abilities make her a compelling athlete, one who can fill just about any role on the team. She tumbles, she jumps and she can be a base – or a flyer. On the mat, Timmerman does it all.
A gymnast during her childhood, Timmerman tried volleyball and she even pole vaulted in high school. But it was actually younger sister Sierra who turned Shelby on to the idea of competitive cheer. When Shelby watched Sierra cheer at a gym in Beatrice, Neb., she was hooked.
Recalls Shelby, “When I went to watch her, I was like, ‘Mom, I really want to do this.’ My sister and I are six years apart. She obviously started a lot younger than I did. I really wanted to do it and she was like, okay. I started in Beatrice and four years later I transferred to a different competitive gym in Lincoln because they had a higher level of cheerleading that I wanted to do.”
Timmerman took to cheer quite well, found her way onto an all-star competitive team in Lincoln and rose to the status of captain for her squad at Wilber-Clatonia. All the while, their shared love for cheer has brought Shelby and Sierra closer together. Shelby says Sierra has been able to make it to Concordia Cheer competitions when her schedule has allowed. The thrill of competition became such a part of life that Shelby knew she wanted to continue her cheer career at the college level.
It took multiple visits to Concordia before Shelby became sold that it was the right place for her. She wanted to stay close to home. Maser knew about Shelby through the Lincoln gym she trained at. Timmerman has had no regrets about her decision. As Timmerman said of Maser and Ashenbach as coaches, “I love them.”
“I knew I wanted to cheer in college, but I never really thought about it until my senior year,” Timmerman said. “I was looking at Doane and Hastings because I knew I wanted to go to an NAIA school and not be too far away from home. When I visited Concordia, I actually visited twice because I wasn’t sure. The second time I visited, Coach was like, ‘We want you here. We think you would fit in really well.’ I’m so glad I decided to pick Concordia because I really do get along with the people here – better than I would have at other schools.”
A future teacher majoring in Elementary Education and Middle Level Sciences, Shelby says she struggled at first with the adjustment to ‘dead mats’ that lack the type of spring incorporated into mats she previously was used to. But Timmerman isn’t one to give in easily. She also doesn’t wait around to try to get in shape when the season draws near. Her summers are characterized in part by grueling workouts (and juggling multiple jobs). Timmerman made huge improvements in her tumbling thanks to last summer’s dedication. She progressed to the point that tumbling is her favorite part of a performance. So focused during a routine, Shelby says it’s almost as if she blacks out for a few minutes as adrenaline pumps through the body.
Those are the type of traits that Maser recognized in the recruiting process and led her to conclude that Timmerman was going to be special. Her instincts proved correct. It’s exciting to think about what Shelby is capable of over the next two years. For Timmerman, the goal is to get the team to nationals.
Says Maser, “She defines what a coach wants in an athlete. She is coachable, she loves a challenge and knows that we believe in her.”