Evolution Training Turns Out Winners

It is more than just cheerleading—for Evolution Training Center, on Milltown Road, it is about tumbling, dancing and everything in between.

And it’s a formula that works, as four All Star USASF teams from the center swept each of their categories at a national competition in Maryland in January.

“Cheerleading started to pull from all components to become ultra competitive,” said Evolution Training Center co-founder Michael Drulis. “It is one of the few companies that doesn’t have an affiliation with a sports league, and it has taken the cheering out of All Star.”

For Evolution All Star teams, the competitive season begins just after Thanksgiving, with scrimmages in December where teams compete against others across the state. Then in January, the nationals competitions begin.

“They attract teams from all over the country,” Drulis said. “When we went to the one in Baltimore, there were teams from Florida, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.”

“The kids get to see teams they wouldn’t locally, and meet up with other kids,” he added. “There is a real positive spirit and energy.”

The Maryland competition was two days, Drulis said, with performances on both Saturday and Sunday, and the Sunday performances counting for most of the overall score. That’s done, he said, because the first day of competition is usually more difficult and considered the time to get more comfortable, and teams statistically do better on their second day.

On that first day of competition, Drulis said, Evolution ended with three teams in first place and one team in third. But that changed on the second day.

“The team in third then leapfrogged to first,” he said. “It was an incredible feeling to watch them move up in the ranks.”

“And they won the spirit award for best camaraderie toward other teams,” he added.

This competition, Drulis said, was actually one of the most competitive among all the nationals competitions, and the most amazing thing was that they attended and won first place awards toward the beginning of the season.

A competitive season lasts from just after Thanksgiving to May 1.

“To have everyone in first place speaks to the strength of the organization,” he said. “The kids’ hard work is coming to fruition.”

“Our philosophy is that we put out a first place routine, and then it’s in the judges’ hands,” he added. “That steadiness is critical when dealing with the youth because we keep focusing on doing our best rather than on winning.”

Cheerleading, Drulis said, always used to be about cheering on sports teams, waving pom poms and performing for crowds. But that changed when an interest grew in competing squads from different high schools and through Pop Warner Cheerleading.

But USASF All Star cheerleading took a different turn.

“It’s a demonstration of the fundamental skills that go into cheerleading, dance and showmanship,” Drulis said.

Maria DiMarco, development specialist for Evolution, said it is the kind of sport that will be featured in the Olympics soon.

“It is stunting, tumbling, dance,” she said.

Evolution, Drulis said, offers five levels of training, from ages three through 18, with each building in levels of progression.

“We require proficiency in training before moving on to a new level,” he said.

In addition, Drulis said, he encourages team members to also cheer for their school teams, although being part of All Star is a time commitment. There are options, he said, to either cheer for a half year or year-round.

“You have to be committed in the winter and spring to May,” he said. “But some train 12 months out of the year, and our half-year teams start in December.”

“About four-fifths of our program is full year,” he added. “It does become the child’s primary activity. But it is a good way for an athlete to ease in to it by starting in the half-year.”

The minimum for training, Drulis said, is one weekend practice, one weekday practice and a third day of a tumble class.

“And the decision of where they compete is based on what they do in private instruction,” he said.

Drulis said there are currently more than 100 students participating in the All Star program.

And, Drulis said, there is a huge cheer community in Bridgewater, which brings the girls and boys wanting to participate.

“Bridgewater is one of the strongest communities for cheerleading,” he said. “We feel kinship to Bridgewater, and the high school squads train here, as do the Pop Warner, Bridgewater rec and the football squad.”

The largest base of the students, Drulis said, is from Somerset County, with other students coming from Hunterdon, Mercer and Middlesex counties.

Drulis said the studio, previously under a different name, moved to Bridgewater from Franklin about eight years ago after it outgrew its facility. And he and his wife, Mitchelle, took over from the former owners once the studio was in Bridgewater, and changed it to be Evolution.

“This facility is very unique,” he said of the location on Milltown Road. “It’s odd to find a 24-foot ceiling without center columns.”

And the facility, Drulis said, has multiple sources to accommodate the many different kinds of cheerleading teams that practice there.

For Drulis, he has his own prior experience in the sport, which he brings to his job. He said he did competitive gymnastics, and, when the teams were disbanded due to budget cuts when he entered his freshman year of high school in East Brunswick, he joined the cheerleading team, and later cheered for Rutgers University.

“I also worked as a coach in college, and my wife was coaching too,” he said. “When the previous owner of the training center decided to retire, we took over. This was a passion, and we are blessed to do this full time.”

And that passion is for the students taking part in the program, as well as for being a help in the community.

DiMarco said the training center has forged a relationship with Bridgewater rec, creating opportunities to get kids more exercise.

“Our passion is the kids, and a lot don’t get off the couch,” she said. “This is a great place to have to run around. But there was nothing in Bridgewater to pull the kids together.”

DiMarco said they created Evolution Club Night, which is done on a monthly basis and invites students from individual grades to spend an evening at the center with a DJ, while running around, exercising and having a good time.

“They are strictly from Bridgewater and Raritan,” she said. “The kids are a sweaty mess and it’s beautiful.”

In addition, Drulis said, the center offers regular tumbling classes for those who are not necessarily sure they want to be part of the competition teams.

“It’s become an entry point into the program,” he said.

The center also has a new relationship with the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey to hold tumbling programs for the girls.

“It is for those who want to experience tumbling without Pop Warner or the rec teams,” DiMarco said. “They manage through their badge level requirements. It is an entry point for if they want to do All Star.”

“We talk about costs in the industry and lingo for the older girls,” she added.

The center also works with local YMCAs and United Way to help get kids more exercise.

For Drulis, offering so many opportunities to the students is a way to fill a need, while also allowing the children to excel.

“We are finding there is a need to fill,” he said. “The staff here is all professionals, most with college degrees and advanced degrees, and professional certifications to be tops in their game.”

“That first place [in Maryland] belongs to the kids, but look at what it has brought here,” he said. “We’re very proud of our kids, and we’re not your typical gym.”