Industry vet Morton Bergue answers reader questions in our newest column.
Cheer Biz News April/May 2010
CBN asked readers to submit anonymous questions regarding everything all-star cheer, from running a gym and increasing profitability to dealing with parents, intra-program politics and choreography tips. Here to answer the first batch is all-star expert Morton Bergue.
Our Expert: Morton Bergue: For almost 30 years, Morton Bergue has been making his mark in the cheerleading world. A former high school and college cheerleader, head instructor and west coast director for the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA), Bergue is an internationally known coach, choreographer, judge and speaker and is the president of Cheergyms.com, Inc., a northern California company he started 15 years ago. Bergue is a member of the American Cheerleader Who’s Who of U.S. Cheerleading Coaches Hall of Fame, USASF Hall of Fame and the SITA Hall of Fame, and was named as one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Cheerleading Industry by American Cheerleader’s All-Star Insider.
Dear Morton,
I have an all-star cheerleading program—well, I’m not really sure if you can even call it a program. I have two teams: a Tiny Level 1 and a Senior Level 3. This is my second year with these teams, and I’ve never had this much trouble running an all-star program. I can’t get the kids to commit to coming to practice, the parents only pay when they want to—it’s just terrible.
I currently rent the floor from a nearby gym. But we can’t practice when we absolutely need to, we don’t get to use the big floor as often as we’d like to and the list goes on and on. I’m trying to find a practice facility for us, even if that means getting our own place, but I just don’t want to put the money into it and watch it go south because I don’t have any serious team members. I know that my team parents aren’t happy with the current gym we practice at either, but I don’t know if I can afford to start a gym myself. I don’t have the money to pay for rent, mats, a spring floor and other necessary equipment.
I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong and why I can’t make this work! My kids are getting last place at every competition because none of the girls on the team are giving 100 percent. It’s not that I don’t know how to coach, because I’ve coached all-star, high school, peewee and even college teams in the past that have won national championships. I need some guidance or some type of business plan that other coaches have used to get their programs off the ground and to get customers and keep them. I’m just at my wit’s end and don’t know what else to do except to give it up—and I really don’t want to do that.
Bergue Says:
Wow, I can really feel your frustration. I know how hard it can be when you feel like you’re giving 100 percent and getting back 10. I’ve been there before. To me it sounds like you need to sit down and re-evaluate what you’ve started. I agree with you: I don’t believe it’s your coaching that needs a revamping; it’s your business model.
Everything you mentioned—from the place where you practice not allowing you to practice when needed to parents not paying—screams you weren’t fully prepared when you started! I don’t think you had a clear business plan or list of goals that you wrote down and finalized before you took on the all-star business. This is a very common mistake in the all-star industry because we all love to coach so much, and see other programs doing it, that we want to do it ourselves.
You need to turn on your computer and start making a list of what you want your business to be. Put everything down, from what a perfect facility would be like to how you plan on handling ordering uniforms. Develop a set of rules for missing practices and being late on payments. Next to everything on your list, write down how you plan to implement your ideas and what you’ll need to start the program without these ideal conditions (i.e., what will work in the meantime while you work towards your plan). At our gym, we used a five-year plan. It was modified many times throughout the first year because we made a ton of mistakes, but it really kept us on track.
Devise a concrete plan to deal with problems and obstacles, like the ones you mentioned. For example, by outlining what kind of facility you need and what you must have to run a successful program, you’ll have already provided yourself with a list of things you need when looking for a place to share/rent while you work toward owning your own gym. Your plan will help you line up what you need to start a bare bones program before you start. For example, before entering into your current situation, you should’ve talked with the owner of the gym and said, “I absolutely need at least two two-hour practices per team on the full floor each week.” If the owner said that was impossible, you could have moved into another space.
Setting rules at the outset also helps combat the problem of parents not paying. Your parents would be paying if you had given them a detailed, written set of rules and consequences before they signed their children up. I know it’s hard to hold parents (and their kids) to rules—especially when you have a team going to competition the next week and taking a kid out because of non-payment will hurt the team—but you have to do it. Once you show the parents you mean business, they will pay or leave. If they leave, then they weren’t planning on paying you in the first place. Here’s what we do at our gyms: If a parent is late with payment by five days, they get a $35 late fee; after 10 days, they get a nice, but firm, reminder e-mail; after 30 days, they get a call requesting the payment or their child will be taken out of the routine. (Yes, we have taken kids out of routines because of non-payment!) We also have a collections agency set up for those who just don’t pay. This is all explained at our initial parent meeting and in the contracts they sign. Trust me, once you take a kid out of the routine for non-payment, the other parents will be writing checks to make sure their child stays in.
Having a plan and goals really will make a huge difference. Once the parents and kids understand how it is, they’ll also get how you coach. It all works together to make for a happier place and a happier you! I’m not saying it will be easy. Be prepared to lose some members and for pressure from parents. Some parents will try everything to make you give them a deal or make an exception for a special circumstance. Treat them all the same, and they’ll eventually fall in line. I hope this helps and good luck!
Dear Morton,
I live in an area where we have very few all-star gyms. I’ve been a cheer coach for Pop Warner for more than 11 years. I would like to transition to starting an all-star team. Where can I find out about the rules and regulations and how to start a gym? How can I network with other gym owners? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Bergue Says:
This is exciting! I’m always elated when I hear people want to open new facilities, because I believe cheerleading is one of the best activities for any child. The best place for you to start is to contact coaches associations. Start with the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) and the United States All-Star Federation (USASF). AACCA focuses on coach’s education, training and safety; the USASF is the governing body for all-star cheerleading, just like Pop Warner. It has all the information you’ll need about rules, regulations, coaches’ credentialing and more.
Next I would contact your state coaches association. (Editor’s Note: For a full list of state-by-state coaches associations, see American Cheerleader’s Coach’s Handbook.) Sign up for the next available cheer coaches conference. You can get a real heads-up on all-star cheerleading through these events. The speakers are interesting and knowledgeable, and it’s a great way to meet gym owners and coaches in your area, as well as to get some great support from the organization itself.
Lastly, check out competition websites to start watching videos of routines and to keep abreast of what’s happening in the all-star world. All-star cheer is very different from youth/recreation cheer. You’ll need to see what you’re getting yourself into before you begin. I hope this helps you get started.
Do you have a question for one of our all-star experts? Send it to us at cbn@americancheerleader.com.
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