Advertise on podcast: The Fullout Cheer Podcast

Someone said something negative about your gym. Do you defend yourself publicly, or let it go? When a parent, former employee, or another gym owner criticizes your program, the temptation to respond can be overwhelming. But what if defending your reputation on social media is actually doing more damage than the original accusation? In this episode of the Full Out Cheer Podcast, Danielle Johnston tackles one of the biggest mistakes gym owners make: allowing critics to control their time, energy, and public image. Drawing from her experience owning Twister Sports and her background in Air Force public affairs, Danielle shares real accusations she's faced, why she chose not to respond publicly, and how gym owners can better handle criticism without fueling unnecessary drama. In this episode: Why publicly defending yourself can spread rumors further How social media drama affects your gym's reputation Why former customers shouldn't control your time and attention When criticism deserves a response and when it doesn't How to recognize legitimate feedback, even from unhappy families Why your personal social media matters to your gym's marketing How to protect your reputation through better communication, accountability, and leadership Not every accusation deserves a response. Sometimes you need to investigate, correct a mistake, or have a private conversation. Other times, the smartest decision is to move forward and let your business speak for itself. Every hour you spend defending yourself from people who no longer attend your gym is an hour you're not investing in the athletes, families, and staff who do. Stop letting critics set your agenda. Focus on building a gym worth talking about for the right reasons. Ready to build a stronger gym? Visit https://CheerbizAccelerator.com to learn how the Cheer Biz Accelerator helps gym owners identify what's holding their businesses back and make meaningful improvements. #FullOutCheerPodcast #AllStarCheer #CheerGymOwner #GymLeadership

Are other cheer gyms really poaching your athletes, or is something else happening? When an athlete leaves your all star cheer program for another gym, it's easy to blame the competition. But what if the real issue isn't athlete poaching at all? In this episode of the Full Out Cheer Podcast, Danielle Johnston challenges one of the most common complaints in the cheer industry: "The gym down the road is stealing our athletes." Danielle shares her experiences as a gym owner, explains why she believes true athlete poaching is far less common than people think, and breaks down the difference between actively recruiting an athlete and simply marketing to someone who has shown interest in your program. In this episode, we're talking about: - Why athlete poaching may not be what you think it is - The difference between recruiting, referrals, and automated marketing - Why athletes and parents inquire about other gyms - How gym culture impacts athlete retention - Why restricting athletes from attending other gyms' clinics can backfire - What gym owners should evaluate when athletes consistently leave - How to build a program families genuinely want to stay with The bottom line? You don't own your athletes. You earn their business every month of every season. Instead of spending your energy worrying about what the gym down the road is doing, focus on building an athlete experience and gym culture that makes families want to stay. Want to grow your gym and learn from other successful gym owners?** Visit https://CheerbizAccelerator.com to learn more about the Cheer Biz Accelerator. 🎧 Subscribe to the Full Out Cheer Podcast for honest conversations about coaching, gym ownership, leadership, and the business of all star cheer. #FullOutCheerPodcast #AllStarCheer #CheerGymOwner #AthleteRetention #CheerBusiness

Do you know your gym’s numbers—or are you making your best guess and hoping the money is there? In this episode, Danielle breaks down three reasons cheer gym owners struggle to get a clear picture of their finances: confusing class management reports, payments scattered across too many platforms, and reporting that requires the owner to pull everything manually. She shares how she uses two payment platforms to simplify purchases and track revenue, why active athletes and enrollments are different numbers, and how automated AI reports put her gym’s numbers in front of her every morning by 7 a.m. If you’re tired of guessing, chasing reports, or making it too hard for parents to buy, this episode will help you simplify your systems and make better business decisions.

“I’ll do it when things slow down.” Gym owners, that sentence can keep you stuck for years. Next month won’t magically give you more time to train your staff, fix your systems, or finally get something off your plate. In this short, straight-to-the-point episode, Danielle delivers the wake-up call busy owners need: if nothing changes in how you operate, nothing changes in how overwhelmed you feel. From phone calls that hijack your day to repetitive tasks you could automate, she breaks down two changes you can start making this week—even without a big staff. If you feel too busy to listen, press play. Then block 30 minutes to change something. Your calendar needs more than another promise that next month will be better.

Throwback episode! 🚨 Start-to-the-Season Check-In Time! Remember those goals we set in June? Yeah… we’re revisiting them in this follow-up to the fan-favorite “Rebuilding After Dumpster Fire Season.” Spoiler alert: not everything went according to plan. In this episode, we’re sorting through what worked, what flopped, and what needs a full-on rework before the season officially ramps up. It’s your chance to reflect, reset, and maybe even actually follow through this time. #GoalSetting #PreseasonReset #PersonalGrowth #FullOutTierPodcast #DumpsterFireSeason #ProductivityWithChaos

AI is most useful when it takes a recurring task off your plate. In this episode of the Fullout Cheer Podcast, I share what I automated in my gym in about a day and how those systems help me and my staff stay on top of work that used to get missed. I explain what I use ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok for, with real examples: daily sales reports, retention analysis, inbox cleanup, attendance, and calendar updates. I also talk about the cost, the time it took to set things up, and where I still check the results myself. If you’re a cheer gym owner who wants a practical place to start, pick one task you repeat every week. This episode will help you see what you could automate first.

Why are spectator fees so high? Why do events get canceled? And why does your team sometimes end up competing alone? Danielle sits down with MCDA owner Kim Schaub to discuss five things event producers do that drive gym owners crazy. Kim shares what is really happening behind the scenes, from venue costs and small divisions to scheduling problems, scoring differences and less-than-ideal locations. Danielle brings the gym owner’s perspective, Kim brings the event producer’s side, and neither one holds much back.

Working with family in your cheer gym can be one of the best parts of owning a business... and one of the hardest. After 15 years of owning a family-run gym, Danielle has worked alongside her husband, kids, in-laws and plenty of other family dynamics. In this episode, she shares what she's learned about making those relationships actually work inside the business. From clear roles and accountability to avoiding favoritism, setting boundaries and knowing when NOT to create a job for someone you love, this episode tackles the situations that can quickly turn business problems into family problems. Because working with family can absolutely work. But love and loyalty can't replace structure.

Coaching teenagers is different. They don't want to be treated like little kids, but they're also still learning how to be adults. And if you coach a senior team the same way you coach your minis or youth athletes, you're probably going to create frustration for everyone involved. In this episode, Danielle breaks down what she's learned from more than a decade of coaching senior athletes, raising teenagers, and hosting teenage exchange students. She talks about why teenagers often need immediate consequences, why tone doesn't always mean what you think it means, how their best effort can look different from one practice to the next, and the coaching mistakes that can make an athlete shut down completely. Most importantly, she explains why you can't demand respect from teenage athletes. You have to earn it. From handling corrections without embarrassing athletes to respecting the parts of their lives that have nothing to do with cheer, this episode is about learning to “speak teenager” and becoming the kind of coach your senior athletes trust, respect, and want to work hard for.

If you've ever tried to explain all star cheer to someone outside the industry, you already know how ridiculous it can sound. In this episode, Danielle sits down with comedian, former teacher, and award-winning social media creator Jay Yoder to talk about his unexpected introduction to the cheer world as a dad. From vicious team names being yelled for tiny children to confusing score sheets, rhinestone-covered merchandise, 5 a.m. arrival times, expensive competition weekends, and coaches absolutely losing their minds in front of the mat, Jay shares the parts of cheer culture that still make him stop and ask, “Is this normal?” But behind the comedy is a bigger conversation about what makes the cheer community special. Jay shares how cheer became a way to connect with his daughter, Alicia, who has autism, why inclusion matters to their family, and how coaches can become some of the most influential adults in an athlete's life. It's funny, honest, and a reminder that all star cheer makes very little sense from the outside... until somehow you're completely invested in it.

Back-to-school season is here, which means families are getting back into routines, schedules are filling up, and everyone is competing for their attention. So we’re bringing back an episode that couldn’t be more timely. In this throwback episode, Danielle shares five creative ways gym owners can take advantage of the back-to-school rush and turn it into more visibility and enrollments. She covers when to run your fall ads, how to time an open house, getting involved with local schools and back-to-school nights, simple events that bring new families through your doors, and ways to turn your current athletes into some of your best marketing. You don’t have to reinvent your marketing every fall. Sometimes it’s about showing up in the right places, at the right time, with an offer families actually notice. This episode originally aired previously, but the strategies are just as relevant today — and back-to-school season is the perfect time to put them to work.

Every gym owner will eventually deal with an angry parent, frustrated employee, or emotional customer. The question isn't whether it will happen. It's how you'll respond when it does. After witnessing a heated confrontation between a passenger and an airline gate agent, Danielle breaks down the leadership mistakes that escalated the situation and the lessons every gym owner can apply. She shares practical strategies for de-escalating conflict, maintaining professionalism under pressure, setting boundaries without becoming defensive, and refusing to let someone else's emotions dictate your own. The strongest leaders aren't the ones who win arguments. They're the ones who stay composed when everyone else loses their cool.

Every gym owner will eventually have to deliver bad news. Whether it's leveling down a team, changing payroll, losing a staff member, canceling an event, or making an unpopular business decision, difficult conversations are part of leadership. In this episode, Danielle shares the biggest mistakes leaders make when delivering bad news and the five principles that can help protect your culture during challenging moments. You'll learn why important conversations should happen face-to-face, why your managers should never be caught off guard, how to handle emotional reactions professionally, and why finding the ""win"" matters more than you think. Bad news is inevitable. Damaging your culture doesn't have to be.

You can spend months reviewing reports, coaching calls, and financials with another gym owner, but there are some things you'll never understand until you walk through their doors. After spending a day inside a client's gym, Danielle shares the biggest lessons she learned by observing classes, staff interactions, leadership, operations, and customer experience firsthand. From identifying the right people for the right roles to spotting coaching opportunities, improving retention, and seeing how branding translates into the in-person experience, this episode highlights why fresh eyes can uncover blind spots that numbers never will. Sometimes the biggest breakthrough isn't changing your business. It's finally seeing it from a different perspective.

A parent walked into my office furious about classes, policies, and staff. Forty minutes later, we were both in tears. In this episode, I share one of the most difficult parent conversations I've had in 15 years as a gym owner and the leadership lessons that came from it. As owners and coaches, we'll eventually encounter people carrying pain we can't see. That doesn't mean we ignore poor behavior or sacrifice our culture. It means learning one of leadership's hardest skills: showing genuine compassion while still maintaining healthy boundaries. In this episode, we'll discuss: Why the complaint is often not the real problem How to protect your staff without escalating conflict The difference between empathy and enabling Why boundaries are not punishment How grief and hardship can explain behavior without excusing it Why "no" can still be the most compassionate answer If you've ever struggled with a difficult parent, employee, or customer, this episode will challenge the way you think about leadership, accountability, and kindness.