The Athlete Buy-In Blueprint

In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton breaks down one of the most common frustrations in all star cheer: how to get more commitment, dedication, and buy-in from your athletes. After 22 years of coaching, Dan shares what actually works to build teams that show up, work hard, and care about standards—without pretending you can magically guarantee perfect attendance or perfect attitudes. You’ll learn how to build identity first so performance follows, create team values and shared language, and use rituals that make athletes feel like they belong. Dan also explains how to focus on growth over outcomes, praise effort and progress, normalize mistakes in practice, and create structured autonomy so athletes feel ownership without coaches losing control. This episode also covers the leadership side: building strong coach-athlete relationships, checking in emotionally, correcting wisely, and creating a practice environment athletes don’t want to miss. If you’re a cheer gym owner, coach, or program director who wants better effort, stronger culture, and more consistent attendance, this is your blueprint to build dedicated teams the right way.