Yesterday, I shared how a local cheer mom’s question—“What does it take to build competitively successful teams?”—sparked some great conversation. I also told you why I believe that you don’t need to be a franchise or D1 gym to succeed. Instead, it’s about creating systems and building advantages for yourself, much like a franchise does.
Today, I’m diving into what else the moms thought makes a gym successful and sharing my perspective on their points.
1. Attendance: The #1 Factor
This one had me cheering—pun intended! Most parents in the group emphasized the importance of attendance and athlete commitment, and they were absolutely right. Attendance can make or break a team.
Every athlete matters, and when even one misses practice, the entire team suffers. I’ve talked before about needing flexibility in my gym. In a small town, kids want to do everything—high school cheer, volleyball, softball—and I have to make that work if I want to field 11 teams and provide the most possible opportunities for my athletes.
Have I lost athletes to stricter gyms? Yes. Over 13 years, I’ve had seven athletes leave for programs with stricter attendance policies and unwavering accountability. I don’t fault those athletes or their families. They wanted a level of discipline I couldn’t enforce while maintaining flexibility in my program. On the flipside, I have maintained a lot of athletes because I offer that level of flexibility—something that works well for my program.
My athletes can still experience the fun parts of school activities and other sports while enjoying and being relatively competitive in all star cheer.
But here’s the thing: Commitment pays off. Teams with the best attendance often see the most success on the mat. Last month, my junior prep team won our attendance award. Last week, they won Prep Grand Champs. That’s not a coincidence.
2. Full-Time Coaches: Do They Matter?
Here’s where I disagreed with the group: Many parents argued that gyms with full-time coaches have an edge because their coaches are “more committed.”
I believe commitment isn’t about hours on the clock—it’s about mentality. I call this a “full-time mentality.” You can have part-time coaches who are just as dedicated as full-time staff.
Take Cassidie, one of my head coaches: She’s a full-time college student and has her real estate license and another job. But Cassidie pours her heart into coaching. She connects with athletes, communicates with parents, and prioritizes training. Just last weekend, Cassidie cheered at her college game in Texas on Saturday, then drove through the night to Iowa to be with her teams at Sunday’s competition.
That’s the full-time mentality.
Even my full-time staff wear multiple hats. Melanie manages the gym and coaches five teams. Patrick develops curriculum for our recreational program, trains staff and coaches competitive tumbling athletes. Angie and I spend our days working on financials, staffing, and other operations tasks for the gym—we also each coach three teams this season. Even “full-time coaches” don’t spend six hours a day analyzing scoresheets—and that’s okay. Dedication matters more than job titles or hours.
3. Knowledge and Personal Cheer Experience
Some parents claimed their gym’s success stemmed from coaches who were former NCA champions or held Worlds titles.
Here, I agreed with the moms—with one caveat: While personal cheer experience can bring credibility, being a great cheerleader doesn’t automatically make you a great coach. Doing the skill and teaching the skill are two very different things.
The real secret? Wisdom.
Wisdom comes from years of experience, learning through challenges, and knowing how to handle the unexpected. A wise coach can:
- Fix a routine quickly when an athlete quits the week before competition.
- Re-choreograph sections of a routine that aren’t hitting the scoresheet (or at least they know when to reach out to their choreographer for help).
- Successfully rechoreograph a section with an athlete who’s not throwing their tumbling pass or a group that’s not hitting their stunts
- Motivate a distracted team back into focus.
Do you know it took me about three seasons to realize how important the glossary was for understanding the rules as they were intended? Last season, I was at Accuscore and was applauded for going back to the spot in the glossary I had bookmarked when I saw our legality: “Wow, most people don’t think to refer back to the glossary. Good job.” It had been so many years since I learned that, and I had almost forgotten those days when I thought it was just an “introduction” to important pages. Knowledge and personal experience on a mat is great, but wisdom takes time.
4. Proper Team Placement
The moms were right on this one—team placement is critical. But here’s where I think parents sometimes misunderstand what “proper placement” really means …
Many assume that if an athlete has a certain skill, they belong on the corresponding level team:
- A front handspring? Level 2.
- A tuck? Level 3.
But it’s not that simple. A skill alone doesn’t define an athlete’s readiness for a level. Proper placement also considers teamwork, execution and individual positions.
Here’s an example:
- My Youth 2 team has 100% elite-level tumbling. Last weekend, they scored the lowest of 10 teams. Tumbling skills alone aren’t enough: They need to learn to work together. Some need to learn to lead, while others need to learn to follow.
- Some of my best Level 3 bases and backspots don’t tumble in the routine at all. But they bring immense value to the stunts, and for me, that makes them Level 3 athletes.
Years ago, during the uncertainty of 2020, I had to place Level 1-3 seniors on a Senior 4 team to ensure we had sustainable teams while also keeping some of my longtime athletes who had fought their way to Level 4 for years. That year, we competed at the All Star World Championship and moved to Day 2 with the highest score I’ve ever had at that event. The following year, those athletes were placed back at Level 2 and 3, where they belonged. That stung a little and was a challenge for me to work through with the athletes and their parents, but proper team placement looks a little different each year.
If I had a bigger program, I could be pickier. I could require 100% tumbling from every athlete on a higher-level team. But for my gym, I value athletes who contribute to the team in all aspects—tumbling, stunting, jumps and leadership. Parents don’t always understand this, but proper placement is about building a team, not just filling a level.
What Do You Think?
These conversations got me thinking about what really makes a gym successful. Yes, attendance matters. Yes, proper placement is crucial. But is there more?
Is it a great facility with high ceilings? Is it supportive parents who encourage their kids to show up and give their best? Is it a culture that prioritizes attendance above anything else?
I’d love to hear from those of you who have found success—on and off the mat. What do you think gyms need to do to build champion teams?
