The St. Helen Unicycle Drill Team includes members from young children to grandparents who share a love of riding this unique personal transporter. Our youth range from ages 6 to 17 and they have learned to ride pretty well, some since the beginning in February 2014. Our coaches and older members include those who learned to ride while they were students at St. Helen School.
The team is open to everyone.
Our Vision
To entertain and delight audiences and to build confidence in our team members as they develop their skills sets.
Our goals are:
- to provide youth with a unique skill that builds coordination, cooperation and confidence;
- to delight the people who watch our routines at nursing homes, parades, festivals and demonstrations; and
- to keep the costs to participate low which enables a larger number of youth to participate.
We’re excited as we begin the new season for 2018, following a fun and extremely busy year for the St. Helen Unicycle Team. The high rolling stunts delighted crowds at parades and festivals including Cleveland‘s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Chardon’s Maplefest, Avon’s Duct Tape, Chesterland’s 4th of July, Geneva’s Grape Jamboree, Vermillion’s Wooleybear and Canton’s Football Hall of Fame parade. Maybe you saw us at one of our many events this year! The team’s skills have been recognized outside of Ohio and we celebrated a milestone by performing in the Florida’s Citrus Parade in December.
Our History
Our history dates back to the early 1960’s when Fr. James Moran, the pastor of St. Helen at the time and an advocate for physical activity for children, purchased several pieces of sporting apparatus and equipment for a new school and church in Newbury, Ohio. The students tried everything and eventually picked up the unicycle.
In 1965, a team was created, as encouraged by Fr. Moran, when some of the students perfected their skills. Eventually, the whole school became involved and everyone learned to ride as part of the gym curriculum. Soon, St. Helen was known as the school on one wheel and became well known through TV, radio and several famous parades that they rode in.
Today, we continue that tradition that played such a major role during our youth and social growth. The current group of coaches and riders display our enthusiasm throughout the year during practice, parades and performances beginning in March with Cleveland’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and generally concluding in late November with a Christmas parade.
