Paige J Gerber

🎤 9th Grade Cheer Interviews: Meet Sabrina🧡🩶

Sabrina might admit to forgetting a cheer or two 😂 but she knows exactly what makes this team special!

Hardworking. Supportive. Teamwork. 🫶

My favorite part of these interviews is hearing how much these girls value the friendships and family they’ve built together.

And apparently, I have a 10/10 patience rating?! 😂 I’ll take it!

Also, yes, I really do tell them they’re the best ninth grade team I’ve ever coached. And I mean it! 🧡

🎤 9th Grade Cheer Interviews: Meet Jessica!🧡🩶

Apparently, my most-used word is HUSTLE, my silence is terrifying, and NO ONE would dare argue with me. 😂💀

Jessica is spilling the team tea, calling out a few teammates, and making sure we all know who’s surviving the zombie apocalypse. 🧟‍♀️

I love hearing what these girls have to say when I put them on the spot! 😂

I gave my 9th grade cheerleaders HOMEWORK before competition season… and what happened at our next practice is something I think every cheer coach needs to see. 🧡📣

I asked each athlete to write down three fears they have going into competition season.

Then we sat down as a team and talked about them.

Because here’s the thing… we spend HOURS teaching our athletes how to hit their skills, but how much time do we spend teaching them how to believe they can?

This was one of those coaching moments that reminded me why I love what I do.

And I want to take you inside the actual practice! Not just tell you about the exercise, but SHOW you how I facilitated it, what my athletes shared, and how we worked through those fears together.

🎥 THE FULL PRACTICE VIDEO IS NOW ON MY YOUTUBE!

Head to Tumbling-through-life on YouTube to watch the entire exercise!

🔗 https://youtu.be/YXPfg188nKQ

And COACHES! I also turned this exercise into my Fear to Fierce downloadable coaching resource so you can bring it to your own team!

Because sometimes the most important thing we teach our athletes has nothing to do with cheerleading. 🧡

Just a cheer coach casually painting the longest poster of her life in record time. 😂🧡

Tomorrow is our SKYRIDGE INVITATIONAL!! And we’re not just competing… we’re hosting the whole dang thing! 🫠

The behind-the-scenes chaos of youth cheer is something else, and I can’t wait to bring you along for the ride!

A whole lot of planning, a little bit of panic, and an unreasonable amount of orange paint. 🧡🖤

Stay tuned… tomorrow is going to be a PARTY! 📣

What if the advice you give your teammate is exactly what you need to hear yourself? 🧡

Today we took our fears and started turning them into affirmations.

One of my favorite things about this exercise is watching my athletes realize they’re not the only ones who are scared. Everyone has fears. Everyone has doubts. And sometimes the person standing right next to you needs a little extra encouragement.

When we know what our teammates are afraid of, we know where they need us most.

Because confidence isn’t always something you find on your own. Sometimes your team helps you find it. 🧡

**COACHES!** Want to try this exercise with your own team? I put together my **Fear to Fierce** coaching resource with everything you need to walk your athletes through this activity and help them turn competition fears into confidence!

🧡 **Grab it on my Linktree — link in bio!**

TumblingThroughLife

If your coach says there are a few mid-third attitudes on the team… assume they’re talking about YOU. 👏

Not because you’re doing something wrong, but because there’s always room to be better.

I loved how Pheebe challenged our 9th graders today. Instead of looking around wondering who needs to step it up, ask yourself, ”How can I bring MY attitude up even more?”

That’s how we build a team full of TOP THIRD attitudes. 🧡

Ayda is up next in our 9th grade interview chats! 🎤🧡

More name dropping, teammate shoutouts, and apparently some very dramatic personalities on this team. 😂

But my favorite answer was how you know when Coach Paige is mad…

Apparently my silence speaks louder than my yelling. 😂 And she’s not wrong!

I swear these interviews are teaching me just as much about myself as they are about the girls!

Elise Pursiful is up next in our 9th grade interview chats! 🎤🧡

These interviews have become one of my favorite things to share! 😂 Between the teammate shoutouts, unexpected answers, and all the different personalities, these girls keep me entertained.

It’s so fun getting to know this team beyond the routines and stunts. 🧡