In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton sits down with Cat Haley of the Cat Haley Method to talk about one of the most misunderstood parts of athlete development in all star cheer: flexibility, strength, and safe body training. Cat shares her story from a small-town athlete in Maine to a World Champion with Stingrays Orange, and how multiple ACL injuries, years of coaching, and the unexpected shift during COVID led her to build a virtual training business that now helps thousands of athletes around the world. This conversation goes far beyond “how to get a better heel stretch.” Dan and Cat break down what most cheer coaches are still getting wrong about flexibility training, why holding stretches too long can actually backfire, why strength is a critical part of improving mobility, and how poor flexibility training methods can contribute to back pain, hip issues, and long-term wear on the body. They also talk about jump technique, body awareness, injury prevention, and why flexibility work is often overlooked in gyms even though it plays such a major role in athlete performance. If you’re a cheer gym owner, coach, or program director, this episode will challenge the way you think about athlete development and give you a smarter, safer framework for building stronger, healthier, more confident cheer athletes.

In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton sits down with Alli Doiron and Jordan Arsenault, the co-owners of 506 Elite, to talk about what it really looks like to build a cheer gym from the ground up. From joking about opening a gym together to actually creating one of their own in New Brunswick, this conversation dives into the real story behind their journey. Alli and Jordan share how they built a program centered on culture, inclusivity, hard work, and athlete support. They talk about opening a gym when their previous program was closing, building a coaching staff that is fully aligned, creating individualized coaching systems for athletes, and balancing fun with accountability in a way that actually works. They also break down how they structure their elite and premier programs, why they bring in guest coaches, how they handle smaller team sizes intentionally, and what they are most excited about heading into the next season. If you are a cheer gym owner, coach, or entrepreneur, this episode is packed with real insight on partnership, leadership, staff development, gym culture, and building a program that reflects your values.

What should cheer gyms be posting on social media in 2026? In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton sits down with Sara Walsh to talk about cheer gym marketing, social media strategy, content creation, branding, and how gym owners can use modern marketing to grow their programs online. Sara shares her perspective as a longtime cheer industry professional, marketing expert, former coach, cheer mom, and the current marketing and social media manager for CheerSport Sharks. They break down what gym owners should look for when handing social media off to a staff member, how to build systems that make content creation easier, and why posting constant promotional graphics is not enough anymore. Sara explains the difference between content that builds connection, content that builds trust, and content that drives conversions, along with why cheer gyms need all three if they want to grow. Dan and Sara also talk about the biggest social media mistakes cheer gyms are making, how to create more authentic content, why organic posts outperform overly polished content, and how AI can help with marketing without replacing a real human voice. They also discuss SEO for cheer gyms, keywords in captions, Facebook and Instagram strategy, and what gym owners need to know about social media trends in 2026. If you are a cheer gym owner, all star cheer coach, gym director, or marketing staff member trying to get more leads, increase enrollment, improve your brand, and create better social media content for your cheer gym, this episode is packed with practical advice you can use right away.