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Brotherly Love: Different Abilities, One Team At Downingtown Dominators

CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) - Ukee Washington spoke to a West Chester University freshman whose Chester County cheerleading team is blazing a trail.

We caught up with the team at their practice space, Metzler's Gymnastics in Downingtown, where they work hard to practice their pep.

"Hey, fans in the stands, stand up and clap your hands! Dominators! Dominators!"

This is Downingtown Dominators, a cheerleading group for young people of all abilities.

Nineteen-year-old Liz Schlosser is leading the practice: "Make sure we're hitting our motions on the word..." she tells the athletes.

Ukee Washington sat down with Liz after practice. "What message are you putting out there?" Ukee asked.

"Instead of having one team in our society of people with disabilities and one for kids without, we should all be on the same team, because that's how I believe society should be," Liz said.

For every person on the team with a disability, there is a person without a disability to partner with. Josh Homa and his coach, Paige Greenleaf, are a team.

"She can be a little tough coach sometimes," Josh laughed.

"We always calm each other down," Paige said. "When we do conditioning I always say we're going to do a pushup, and it's "Oh no!"

Josh laughed. "But I still do it!"

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Riehl is part of a basing team. "Basing is basically, you lift the flyer up so it helps the flyer, and I can base her up.

"For me, I love basing," Olivia said. She asked one of the flyers, 17-year-old Paige Thomas, "What about you?"

"Mine is stunts and dancing," Paige Thomas said.

The club started with four members. Now it has about 35, and it's free.

"We really take anybody," Liz said. "I find I can't say no to anybody, because I know that these kids are showing society that people with disabilities deserve to be seen as these athletes that they are."

Liz has another mission: to raise $5000 for new cheerleading outfits for the team. She has a GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/1mission1team

Anyone who is interested in joining or helping can email DowningtownDominators@outlook.com

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