All-Star Do You Think It'll Ever Happen?

[ShoWStoppeR]

see, now that i know its something people would be interested in, I definitely want to try and make it happen. my logic is, you need a college degree and pass the BOC exam to be a certified athletic trainer. you don't need that to be a coach.... i am in no way knocking coaches, clearly i have a large amount of respect for them, but my point is, it would be alot easier to get a certified AT credentialed in cheerleading than to get a cheerleading coach certified in AT. of course this means the AT would have to be interested in the sport enough to want to learn about it, but honestly, you'd be surprised how many people would actually do it. This is going to sound sick and twisted to most people, but as athletic trainers, we like having alot of injuries to work with (not saying we like to see our athletes injured, just that we would prefer working with a sport that keeps us on our toes rather than sitting there twiddling our thumbs) seeing as cheerleading does have such a high rate of injuries, that would definitely attract the interest of ATs. I know for us, we do rotations on and off campus to get hands on experience. I would LOVE to go to a cheer gym to do it. (we don't get to choose, we are assigned somewhere) the biggest question now is, how would i even bring about getting this started? i really do want to try and make it happen. i know it will be hard, and i know it will take alot of steps, but i also know its possible.

 

[CGAcheer]

As a cheer coach/gym owner if I could go back in time and change my degree from college I would have done physical therapy or athletic training. It would make you highly marketable as a coach, but as a stand alone athletic trainer- it wouldn't be financially viable.

Now if it were set up in a way that we shared space with a physical therapist running their own business while being available to us in exchange for reduced/free rent or something that could definitely be interesting

 

[MissBee]

My dream gym (the one that I have in my head, and when I have oodles and oodles of money I'll build it) has a full time AT on staff (not as a coach, but as an AT) as well as a Physical Therapist. They would have a dedicated Training/Therapy room. I'd also have a Strength and Conditioning coach on staff, with a dedicated fitness center (free to team members, parents and siblings over 16 can buy a membership to workout). The fitness center would be up on the 2nd floor, with windows overlooking the gym-so you could stalk Susie at practice from your elliptical.

 

[annie32]

I'm planning on going into physical therapy in college next year for this exact reason! There have been countless times where someone has gotten injured at practice where I've thought wow, someone who knows some more about this stuff would really come in handy right now. Not that my coach doesn't know how to handle injuries correctly, but she doesn't have a degree in it. There are a ridiculous amount of cheerleaders that end up in physical therapy. I think it would greatly benefit the team I plan to coach in the future to have a coach that knows the right exercises to do to strengthen muscles in order to help prevent injuries and be there whenever an injury does occur with the knowledge of how to best handle it.

I'm also doing my senior project this year on injuries in cheerleading and how they can be prevented by safety measures like this so thank you everyone for this addition to my bibliography

 

[chyeeaaa69]

My dream gym (the one that I have in my head, and when I have oodles and oodles of money I'll build it) has a full time AT on staff (not as a coach, but as an AT) as well as a Physical Therapist. They would have a dedicated Training/Therapy room. I'd also have a Strength and Conditioning coach on staff, with a dedicated fitness center (free to team members, parents and siblings over 16 can buy a membership to workout). The fitness center would be up on the 2nd floor, with windows overlooking the gym-so you could stalk Susie at practice from your elliptical.

I almost made a joke out of this, but I've never seen one single topic talked about more in my life, so I avoided it.

 

[canttouchthis]

i don't personally recommend getting your degree in physical therapy i know countless people and my sister who got there degree in it and now use it for nothing, i mean maybe it would work if you had a plan like using it at a gym or gymnastics gym or something like that, but if you don't have a plan and a gym that you know would hire you for that position then i don't recommend it at all.

 

[chyeeaaa69]

is it too much to ask of coaches to take a few extra courses on safety, proper conditioning, first aid, etc.?
sure it costs quite a bit, but in a world where money is a bit tight for a lot of people, it's a lot less than having a trainer or physical therapist on site, and it would help tremendously.

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

i don't personally recommend getting your degree in physical therapy i know countless people and my sister who got there degree in it and now use it for nothing, i mean maybe it would work if you had a plan like using it at a gym or gymnastics gym or something like that, but if you don't have a plan and a gym that you know would hire you for that position then i don't recommend it at all.

not to be rude, but i don't think its your place to tell me not to major in something... for one, i'm not in physical therapy, thats a grad program. I am an athletic training major. and I love everything about it. I didn't choose it just for cheerleading, in fact i didn't choose it for cheer at all, its just something else i also love and would love to combine the two. and in case you were wondering, physical therapy is actually one of the quickest growing fields.... so i would most certainly recommend it.

 

[canttouchthis]

not to be rude, but i don't think its your place to tell me not to major in something... for one, i'm not in physical therapy, thats a grad program. I am an athletic training major. and I love everything about it. I didn't choose it just for cheerleading, in fact i didn't choose it for cheer at all, its just something else i also love and would love to combine the two. and in case you were wondering, physical therapy is actually one of the quickest growing fields.... so i would most certainly recommend it.

i didnt tell you not to major in anything and it wasnt even directed at you, it was for all i just personally dont recommend it. secondly i know the difference and thirdly while it is quickly growing a lot of people are struggling to find jobs that have majored in it because a lot of people just are not hiring which is the case for most fields

 

[Cheer Mom x3]

i don't personally recommend getting your degree in physical therapy i know countless people and my sister who got there degree in it and now use it for nothing, i mean maybe it would work if you had a plan like using it at a gym or gymnastics gym or something like that, but if you don't have a plan and a gym that you know would hire you for that position then i don't recommend it at all.

I have a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and own my own therapy company in Houston. We are currently looking for full time PT's and our therapy staff averages >$150,000 per year. If any of them are interested in this area the demand is INSANE!!!

 

[canttouchthis]

I have a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and own my own therapy company in Houston. We are currently looking for full time PT's and our therapy staff averages >$150,000 per year. If any of them are interested in this area the demand is INSANE!!!

thats cool but not in the region im located in.

 

[cheerKT]

My best friend is an athletic training major, (she used to practice her taping technique on me freshman year with toilet paper) and has attended her fair share of competitions with me. So she knows how dangerous it can be. I obviously can't speak for her but I think she would love to work at a cheer gym. While she was never a cheerleader herself, she respects it and enjoys watching it. And the job field for athletic trainers isn't the biggest in the world right now, so I think she would welcome the expansion into a new field. More jobs for ATs! Would make a perfect side job/second job.

 

[samantha says]

I'm not sure why, but I feel like Matrix has this in their gym. I believe they have something called "Speed Doctorz" at their location... But @simplyfierce09 could answer better...

 

[canttouchthis]

My best friend is an athletic training major, (she used to practice her taping technique on me freshman year with toilet paper) and has attended her fair share of competitions with me. So she knows how dangerous it can be. I obviously can't speak for her but I think she would love to work at a cheer gym. While she was never a cheerleader herself, she respects it and enjoys watching it. And the job field for athletic trainers isn't the biggest in the world right now, so I think she would welcome the expansion into a new field. More jobs for ATs! Would make a perfect side job/second job.

thank you!!!!!!!!!! this was the my point she just summed it up beautifully. while it is an amazing field and im sure very amazing the job field isnt the biggest so its like a competition to see who can be the best. just like cosmopolitan because there is so many people who love this field that there all competing to see who is the best which leaves quite a few of them jobless.

 

[pctmom]

My business partner is an certified Athletic Therapist. He manages all of our strength training for our teams, as well as being our first responder. He practices out of our gym with one of the Massage Therapists we also have working for us. Its a huge advantage for our teams and our business.