OT Is Cheerleading A Realistic Career Choice?

[thesneakyANDcount]

How realistic is it to grow up to own a gym, or coach teams or do any other variation of the cheerleading industry for a living?

 

[laughAlittle]

To own a small gym - very possible

To be Courtney Pope - slim to none

 

[retiredl5cheer]

To coach for a living... If you don't plan on having a family OR your spouse has a normal job that can pay the bills.

 

[Angelica]

The owner of the small gym I work at is a mother of 4 and all she does is coach & teach privates. This is her 14th year doing just that, but she's very well known and respected down here. Also I work once a week at another gym and the owner there is a single parent of 2 and has a great tumbling program & an allstar program. & she's doing just fine. (meaning she's taken 2 trips out of the the country just this year & is on vacation right now in Florida)

So YES it's possible. You can do anything you set your mind too. Best of luck to you!!

 

[Audrey]

Also keep in mind, there are a lot of careers in the cheerleading industry other than gym owner. Of course if that's what you want to do there's nothing wrong with pursuing it. But between uniforms, competitions, magazines, bows, and everything else, it's very possible to work in the cheerleading industry.

 

[INeverStopCheering]

I firmly believe if cheerleading is your passion, you can find a job in it, be it in owning an actual gym, or working in uniforms, music, photography, or events.
If you own a gym, to be successful you need three things:

• Location: If there are already 3 cheer gyms where you live, likelihood is that a new program may not do very well. Go somewhere where Allstar is scare and pull from school and rec programs. Build a program and the talent.
• Realistic Expectations: You're not going to have a level 5 team the first year, maybe not for the first 5 years. You have to build a program.
• Something Special: What is going to set your gym apart from every other program within a 50 mile radius. Do you offer lower prices? Are you more/less competitive. Are you more conservative/liberal? Do you offer parties, programs for little ones, parent classes, tutoring, snack bars, etc. etc. Find what the area you're in doesn't have and be it.

If this is your passion, go to college and get a Business degree with a minor in either physical education, early childhood development, or sports management.
Owning a gym is a totally realistic goal if you put the work into it

 

[michelesagem]

I know, personally, that a lot of my cheer friends are entering college with majors relating to journalism (be it broadcast, or print), communication, marketing, and public relations. Do you see these fields crossing over well into the cheer world? In one way or another?

 

[TinyBlondie15]

I know, personally, that a lot of my cheer friends are entering college with majors relating to journalism (be it broadcast, or print), communication, marketing, and public relations. Do you see these fields crossing over well into the cheer world? In one way or another?

Journalism is great for the cheer world! If they understand cheer and there is a cheer story to be covered they would be great candidates. All of these majors could work well within the industry. Think of cheer as a business. There are different aspects of it that require different skills and training. I personally am going to major in Sports Management with a minor in Marketing. I would like to hopefully own my own gym one day but in the mean time I could coach or work for competition companies such as Varsity or Jam Brands.