Culture and background

            Creating a culture that prioritizes youth development, responsibility, and discipline has created a cheerleading program with student athletes who are scholars, achievers, and compassionate leaders, demonstrating excellence both on the sideline and in their communities. Who I am as a coach and how I view sport experiences is done through the lens of holistic youth development. Holistic sport development has a positive impact on athletes which enhances their overall experience as a high school athlete. As athletes participate in our cheerleading program, I will closely monitor a range of factors including athlete wellbeing, physical development, academic achievement, and psychosocial life skill development (Thompson et al., 2024). Thompson et al. (2024) supported the idea that sport focused schools encourage student athletes to develop qualities and skills applicable in sports and other spheres of life. Student athlete who are coached by a leader with a holistic mindset feel included, supported, and welcomed.

            My coaching FRAME will always prioritize the overall wellbeing and development of student athletes. I recognize the value of my calling to coach and the impact my athletes will have in their community because of the decisions I have made during my coaching tenure. Each opportunity we have to grow mentally and physically is a choice we make. My cheerleading athletes are developing resilience and life skills that cannot be taught with sport-training alone. I will continue to coach using a holistic approach that integrates physical training, emotional support, and personal development, ensuring that each athlete not only achieves their full potential as a competitive cheerleader but also grows as a confident, well-rounded individual.

Sport Experience

When I became old enough to enroll in extracurriculars and athletics, I lived on Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Athletics were limited, but still accessible. I became a gymnast and quickly made my way up to the competitive youth team at Arete Gymnastics. It felt like my gymnastics career was beginning to peak when my dad received military orders to move to Fort Benning, Georgia. It didn’t take long to realize that the south was cheerleading territory. I was able to use the gymnast technique and form to transition to a competitive cheerleader at United All-Stars and Northside High. The foundation of gymnastics allowed me to evolve to a flexible, fearless flyer and powerhouse tumbler. While my reserve, quiet demeanor adjusted slowly, my physical presence dominated and I graduated with state and national titles and scholarship offers to cheer at the collegiate level. After graduating college, I became a competition cheerleading judge for the state of Georgia with the Georgia High School Association. After four years, I transferred jobs to Northside High School where I was offered the head competition cheerleading coach position.

Coaching context

My coaching context reflects my desire to give back to the program that fostered and nurtured me as a teenager. I currently coach and teach at Northside High School, my high school alma-mater. I was a competitive and sideline cheerleader who needed a community of friends and a sense of belonging. My family was military and we had just transferred to the community. I had little to no friends and lacked the social skills to take initiative on building strong relationships. However, I did have the technical talent and skills of a competitive gymnast. Our community is home to one of the largest military installations in the nation and our school has a large population of military students. I empathize with the military student population as a daughter of a military veteran and retiree. This is carefully considered when selecting members of the team. I can vividly recall what it feels like to lack a sense of community and belonging in a new town months after 9/11. Valuing wellbeing and the development of life skills is necessary and important in the context of our community.

            Coaching a coed competitive cheerleading team with athletes ages 14-18 has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of coaching in high school at the competitive level is that most athletes have prior experience and knowledge. Most athletes have cheered in an all-star gym or middle school sideline cheer. In order to make the team at Northside, athletes must be able to demonstrate a consistent backhand spring or tuck in addition to stunting skills as either a flyer, base, or back spot. We currently compete at the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) level scoring around 80 points on a 100 point rubric. The athletes are demonstrating intermediate to advance level tumbling and stunting skills, which places us in the top 20 teams in the state. The disadvantage of coaching at the high school level is that our district middle school teams do not compete. Middle schools in the area strictly perform on the sideline. The athletes that tryout for our program may or may not have experience participating in choreography and performing in a routine. Another disadvantage is that our military town creates transient population. Depending on the athlete’s military placement and orders, some athletes do not have the privilege of completing the entire program. A high turnover requires coaches to be flexible with high adaptability. It is important for teenage athletes at this level to receive holistic coaching that fosters their sense of belonging and inclusion, while receiving technical skill development to compete at the intermediate and advance level for GHSA.

Building trust and cohesion

            Promoting trust and cohesion with cheerleading athletes is achieved by providing opportunities for athletes to learn responsibility through discipline and togetherness. Our program’s culture ensures that every athlete has responsibility and a specific role that contributes to the program’s success and effectiveness. For each game day, cheerleaders are responsible for loading and unloading coach’s vehicles, setting up sideline props, and greeting spectators as they enter the gates. This ritual is completed in a timely manner because they are disciplined and responsible. Athletes stay after the game to clean up the sideline and take care of each coach’s needs. Cheerleaders are encouraged to develop self-discipline, understanding that their commitment and hard work are essential to their personal success and the team’s overall dynamic. Routines and procedures have been set and each cheerleader understands the importance of the role they serve.

            Athletes in our cheerleading program also complete volunteer service within our community to give back and demonstrate building trust and cohesion with stakeholders and the younger generation. Cheerleaders visit local elementary schools once a month to offer services with drop-off duties and morning work tutoring. They work with the same classroom each month to give them an opportunity to build a rapport with specific students and teachers. Athletes will also host the school’s fall festival, spring fling, and field day events. Volunteer service is a necessary component to holistic development of each athlete, so they may pass on their positive example as a role model to the younger generation. They learn to guide, mentor, and inspire younger children, which builds confidence and hones their communication, relationship, and organizational skills. How coaches instill life skills can depend on the coach’s preferences, but these opportunities must be deliberate and intentional that differ from specific sport training.