About Us

Pride Elite Rec Star Competitive Cheer
Pride Elite Rec Star Competitive Cheer was founded by Marylynn Halliday. As a lifelong resident of Lacey Township she feels Lion Pride in her heart and plan to continue that passion with our teams through the name Pride Elite.
Our mission is to provide our athletes with proper training and technique to develop the skills necessary to be a competitive cheerleader. Through the classes we will provide, (clinics, cheer dance, and tumble), we feel confident that your athlete will be prepared to be a part of one of our competitive teams.
We strive to instill confidence in our athletes on and off the mat. Through positive motivation and reinforcement, we have encouraged our cheerleaders to set goals, conquer them, and most importantly, win or lose, always strive to be the best version of themselves.
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Our Coaches





Coach Bios
Coach Marylynn is a native of Lacey Township. She lives with her husband, Bruce, two daughters, Leyna and Mina, and her step-children, Tyler and Kyla, in Lanoka Harbor.
She began her cheerleading career in 1989 with Lacey Pop Warner and continued cheer until graduating from Lacey Township High School in 1997. After high school, she went on to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Elementary Education from Georgian Court University. She has been employed as an elementary education teacher with the Lacey Township School district since 2004. During that time she has taught first, third, and fourth grade children.
Coach Marylynn’s cheerleading career resurfaced in 2016 when her daughters’ decided to follow in their mother’s footsteps and become cheerleaders themselves. Coach Marylynn immediately jumped on board to help out and served as a cheer coach for the 5-6 year old flag team for two years. From there she was appointed Lacey Township American Youth Football and Cheer Commissioner from 2017-2020. During that time, she organized five different level cheer teams. Completed scheduling, ordering, staffing for coaches and demonstration coaches, and organized fundraisers. She also coached a competitive Division 8 (8-10 year old athletes) and the following year Division 12 (10-13 year old athletes.)
In the summer of 2020, the effects of Covid-19 forced Lacey Township American Youth Football and Cheer to close their doors for the season. Along with Coach Carolynn and a lot of determination, Pride Elite, LLC was founded to provide competitive cheerleaders a place to continue their sport during those unprecedented times. The first season brought several roadblocks under the circumstances of so many restrictions, however, Pride Elite came out stronger and is now able to open its doors to so many other athletes!
Coach Marylynn is excited to be a part of the beginning of something new and is making it her goal to have the athletes of Pride Elite have a lifetime love of cheer as she does herself.
“A true champion is one who strives to be the best version of him or herself each and everyday.”
-Coach Marylynn
Coach Jessica is a resident of Lacey Township. She graduated from Lacey Township High School in June of 2020. Before graduating from High School, she earned her Liberal Arts Associate Degree from Ocean County College. She is currently working to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Ramapo College of New Jersey. Coach Jessica hopes to continue her education further and eventually become a Pediatric Occupational Therapist.
Coach Jessica began dancing at the age of 3. She has over ten years of competitive dance experience. During high school, Coach Jessica was a part of the Lacey Township High football, basketball, and competitive cheer teams! In addition, she has been a part of All Star and College Cheer teams.
Coach Jessica has a strong work ethic and love for children. She hopes to pass her passion, love, and most importantly PRIDE for cheerleading on to all of the athletes she works with.
Pride Elite is proud to have Coach Jessica as one of our Head Coaches and Cheer Dance instructors.
“You have 2 minutes and 30 seconds to leave your impression on the mat. Make each moment count.”
-Coach Jess
Coach Gianna was born and raised in Lacey Township. She graduated from Lacey Township High School in June of 2019. Coach Gianna began tumbling at just two years old! At age 11 she realized cheerleading was her real passion. She went on to be a part of an All Star cheer team for the next seven years. Coach Gianna cheered on teams as high as level five for most of her cheer career. In addition, she was on Lacey High School Football cheer and four years of high school as well as their competitive teams. Coach Gianna is proud to say that, along with her teams, she has earned over ten first place national competition trophies.
Pride Elite is so excited to welcome Coach Gianna as one of our head coaches and tumble instructors!
“A successful team beats with one heart”
-Coach Gi
Hi! my name is Gianna Christina and I am one of the coaches at pride elite. This will be my second year coaching. I’ve been cheerleading my entire life i first started at AYC and when i was 7 years old, I then switched to all-star where i cheered for 9 yrs. I have been doing high school football cheer and high school competition cheer ever since. My goal for the people I coach is for them to get at least 1% better each time they leave the gym.
Cheerleading has given me the strength, dedication and perseverance that is needed to carry me through the next chapter of my life.
Ready to Join Pride Elite?
If you are interested in joining a Pride Elite Rec Star Cheer Team, or are looking for training please contact us!