Dad: St. Charles cheer school forced girl to practice after concussion

A St. Charles cheerleading school is being sued by a middle school student who argues instructors forced her to resume practicing after being concussed when a teammate fell from a pyramid formation.

Kevin Beck recently filed the litigation in Kane County on behalf of his daughter, a minor, against Cheer Alliance, 731 N. 17th St., according to court records.

According to the suit, the episode occurred Feb. 19, 2016. The victim had been on the 2015-2016 Cheer Alliance team since December 2015.

That day during practice, a teammate in the "flyer" position on the pyramid lost her balance and fell on the girl, "violently striking her head" and causing the plaintiff to fall, the suit states.

Three coaches saw what happened, told the girl to "sit on the sidelines" for a bit before being told by one of the coaches in an "overly aggressive and intimidating manner" to return to practice and participate again, the lawsuit argues.

The girl was told to do a series of back-flip runs that led into the pyramid routine, even though she had pain to her head and was showing signs of impairment, the suit argues.

Beck's lawsuit argues the coaching staff and school should be held liable for willful and wanton conduct, not getting the girl a medical evaluation or recognizing she was concussed and failing to protect her from "further harm and worsening injury" by forcing her to practice and engage in repeated tumbling runs when she showed "visible impairment of stumbling and falling."

Laura Marchiori, attorney for the Becks, declined to comment on the girl's injuries or the case in general.

Marchiori did say the girl was in middle school at the time of her injury, but did not specify a grade level. The lawsuit does not state the girl's age or hometown.

Repeated messages left at the St. Charles school were not returned.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000 and the two sides are due in court May 2.