I’m a Cheer Coach and these 3 Lessons Have Fueled my PR Career
When you do what you love, your personal passions may spark inspiration or offer lessons for your career. That’s what I’ve found. Outside of Cutline, I spend my free time coaching two elite All Star Cheerleading teams in Northern California.
For those new to this world, All Star cheer emphasizes competition, with routines that are fast-paced and include tumbling, stunting, and dance. Elite is the highest level of competition, with athletes ranging in age from 8 to 19, and we frequently travel around the country to compete. I was an all star cheerleader throughout highschool in Minnesota, and after moving to California, I wanted to find a way to get involved with my new community. So I returned to my personal passions.
Coaching has not only helped me fall in love with the sport all over again, but I’ve learned some valuable strategies that I take to my PR career.
Know Your Audience
In cheer, attention to detail is everything. It’s an incredibly competitive sport, where every tiny aspect of a routine can dictate a team's success. Coaching has taught me there are right and wrong ways to provide feedback, from conflict and corrections to praise. Depending on an athlete’s age group, skill level, or learning style, they may react differently. Understanding this dynamic and choosing my words carefully can have lasting impact on my teams.
The same goes for PR — we’re professional communicators, after all. Knowing your audience (whether it’s youth athletes or a big name tech client) and choosing words that clearly convey your message is critical. Whether it's sharing a big idea to a client or pitching a new reporter, understanding your intended audience and carefully crafting your message to match is the recipe for success.
Celebrate The Little Wins
So much work goes into every win. It can be easy to forget once you’ve achieved what you set out to do. As a coach, I’ve learned a new side to Cheer that I never saw as an athlete. Sometimes there's a rough practice, or maybe a tough loss at a competition. With so much behind-the scenes-work to make sure our teams are fully prepared for success, acknowledging the little wins goes a long way helps. Recognition boosts team morale and helps build trust and confidence, while leaving room to evaluate where we can grow.
Not every great pitch idea or campaign results in a story. A challenge in PR is finding creative ways to make our clients' news appealing to reporters. One of my favorite work wins was securing a VOGUE story with an eharmony relationship expert. This was the first time eharmony was featured in the publication, which was a huge win for the client. The story spurred from sending countless pitches to new reporters. Proof that persistence and creative messaging pays off!
Building Relationships Matter
Relationships and results go hand-in-hand. Taking time to get to know each of my athletes shapes my approach to coaching them. Everyone has different learning styles — some athletes do better with tough love, while others need positive reinforcement or time to process corrections. Prioritizing relationships with athletes helps them feel comfortable asking questions. Athletes need to learn it's okay to make mistakes, as long as they ask for feedback and want to continue to improve. In high stress situations — like on competition days — having a strong foundation of trust and friendship has been important for our team's success.
Cutline values building genuine connections with our clients and media — I love that about our team. Over the last year, I’ve learned to understand each reporters’ preferences and work styles to best collaborate with them. Some people prefer email Q&A’s, while others like to chat live and discuss story ideas. Similarly, knowing my fellow Cutliners’ work styles and interests has empowered our teamwork, which drives meaningful success for our clients.
One last overlap between cheer and PR: you succeed most when you care deeply. Whether with a client, reporter, athlete, when we win, we win together.