Cheer Biz News, Aug/Sept 2011
The Fame Game
A look into the careers of this year’s USASF Hall of Fame inductees
By Natalie Keller Reinert
Jim Chadwick
When the president of the United States All-Star Federation (USASF), Jim Chadwick, found out that his colleagues had slipped one past him and inducted him into the USASF Hall of Fame, Jim Chadwick was surprised and flattered.
“I was pleasantly shocked,” Chadwick chuckles. “I kept getting nominated and kept declining it! I try to stay behind the scenes. This time, they went and gave me the award without telling me so that I couldn’t turn it down.”
Chadwick’s been turning the honor down for years because he doesn’t believe it applies to him. “I really want the focus of the USASF to be on our members,” he says. “The staff is just there to help our members accomplish whatever they want to.” The members, he says, are the USASF’s heroes and its first priority. “Lots of organizations end up failing because the people who are running them forget that it’s about the members. An organization that stays true to its mission has no ego.”
And Chadwick is very clear on the federation’s purpose: “The mission of the USASF is to enrich lives,” he says. “All-star cheerleading is an incredible sport.”
Chadwick has been at the helm of the USASF since its inception in 2003, having left a long career in marketing to search for something more meaningful. “Marketing is about getting people who already buy a product to buy more of it,” he explains. “I realized that I should be getting people involved in something that would change their lives. I thought, ‘My soul is going to starve if I don’t do more for people.’ ”
Looking back, Chadwick saw that cheering as a kid and at the University of Utah had been a life-changing experience for him. “You can see when something changes people for the better,” he says. Once he went to work for Varsity, he found his calling. “I visited 40-plus gyms and saw the need for a governing body. Jeff Webb agreed and the USASF was born. Without Varsity and Webb’s strong support, the USASF never would’ve made it past the idea stage.”
During this time, the National All-Star Cheerleading Coaches Congress (NACCC) was being formed, and the two became rival groups—but not for long. “I met with Elaine Pascale, the NACCC’s leader, on neutral ground to chat at dinner in Philadelphia,” says Chadwick. “It turned out to be a much longer dinner than either of us had planned when we realized that we shared the same vision.”
After nine months, the merged organizations were functioning as one. “It was a labor of love among more than 300 like-minded individuals who sacrificed their time for everyone’s dream,” says Chadwick. Helping make that dream come true were Colleen Little and Jody Melton, Chadwick’s co-inductees into this year’s USASF Hall of Fame.
Colleen Little
“Colleen is a true visionary,” says Chadwick. “When people thought that the USASF was just another event company, Colleen supported us. Her company actually resigned from Final Destination to support [The Cheerleading] Worlds. She’s shown us strong, strong support. She’s the kind of person who says, ‘If this is right for the all-star community, it’s right for us.’ That’s an example of the sacrifices people make for the [industry].”
Little has spent the last 15 years as a voice for the “little guys” of cheerleading, but when the all-star community came together to induct her into the USASF Hall of Fame, she was silenced for the first time. “To say it was unexpected would be an understatement. I was speechless!” says Little.
Little’s impressive resumé—which includes creating a competition company, Cheer America, taking its championships to the USASF and founding a collective of independent cheerleading organizations—has led her to a spot on the USASF National Advisory Board.
In fact, Little recognized that smaller cheer programs, and the coaches who were developing young athletes, weren’t on equal footing with larger programs. “So often the independents support initiatives that the majority of coaches are in favor of but aren’t necessarily supported by the large conglomerates,” she explains.
Seeing that smaller gyms and independent competitions were poised to have a significant impact on the business but lacked organization, Little stepped in to fill the gap time and time again. “I’ve been an advocate for equal representation of all sectors of the industry,” she says of her many roles, “whether it be small gyms or independent event producers.”
In doing so, she gave that silent majority a voice, first with Cheer America, a competitive cheer company whose mission is to provide outstanding competitions for gyms of every size. The point was “to fill a void in the market with competitions that were more professional, more exciting and a better overall experience for the athletes, coaches and fans,” says Little.
Little then went on to help found the Independent Event Producers (IEP) in 2009. Partnering Cheer America with fellow independent cheer companies, the IEP has gone on to include more than 20 companies and even hosts a national conference to discuss strategies to strengthen the industry.
“Collectively, we have a voice,” Little explains of IEP’s mission. “There have been so many strong independents that have paved the way in this industry and have made such a positive difference, and they continue to do so. It wasn’t until we came together as an organization that we’ve been able to garner the recognition and acknowledgment that’s deserved.”
With a position on the USASF’s National Advisory Board, that voice is now even stronger. “It’s especially wonderful to be recognized with such an award when my ideas and positions have often put me on the opposite side of the status quo,” she says. “I appreciate that the USASF is open to change and accessible and supportive of differing viewpoints.”
Jody Melton
“Jody Melton was at the very first USASF meeting, before we even had the name,” recalls Chadwick. “Including Jody, there were [only] six people there, and he stood up to the NACCC boycott of Worlds. If there was going to be a Worlds, Jody was going. He’s a strong supporter of the USASF and the all-star community [as a whole].”
At the inaugural event, it was obvious who was taking home the gold—until Jody’s team took the mat. “Cheer Athletics went on, and there was a moment of silence after their routine,” remembers Chadwick. “It was quantums better than anything that had been done before. That’s Jody Melton. That’s how he does things.”
Melton has always given everything he’s got to cheerleading. With a successful career that spans cheering for Baylor University to co-founding the incredibly successful Cheer Athletics, he also spends his precious downtime supporting the industry’s safety and future success as a whole, having spent three years as a member of the USASF board of directors and six years on the USASF Rules Committee.
“It was a great honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” says Melton. “While I think Cheer Athletics co-owners Brad Habermel and Angela Rogers should have gotten in before me, it was rewarding to be recognized for my time in the cheer industry.”
Melton’s years with Cheer Athletics might be one of his more famous accomplishments, but not his only. Cheer Athletics, which he co-founded in 1994 with Angela Rogers, started out with two kids in a park in Plano, TX. Within a year, they’d won their first competition, which just happened to be the NCA Open Division National Championship. Cheer Athletics went on to become a Texas powerhouse, currently holding more NCA titles and Worlds medals than any other program.
“My main responsibility lies with Cheer Athletics,” explains Melton. “Actually, working directly with athletes and teams is by far the most enjoyable and rewarding part of what I do. However, there are many logistical things that must be taken care of for a business to survive.”
Melton spends time on the USASF board of directors in order to help everyone’s businesses survive. It’s time consuming, he admits, but “it’s important that work is done to promote and improve the all-star industry. Regardless of how successful any [one] gym is, we need the overall industry to be healthy for [all] gyms to survive long-term.”
The board of directors is a cross-section of the industry, Melton says. “Being on the board has been a very interesting experience, as you get to see many issues from several different vantage points. By design, it’s comprised of people with different backgrounds and different points of view.”
In Melton, they have a unique member who’s worn many hats as a small event producer, a coach, a parent of athletes and an athlete himself. “I feel like I have as diverse a background as nearly anyone in the industry,” he says. “Hopefully, those experiences can help when we’re searching for the best ways to improve our sport.”
It can’t all be about the business and the numbers, though. Melton stays fresh and passionate about cheer by getting out there and coaching the athletes. “I’ve recently been able to do more hands-on coaching than I have in the last 10 years,” he says. “It’s been incredibly refreshing and reminds me of why so many of us love this business so much. All the accounting, marketing and administrative stuff is important, but none of that compares to seeing a young athlete’s excitement when they learn a new skill.”
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