Dan’s own ad performance has taken a hit this year, so instead of pretending marketing is easy right now, he’s breaking down the three real reasons leads have dried up — for his own gyms and for the Next Gen... Read More

Coaching teenagers is different. They don’t want to be treated like little kids, but they’re also still learning how to be adults. And if you coach a senior team the same way you coach your minis or youth athletes, you’re... Read More

A bad hire made in a moment of desperation doesn’t just cost you today — it costs you all season, and sometimes for years after. Dan shares the story of the worst hiring year he ever had at Oregon Dream... Read More

Dan calls himself an AI super fan — he uses it every single day, in multiple parts of his business, at the same time he’s recording this episode. But he’s also telling you flat out: AI is not your business... Read More

“I’m too busy.” “My gym is different.” “No one can do it better than me.” They might feel true in the moment, but Dan believes these are three of the biggest lies cheer gym owners tell themselves — and they... Read More

Most coaches genuinely want what’s best for their athletes. But what happens when pressure, expectations, and the desire to win begin influencing how we coach? In this episode, I sit down with sports performance coach Jeff Benson to discuss toxic... Read More

In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton shares one of the biggest coaching mistakes he has seen over 23 years in the cheer industry: putting athletes in a box. Too often, coaches label athletes as lazy, untalented,... Read More

Everybody says they want accountability. Parents want accountable coaches. Coaches want accountable athletes. But accountability feels very different when it’s your athlete being corrected. In this episode, Danielle explores why accountability is one of the most misunderstood topics in cheer.... Read More

In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton breaks down the three criteria every cheer gym owner should evaluate before hiring a new coach or staff member.As your gym grows, you eventually reach the point where you cannot... Read More

A video of a cheer coach screaming at athletes went viral this week… and the reactions shocked us.Some people defended it.Some called it “normal.”Others said, “That’s just competitive cheer.” In this episode, Danielle Johnston and Dan Cotton break down where... Read More