Category: Spirit

Thanks to Independence Weekend there wasn’t much going on in the cheer and dance world during the last week. I spent the weekend with several people in the industry including all star coaches, college coaches, event producers, and affiliates and had a conversation about whether or not it was worth going to a USASF Regional…

The July 9th show was one of our more humorous episodes, featuring Adam, Andre, King, Lark, and Shane discussing the Secret App, Future Cheer, and the Universal Score Sheet.

Reuters published Bellicose North Korea Lightens Up With Promise of Cheerleaders, hinting at cheerleaders being used as a way to ease tensions between the Koreas. “We have decided to dispatch a cheerleading squad along with the athletes to the 17th Asian Games in order to improve relationships between the North and the South and to…

NBC New York published Oakland Raiderettes to Be Paid $9 an Hour, Make Minimum Wage for 1st Time, continuing the discussion of wage and working conditions for NFL cheerleaders. But earning minimum wage in California is a big deal to the cheerleader who first sued the Raiders in December, claiming that all the unpaid time…

The Intuit Small Business Blog published How to Get Employees to Share Ideas to Grow Your Business, discussing what should be an easy way to improve a business. Some employee ideas may be game-changers. Some will result in only marginal improvement. Others will simply fall flat. You must make it clear that, regardless of the…

You’re the Boss published How I Learned to Recruit an A-Plus Team, discussing past mistakes made when hiring. We have some excellent players on our team. I look around my office as I write this blog, and it occurs to me that they all share three traits: drive, cultural fit and raw intelligence. These will…

Everyday Health published Is Cheerleading More Dangerous Than Football?, in response to the recent AMA announcement and Texas recognizing cheerleading as a sport. But proponents argue that defining cheerleading as a sport would create better organization, regulations and, importantly, better training for coaches. More than 30 states now recognize cheerleading as a high school sport,…

I spent most of the past week in Lexington, KY with the University of Kentucky cheerleaders during their summer practice week. It was interesting to see the new team practicing together for the first time and the new members get a crash course in being a Kentucky cheerleader. I also got to see how Jomo Thompson…

The July 2nd show featured Adam, Andre, King, and Lisa talking about working with outside consultants (camp instructors, choreographer, and music producers) and the “Gym Swap” idea mentioned on ASGA,

The Guardian published Is Cheerleading in Schools Sexist?, asking that question to experts in the United Kingdom. More than 40% of UK schools now offer cheerleading, according to the UK Cheerleading Association. Of those taking part in its competitions, 96% are female. Is cheerleading a good way to get girls excited about PE, or is…

ESPNW published Sorry, Cheerleading is Not a Sport, contributing to the is cheerleading a sport debate. Sports teams exist to compete, not to perform and entertain or support another group that competes. In the cheer-as-sport conversation, this is the most important element to understand. One can be an athlete and not participate in a sport.…

Jeff Jordan published Leaving It All on the Field, discussing the challenges of managing a growing business. The keys to success to using these methods are a hunger to learn and improve, a willingness to be vulnerable and share weaknesses as well as strengths, and often owning up with your organization to shortcomings that you’re…

Intuit’s Small Business Blog published Building a Strong Company Culture. The title makes it clear what the article talks about. If you think your small business needs a stronger sense of purpose, there’s good news: Fostering a positive culture at work doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming.

Dear USASF Event Producer Members, It’s finally here! The FIRST release of the USASF Universal Score Sheet. The Universal Score Sheet is the result of the dedicated efforts of a committee comprised of a wide cross section of All Star Cheer coaches, judges and event producers. The two-year process blended the varied philosophies of scoring…

The first USASF Regional Meeting of the summer was held in Chicago last weekend. The meeting offered a range of classes for cheerleading and dance including skills classes, business classes, insights into scoring, choreography, and music, as well as general industry sessions and a variety of specialized sessions. The meeting also had the first preview…

The June 25th show included guests Adam, Andre, King, Lisa, and Shane discussing the passing of Morehead State’s Myron Doan, Varsity Spirit merging with Cheer LTD, the upcoming European Championships in Germany, a recent ESPN W article, and the USASF Regional Meetings.

Memphis, Tenn., (June 24, 2014) – Varsity Spirit and Cheer Ltd. Inc. are pleased to announce that they have merged, effective immediately. Varsity Spirit, the leader in cheerleading and dance team education, events and apparel, was founded in 1974 in Memphis, TN. Their national events have been televised since 1980, and are currently broadcast on…

Morehead State University published 19-Time National Champion Cheerleading Coach Passes Away, regarding retired cheerleading coach and Dean of Students, Myron Doan. Doan was the driving force behind MSU’s transition into a powerhouse in cheerleading and setting the standard in that competition. He was one of the winningest cheerleading coaches in the U.S., and allowed MSU…

Greg Hoy published My Employees Reviewed Me, and I Kind of Suck on Medium. Hoy talks about the discoveries made when he included himself in evaluations. Well, the results are in, and you know what? Mine kind of suck. They weren’t off-the-charts horrible (there were a few “best boss ever” comments that gave me a…

Entrepreneur published 5 Ways to Coach Your Employees to The Top of Their Game, commenting on the similarities between a good coach and business leader. One of the most important goals for a coach or entrepreneur is to develop “A” players who are really productive. In football this goes beyond the quarterback and running back…

The Monterey Herald published Cheerleading has Changed Through the Years, contributing to the Is Cheerleading a Sport? conversation. Pretty girls with shapely legs and exuberant boys with megaphones (remember those?) have evolved into tight-knit teams, performing athletic maneuvers that require serious training and conditioning, exposing them to risks never dreamed of by the raccoon-cap-and-saddle-shoes crowd.…

USASF Regional Meetings kick off this weekend in Chicago. In fact, by the time this publishes I should be enjoying a deep dish pizza with Kenny Feeley as we go over the Level 6 Credentialing program. The classes I most look forward to, other than the ones I’m teaching, are the rules and scoring classes…

The June 18th show featured Andre, Lark, and Lisa discussing the American Medical Association announcement, competing for a school and All*Star program, considerations for athletes being members of teams in a foreign country, and reasons some athletes are retiring early.

My Fox Philly published Special Needs Cheerleading Squad Wins 5th National Title, discussing the 5 time NCA champs, Empire Elite. “Just seeing those transformations and how far all of them have come not only as athletes, but as people is really, really cool,” said David. “You always leave practice with a smile on your face…

To kick off the first Regional Meeting week of the summer, the USASF posted the 2014-15 Dance Rules, Divisions and Categories, and Glossary. All are available on USASF.net (hover your mouse over Safety – Dance and select the specific documents for download) and in the Spirit Company Dropbox. Online registration for the Midwest Regional Meeting…