| 2001-2002 STAR ATHLETICS OPENED: Founded by Sandy and Alan Demattia and their business partners Lou and Helen Felix they looked to establish a northeastern powerhouse that could compete with the nation’s best. When they opened their 9200sq foot facility in Boonton, they were the largest gym in Northern Jersey. The gym got off to a great start in their first season with a victory in their first National, the WSF East Coast Challenge in the Small Senior Division. The program got on the map nationwide when they won the Grand Championship round having defeated some of the nation’s Elite teams in the round. In their first season at Star Athletics, the program started with 3 teams: Small Senior, Small Junior, and Junior Prep. During that first season, the Small Junior team was also crowned National Champs at James Speed Battle at the Beach. This team was coached by Jim McMullan before he was known as Camp Jim from MTV.
2002-2003: The second season was very successful as it established some of the program’s teams as tops in the nation. The Small Senior team defended their title at WSF and was back to back champions. The Small Seniors also placed 3rd at the prestigious NCA All-Star Nationals in Dallas, TX with an impressive score of 9.26. A new team was added to the fold this year and it was the Senior Small Co-ed. In their first season the Co-ed team finished in the top three at the 3 nationals they attended. This season saw the additions of Stephanie Castillo, Victor Martinez, Gina Lavitola, and Graig Van Valkenburgh to the Star Athletics staff. Camp Jim also gained national notoriety this year as his MTV Made show received such high ratings that a new series entitled Camp Jim was spawned. Jim’s juniors would also go on to win the Large Junior Intermediate title at The American Open. It was also in season two that the “Back With A Mission” slogan was created.
2003-2004: The 2004 season saw the addition of two new teams to the Star Athletics family: Senior Prep and Co-ed Open. The program also won it’s most Prestigious national to date. Winning the Small Senior Advanced Open Division at Cheersport. The small Seniors would go onto win two other nationals: The American Masters and with 3 of the boys from Co-ed would win the Americas Best Open National. The Senior Preps in their season would be crowned the American Masters National Champion. At year end Star Athletics would also debut a new team: The Senior Elite and they would also be crowned National Champions at Americas Best. This would bring the program national titles tally to 12.
2004-2005: The Season was highlighted by the programs 8 National Championships, and the gym becoming the first gym in the Northeast to receive a bid to the Cheerleading Worlds. There were many highlights to this season included among them were the small seniors defending their title and winning back to back Cheersport National Championships. The small seniors would also win UCA in their first trip, and as a result would receive a paid bid to the Cheerleading Worlds. At the Worlds, they would put on an amazing performance and come awy with third place. The other teams in the program would also have banner seasons, as the juniors would go on to win The American Masters and win the divisional grand championship. The small co-ed would win three national championships. They would also win one grand championship and finish second in the grand championship round at WSF Tampa. The open team would go on to be national champions at The American Jam. The senior intermediate and junior preps would also finish the season strong with second and third place finishes respectively at Infinity. Star Athletics debuted two new teams, the mini’s who would be crowned national champs at Infinity Productions National, and junior satellite team that would finish their first season undefeated. The gym would also be features in American Cheerleader Magazine as one of the Top 20 gyms in the nation. The gyms national championship tally would finish the season at 20.
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