Englewood’s Black Onyx Allstars Win Wisconsin Competition And Prepares For Florida In April

The Black Onyx Allstars was founded by Imani Cobb and Endigo Allen. Photo provided by Black Onyx Allstars.
The Black Onyx Allstars was founded by Imani Cobb and Endigo Allen. Photo provided by Black Onyx Allstars.

Englewood’s Black Onyx Allstars Win Wisconsin Competition And Prepares For Florida In April

By Tia Carol Jones

Imani Cobb describes competitive cheerleaders as football players in skirts. She said the cheerleaders do a lot of strength training, cardio and conditioning. She likes to say they’re not throwing soccer balls or footballs in the air; they’re throwing people in the air.

“They have to be really strong, it takes a lot of dedication, we have a lot of practice, we practice four times a week, sometimes five times a week, the closer we get to competition,” Cobb said. “It’s months of training for a two-minute routine.”

Black Onyx Allstars was founded by Cobb and Endigo Allen in July 2024. Cobb and Allen decided to volunteer as cheerleading coaches after COVID, with a intention that they would just do it for a few months, as a way to give the students an extracurricular activity they could participate in.

It turned into a year, a year turned into 14 months, and they turned it into a nonprofit organization to give young girls and teenagers an opportunity to participate in competitive cheerleading. The 31 cheerleaders range in age from 3 years old to 17 years old. The goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment for the children.

The competitive cheerleading group recently competed in Wisconsin Dells, where all three teams won first place.  The rubies also won best tumbling and the emeralds won best choreography. Cobb said the two-minute routine is high intensity with no breaks and it takes a lot of skill building. She said the training is really hard and is not something people can just go out and do. She said it takes a lot of consistency and confidence to push out a two-minute routine, with no breaks.

Cobb and Allen said the support they have received from the Male Mogul Initiative has been invaluable. Cobb worked for the Male Mogul Initiative, which was founded by Walter Mendenhall IV, for a number of years. Cobb said when she told Mendenhall that she was coaching and she and Allen wanted to start their own nonprofit, he sponsored their travel and gave them a space to practice. She said it can be hard to find a space for the cheerleaders to practice, so having the space is a blessing. She said through Black Onyx, the Male Mogul initiative has been helping invest back into its community.

Allen said that competitive cheerleading is very expensive and Black Onyx tries to make it affordable for the families in the community. She said they receive funding from fundraising, donations and grant writing. She said the goal is to give the girls a high-quality experience, but also one that is affordable and accessible.


Allen said that financial barriers shouldn’t keep the girls from being able to participate in the sport. Parents have said with their children being able to participate in Black Onyx it has not only helped them become well-rounded individuals, but they are also growing as leaders and being more accountable.

Ivaree Assem and Ayanna Brown are two cheerleaders with Black Onyx. Assem said that being a part of Black Onyx has been great because she gets to bond with her team and learn new things while going to competitions and travel. Brown said that preparing for competitions takes a lot of hard work and dedication. She said competition is a fun experience.

For more information about the Black Onyx Allstars, visit www.blackonyxallstars.com. They are also on Instagram @blackonyxallstars.

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