Meet The Masterminds

Ali Hester is the Administrative Director at The Stingray Allstars—Marietta. She grew up cheering at Stingrays, was part of NCA Staff, and coached for several years. Ali spent 10 years in marketing and brand management before finding her way back to Stingrays and pursuing her career. She is married to her husband, Evan, and they have 2 beautiful children, Rylee (2) and Knox (6 months).

Casey Jones is the owner of Stingray Cheer Company, Inc., Motus, Partner, and Cheer Fest, Partner. Casey began his cheerleading career at Georgia Southern University in 1992. After college Casey worked for several gyms before purchasing American cheerleading in 1998. In 2002 that was rebranded into The Stingray Allstars.

Casey has coached all levels of cheerleading to include college, and currently handles the operating and daily management of Stingrays, its subsidiary companies as well as several other industry related businesses. Casey has been involved in several USASF committees and other cheerleading businesses to include camps and consulting. Casey is most proud of his wife of 29 years and their five children!

Megan has twenty-five-plus years of experience in the cheerleading industry.  Owner of Northern Lights in Keene, NH (19 years) . She built her gym from the ground up!

She is assionate about positive coaching, leadership, creating experiences for herr athletes and helping fellow small gym owners & coaches succeed.

In addition to her business and coaching experience she is also a choreographer at the High School, Collegiate and All-Star level. She also enjoy judging./=

Megan has been speaking at conferences for over 15 years and loves sharing knowledge, collaborating, and helping other programs grow! 

Orson Sykes is the Owner/director of Twist and Shout Training center in Edmond, Ok. Twist and Shout was established in 1996 by Orson and his wife Marketia Sykes. Twist and Shout has been highly successful over the past 28 years by winning multiple national championships at NCA, Summit and other prestigious events. Twist and Shout has competed at the USASF World Championships for the past 19 years and has brought home 5 gold , 7 silver and 7 bronze medals. Orson has received the honor of being named the USASF “Coach of the year” in 2011 and was inducted into the USASF Hall of Fame in 2012. He served on the Board of Directors for the USASF from 2005-2009. Twist and Shout has three locations in the state of Oklahoma and is the most sought after gym in the state.

Coming Soon!

Sean Timmons is entering his 30th season in the cheerleading industry and has built a career recognized for championship-level coaching, large-scale event leadership, and operational excellence. He previously coached at World Cup All Stars from 1999–2014, where he coached multiple teams and levels and earned five Top 5 finishes at The Cheerleading Worlds, including a World Championship title in 2009. He went on to become the All Star director at Premier Athletics in 2013, where he returned as the All Star director in 2026.

With a career built on leadership, relationship-building, and strategic growth, Sean continues to bring a unique blend of coaching expertise, business operations, and event management experience to every organization he serves.

Susan came to Tennessee from South Carolina to attend ETSU, where she cheered and received a Marketing degree. She coached at the Premier Athletics gym that was in Johnson City for six years before moving to Knoxville and has now been with Premier Athletics for nearly 20 years. She is a proud mommy of three precious daughters, Hartley, Hayden, and Hollis.