All-Star Cheer Athletics (questions/rumors)

We are opening a new facility in Frisco, TX. It should open in December of 2013. It will be located within the Fieldhouse USA Complex.

The plan is for teams training at the Plano gym to stay in Plano.

is this going to be a satellite gym...renting floor space & what not

k.woow said:

is this going to be a satellite gym...renting floor space & what not

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I'm not sure exactly how you mean the question, but it will be a full-functioning CA location just like Austin & Plano. We have a multi-year lease with the building owners for good-sized chunk of the building - enough for at least 2 full floors.

How many teams will be housed here and will they compete against ca Plano or will you just move some of your existing teams there because of limited floor space in Plano


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Reallycoolcheermommy said:

How many teams will be housed here and will they compete against ca Plano or will you just move some of your existing teams there because of limited floor space in Plano

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We don't anticipate moving any teams there from Plano. Like our situation in Austin, we try to avoid competing directly against ourselves, but sometimes it will probably happen. There simply aren't enough divisions to avoid it. It isn't ideal, but each gym will make the best decision possible for their athletes and their program.

We never know how many (or which) teams we will have until after the tryouts.

BlueCat said:

I'm not sure exactly how you mean the question, but it will be a full-functioning CA location just like Austin & Plano. We have a multi-year lease with the building owners for good-sized chunk of the building - enough for at least 2 full floors.

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How soon will it be full-functioning? Well it be tumbling and classes and such through this season and then have teams next season? Or will you do half-year teams there this year?


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This may seem like a dumb comment/question, but isnt opening a gym in December a very awkward time of the year to do so? Will you try and field half-year teams? Won't demand for a gym at this time of the season be incredibly low?

ETA: Sorry, posted at the same time as the post above. Some overlapping questions.

cheernerd5678 said:

How soon will it be full-functioning? Well it be tumbling and classes and such through this season and then have teams next season? Or will you do half-year teams there this year?

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MakeYourMark said:

This may seem like a dumb comment/question, but isnt opening a gym in December a very awkward time of the year to do so? Will you try and field half-year teams? Won't demand for a gym at this time of the season be incredibly low?

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It is difficult to open a gym and immediately be going smooth and full speed with every single program from day one. To be able to provide high-quality service, it just takes a while to get the right staff situated and have everyone learn the "CA Way" to do things. There is staff to hire/train, equipment to arrange, logistics of registration/retail/etc. to work out. That just doesn't happen overnight.

Because of the timing of the Austin opening, we basically started by focusing on tryouts & regular all star teams. We then sort of worked backwards into setting up the class program and other aspects (pro shop, privates, etc.) over the next few weeks/months. Our plan this time is to work the other way, getting the class program and perhaps half-year teams going first, then later having a tryout and full-year team program.

In our opinion, it is better to do a few things well than immediately try to do everything day one and not be up to the standard we expect. We want every facility or business we open to be in the area for 15+ years, so the customers must be treated well and get high-quality service from the first time they set foot in the facility. We want them telling all of their friends how positive, organized, and fun their experience is. That means far more in the long run than 3-4 months of team tuition. We are fortunate to be in a position where profitability day 1 is not the primary concern.

Analogy - it would be better to have a "soft opening" at a restaurant with 1-2 incredibly delicious well-prepared things on the menu than a whole bunch of below-average food and bad service. Adding menu items later is easier than convincing unhappy customers to try your restaurant again.

Also, Frisco and Plano are fairly close together, so we want to iron as many issues as possible with crossover staff, registration, etc. before both gyms hit the busiest part of the season.

Just curious... how did you decide on Frisco? It seems like people would like a gym further west or somewhere between Dallas and FW. Maybe Grapevine or 114/360 area.

My parents will probably force me to move from Plano to Frisco next season since its closer This is sad news for me.

scskgl said:

Just curious... how did you decide on Frisco? It seems like people would like a gym further west or somewhere between Dallas and FW. Maybe Grapevine or 114/360 area.

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Demographics is the primary reason. Frisco has an incredible number of young families and youth sports is simply huge in that area. The Frisco gym will be a great compliment to the Plano gym, which tends to skew a little older (mostly junior high & high school aged.) Both gyms will serve athletes of all ages, but our guess is that Frisco will tend to have more youth teams and Plano will tend to have more senior teams.

The facility is perfect for our needs as well. It will not be nearly as large as Plano, but it is smack dab in the middle of an incredible amount of youth sports businesses. There will be thousands of children (and their families) playing sports, walking, or driving within a block or two of our location nearly every day. The building itself is clean, beautiful, and has a great location.

It will also be (relatively) easy to have staff go back and forth if necessary. No one would really have to move to work there.

Are there many other gyms in the Frisco area? I don't think I've heard of any.
I know in a previous post a couple of months ago you talked about making sure you didn't "steal" (for lack of a better word) other gyms customers.

Jennie said:

Are there many other gyms in the Frisco area? I don't think I've heard of any.
I know in a previous post a couple of months ago you talked about making sure you didn't "steal" (for lack of a better word) other gyms customers.

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We will not be the only gym in that area. However, our intent is not to take away anyone else's customers, but to try to reach out to a brand-new customer base. There are more than enough youth in the Frisco area for many gyms.

@BlueCat Your showcase is incredibly early this year. Did you guys do anything different this year to make sure you're ready by October? Or are you usually running solid routines full out by the end of summer?

NEliteSteven said:

@BlueCat Your showcase is incredibly early this year. Did you guys do anything different this year to make sure you're ready by October? Or are you usually running solid routines full out by the end of summer?

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We learned our routines earlier than normal. They will still probably be pretty rough at the showcase, but it basically forces us to start getting ready sooner.