Vault: Cheer Moms Are Out Of Control!

Summary

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The Bert Show — Vault: Cheer Moms Are Out Of Control!

Host: The Bert Show Cast (Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy & more)
Release Date: February 5, 2026
Theme: Exploring the high-stakes, highly competitive, and often outrageous subculture of cheer moms in youth cheerleading.

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the often-overlooked, ultra-competitive world of "cheer moms," inspired by an email from a listener who's newly initiated into the scene. Comparing the stereotype of the "stage dad" in sports to mothers in cheerleading, the hosts and their callers examine the intense parental involvement, rivalry, and drama among moms (and sometimes dads) on the competitive cheer circuit. The conversation uncovers not only the spectacle of cheer moms, including those who dress as cheerleaders themselves, but also issues of parental pressure, emotional stakes, and the impact on the kids.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Cheer Moms vs. Stage Dads

[00:00–01:45]

• The episode begins with an email from a listener drawing parallels between “stage dads” in sports and “cheer moms” in cheerleading.
• The listener admits to strong negative biases toward cheerleading cliques but is now questioning her objectivity due to bizarre behaviors she's witnessing: yelling, backstabbing, intense competitiveness, and moms dressing up in cheer attire.

Quote:
“But it sure seems to me that the majority of the mothers of these cheerleaders are taking this way too seriously... I’ve seen moms cake on their makeup and dress in cheer attire as though they are competing right alongside their daughters.” (Email, read by Host - [00:47])

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2. Cheerleader Moms Dressing Up: Fact or Fiction?

[01:45–03:24]

• The idea that adult women attend cheer competitions dressed as cheerleaders sparks incredulity and debate among the hosts.
• Multiple hosts confirm, from personal experience, that while most moms do not wear actual cheer uniforms, many “deck out” in team colors, heavy makeup, and elaborate accessories to the point of potentially upstaging their own kids.

Quotes:
“Adult women go to cheer competitions, dress like cheerleaders.” — Skeptical host ([01:48])
“I didn’t see them in, like, not the cheer outfits, but totally decked out as if they were, like, going on dates... a huge parade of moms just making sure they look the best, their daughters look the best, the teams look the best.” — Former cheerleader host ([02:29])

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3. Call-ins: Confirmation and First-Hand Accounts

[03:26–04:46]

• Listeners begin calling in, confirming the chaotic atmosphere: fierce parental involvement, high drama, and affirmation that “cheer mom” behavior is not unique to any one area.

Quote:
“They take it really, really serious...They are. I mean, like, I grew up to call it full makeup and everything and just, you know, really into... they are living, reliving those through their daughters.” — Caller Michelle ([03:36], [04:13])

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4. The Scale of the Phenomenon

[04:57–07:23]

• Another caller recounts experiencing the same levels of drama in multiple counties: harsh practices for young children, catty parent rivalries, and the pressure for children as young as four.
• Hosts are both amused and concerned at the request to hear from a mom who actually dresses in cheer attire.

Quote:
“I took [my daughter] out and I’m like, forget this... I decided to wait another year and... it was just as bad. The cattiness and... mothers pitching fits... because they didn’t like that particular person on their team.” — Caller Susan ([05:00–06:27])

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5. The Coach’s Perspective

[07:34–08:15]

• A recreational cheer coach affirms that the moms are often more invested than the children, calling the parental behavior “mortifying and embarrassing” for the girls.

Quote:
“The mothers are more into it than the girls are.” — Coach Ashley ([07:46])

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6. Over-the-Top Parental Involvement

[09:02–10:56]

• A longtime coach details extreme displays: both moms and some dads dressing up, team-colored mohawks, and constant gossip among parents.

Notable Quote:
“They will literally dress from head to toe... at cheer sport in downtown Atlanta, one of the biggest competitions in the country... They are just totally over the top when it comes to cheerleading.” — Darren, Coach ([09:08], [09:42])

• Surveying the broader landscape, Darren estimates:
  “There’s about 40% sane and 60% hardcore, and they’re living their life through their kids.” ([10:46])

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7. A Real Cheer Mom Speaks Up

[12:00–16:53]

• Ashley, a self-described “cheer mom,” calls in to confirm she and her sister-in-law wear cheerleader outfits to competitions. She describes initially being shocked at the behavior but then getting “sucked into it.”
• Ashley stresses she doesn’t relive her cheer days through her daughter; instead, she is often frustrated by the intensity of the coaches and the pressure put on kids as young as seven.

Notable Exchanges:

• “We get fully dressed up in our, you know, mom attire.” — Ashley ([13:38])

• “I looked at these moms going, oh my goodness, what have I got myself into? But... you get sucked into it. You don’t realize it. I might be the only mom that’s brave enough to call, but I’m definitely not the only mom that does it.” — Ashley ([13:51])

• The hosts gently rib Ashley but acknowledge her honesty, ultimately agreeing that too little parental involvement is much worse than too much.

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8. Is This a New Trend? Origins and Escalation

[17:13–19:39]

• A final caller, Kate, insists this phenomenon isn’t new. She recalls psycho-cheer-moms from the 1980s, including sabotage of other girls for personal gain—injuries, manipulations, and even attempts at disqualification.
• The discussion references notorious real-life cases (like the Texas "cheer mom" murder plot) and observes how cheerleading has evolved from a hype squad for sports teams into a competitive sport in its own right.

Notable Story:
“I was actually injured very badly... one of the mothers had their daughter... throw me off the back... I was out for six weeks with surgery. I lost homecoming queen... To this day, I still have arthritis.” — Kate ([17:13–18:03])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I bet that we have people that have gone that could either confirm or deny that.” — Host Bert, doubting yet curious ([01:59])
• “Can we please, please, please, please, please get a phone call from someone who dresses — an adult who dresses like a cheerleader? Please...” — Host Cassie, gleeful plea ([06:41])
• “There could be worse things... the fact that these parents are uber-involved is great... It’s a little over the top, but it’s better than not being involved at all.” — Host Kristin ([16:37])
• “Forget The Hills, there should just be a show called Cheer Mom...” — Host Cassie ([11:12])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00–01:45 — Episode introduction; reading the pivotal listener email
• 01:45–03:24 — Hosts debate: Do cheer moms really dress the part?
• 03:26–04:46 — Callers confirm the extreme environment
• 07:34–08:15 — Recreational cheer coach weighs in
• 09:02–10:56 — Veteran coach describes parental antics, stats on “hardcore” vs. “sane”
• 12:00–15:25 — Ashley, a real-life dress-up cheer mom, opens up
• 17:13–18:51 — Kate’s story: this isn't a new phenomenon
• 19:05–19:39 — Final reflections; evolution of cheerleading from support squad to fierce competition

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Tone & Takeaways

• The episode is a blend of humor, disbelief, and genuine concern about the impact of this "cheer mom" culture on children.
• Hosts and callers alike approach the subject with both amusement and empathy, drawing on personal experiences to paint a vivid picture.
• The consensus echoes the sentiment that while over-involvement can be overwhelming, it comes from a place of parental love and passion—albeit sometimes taken to extremes.

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This episode offers a revealing, entertaining look at the phenomenon of competitive cheer moms: their motivations, excesses, and the culture they've built on the sidelines of America’s cheerleading arenas.

Transcript

[Bert]

The first show. I gotta read you guys an email because we've all seen the stereotypical like not stage dad, but you know, like 30, 40 year old husband that's pushing his son so hard in sports. And it's just so obvious in some cases that he's like living out his professional sports fantasy that he never got to do himself through his son.

[Jeff]

Oh, absolutely. You see him on the soccer fields in the Little League all the time.

[Bert]

You see it. I mean, that's the cliche. Well, we've got one listener that has emailed that is seeing the same thing, but it doesn't have anything to do with boys and it doesn't have anything to do with dad's coaching. It has everything to do with cheering and cheer moms.

[Jeff]

It's like a stage mom, but it's a cheerleader mom.

[Bert]

Yeah. And she's new to this world and she's seeing some things that aren't making sense to her. I'll read her email to you in just one second here. The email reads like this. Dear Bert, hi. I don't have the guts to call in, so I need your help with something. Besides, if I called in, I'm afraid I'd do my daughter some real social harm. My daughter is new to the whole cheer competition thing. I was never a cheerleader. In all honesty, I detested the cheerleaders and their cliques when I was growing up. That's why I'm not sure if my judgment is clouded or not. But it sure seems to me that the majority of the mothers of these cheerleaders are taking this way too seriously. I know the sports cliche is the father that is living his own dream while he pushes his son too hard into playing sports. But I'm beginning to think the same thing is happening with the moms in these cheer competitions. I've seen moms yell at their daughters. I've seen moms backstab each other right after they have a casual conversation with the same mother. I've seen moms cake on their makeup and dress in cheer attire as though they are competing right alongside their daughters.

[Melissa]

You're telling a lie right now. You made that line up.

[Bert]

No, I didn't.

[Melissa]

Adult women go to cheer competitions, dress like cheerleaders.

[Bert]

That is what she's saying. I have never been to one.

[Melissa]

That right there is worth going to a cheer competition.

[Bert]

I bet that we have people that have gone that could either confirm or deny that.

[Melissa]

I would risk the ridicule.

[Bert]

Shut up.

[Jeff]

Moms.

[Bert]

Get over here.

[Melissa]

Dress like cheerleaders.

[Jeff]

Like, in the skirt and everything, or do they just wear the same colors? Because I can see a mom being supportive in the team colors.

[Melissa]

I will go to a cheer, because isn't there one at the Georgia Dome? I'll go to that. The same reason people go to Dragon Con. Watch the show.

[Bert]

Who wants to go first?

[Jen]

I didn't see. Well, I used to do this. The competition, cheerleading back in, like, beginning of high school, elementary, middle school and stuff. And the moms.

[Bert]

I guess not.

[Jen]

I didn't see them in, like, not the cheer outfits, but total decked out as if they were, like, going on dates, like, completely. It's like a huge parade of moms just making sure they look the best, their daughters look the best, the teams look the best, Their colors, their buttons, the ribbons, everything. It was in crazy.

[Bert]

It's hardcore.

[Jen]

My mom hated it.

[Michelle]

And my daughter's competition of mothers come dressed as cheerleaders.

[Melissa]

No, they don't.

[Michelle]

Yes, they do.

[Jeff]

No, they don't.

[Michelle]

They have the competitions, the little skirt and. Oh, wow, pigtails sometimes.

[Melissa]

So will they dress in the same cheerleading uniform?

[Michelle]

Yeah, pigtails they are. Cheerleading is a very serious sport.

[Ashley]

I get that.

[Melissa]

So is football, but guys don't wear full football.

[Michelle]

It's very serious. And they will sit on the side when their daughter's team go and cheer. And they're kind of over there kind of doing the cheer with them. And they have the whole cheerleader outfit on.

[Jeff]

I mean, I can see everything up until. The outfit.

[Michelle]

Nah.

[Jeff]

Wow. The outfit and the pigtails.

[Bert]

Good morning, Michelle, you're on Q100. Hi.

[Caller Michelle]

Hi.

[Bert]

Hi.

[Caller Michelle]

I just wanted to say I'm new to the cheer mom thing, and it's a totally different world for me.

[Bert]

In what way?

[Caller Michelle]

The parents are. Well, not all the parents. Well, we have some dads, too, who are just into it, as the moms are, but they take it really, really serious. They're there. I mean, like, I grew up to call it full makeup and everything and just, you know, really into, well, what team is your daughter on it. You should be doing this. And if my daughter's not doing this and I'm going to be leaving and going somewhere else, they are.

[Bert]

They just really take it dad equivalent. Like, because dad couldn't make it to the pros, and he's pushing his son to be, like, a football player or a baseball player. Is this just that moms can't cheer anymore because those days are behind them and they are living reliving those through their daughters?

[Caller Michelle]

Is that what's going on oh, yes, definitely.

[Melissa]

For the record, Bird hasn't even finished the email yet, have you?

[Bert]

There's only two lines left, and it's not nearly as shocking as that line I just gave you. I've seen moms cake on their makeup and dress in cheer attire. Michelle, you've seen that?

[Caller Michelle]

Yes.

[Bert]

As though they were competing right alongside their daughter. I don't think I've seen this type of stage mom discussed yet. And it also says, do I just need to change my daughter's cheer squad, or is this pretty typical? Thanks for the help. So do you think that different cheer squads in different parts of the city would be any different than where she is, or is this just kind of a broad feeling that you get?

[Caller Michelle]

I think it's all over. No matter where you are, you're gonna have that. No matter what gym you go to, you're gonna have those moms.

[Bert]

Really?

[Melissa]

Wow. Beautiful.

[Joe]

Crazy.

[Bert]

Good morning. Susan, you're on Q100.

[Ashley]

Okay. I can attest that in different counties, it's just as bad. I've got a seven year old daughter, and we started doing the cheer thing when she was about four and a half. She was like a team mascot. And that was in Gwinnett County. And they made us go to three days. I think it was an hour and a half practice per week, you know, and my daughter was, you know, four and a half, and they practice, they were so hard on her. They would all be sweating and the moms are all screaming at the kids to pay attention. And I'm like, it's too much for just. I mean, it was ridiculous. And then, you know, I took. I took her out and I'm like, forget this after that year. And I decided to wait another year and we moved to Gainesville, to Hall county. And I thought, well, I'm going to try it out and see how this goes. It was just as bad. I mean, the practices weren't as much, but the cattiness and just, I mean, you know, when they switched the teams and all the kids got on their little team, they were mothers, pitch and fits because, you know, they didn't like that particular person on their team. So then they were raising heck. Oh, I don't want to be next to her. And, you know, I want to be on the better team. I don't want to be on this team. They're all new kids and.

[Jeff]

And these are.

[Bert]

These are five year olds you're talking about.

[Ashley]

It's just out of control.

[Melissa]

Can we please, please.

[Ashley]

I think parents need to take a step Back and think these are just kids and they just want to have a good time. They don't care about the competition part.

[Melissa]

Can we please, please, please, please, please get a phone call from someone who dresses. An adult who dresses like a cheerleader? Please, I promise I won't make fun of you. I just. I swear to God, I just want.

[Joe]

To know where they do it.

[Melissa]

I swear I will just. Nope. I just want to listen.

[Ashley]

I'm gonna ask them to come in.

[Caller Michelle]

So that you can look at that.

[Melissa]

I just want to listen. I want you to explain why. That's it. I swear I won't even talk. Can we all swear not to make fun of him, Please?

[Bert]

No.

[Caller Michelle]

Please, no, no, no.

[Melissa]

Not when they're on the phone after the hang up. We can evaluate the call.

[Bert]

Okay? That's the brave thing, Melissa.

[Jeff]

All right.

[Bert]

Did you just say we can evaluate.

[Darren]

The call right now?

[Melissa]

We're not going to make fun. We're going to evaluate the call.

[Joe]

Okay, Javi.

[Jeff]

I can't laugh at all while she's talking. Okay, all right.

[Bert]

Please. I promise we won't judge. We'll just evaluate the call when you're not with us. Anything upright.

[Darren]

We're not.

[Bert]

Yeah. Hey, Ashley, you're on Q100. Good morning.

[Melissa]

Thank you in advance.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

Hey, good morning, y'.

[Joe]

All.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

I was a recreational cheerleading coach for 9, 10, and 11 year olds a few years ago. So I was on the outside looking in with all the parents because I wasn't a parent.

[Darren]

I was the coach.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

And it is ridiculous and mortifying and embarrassing to those young girls for their mothers to be like that. The mothers are more into it than the girls are.

[Jeff]

Yeah.

[Joe]

It's that what's living through your kid.

[Bert]

I guess that's what it is, right? Because the. The time to cheer for moms gone. So to relive all those years, they're doing it through their five year old.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

Absolutely.

[Joe]

And I think the dad's the same thing. It's not, you know, it's. It's what Bert said. Plus, you have your peer group and you have your bragging rights, and you have, you know, it's all about the parent. It's not about the kid.

[Bert]

Now I'm wondering when mom shows up to the competition in her adult cheerleading outfit, the celebrity hotline might be ringing right now.

[Melissa]

I got it.

[Bert]

If the kids are, like, embarrassed like mom, you can't be dressing like a cheerleader like me. I'm five years old.

[Joe]

The sad thing is, I don't think a five year old's gonna Protest as much as. I mean, I don't know. That's sad. And a four and a half year old at a practice for an hour and a half. For what? To sweat and be yelled at? Like boot camp?

[Michelle]

My daughter had competition and practice was Friday and they had to be there at six and we didn't leave till like 8:30 at night.

[Joe]

That is ridiculous.

[Michelle]

Five and six year olds are exhausted. They cannot literally jump any more time. Practice is over.

[Joe]

Well, maybe that's the reason why the parents take them home. Just put them to bed.

[Bert]

Darren, Good morning. Your IQ 100. I run him. Hey.

[Darren]

Hey, Bert. How you doing, man?

[Bert]

Good, man. What's going on?

[Darren]

Not much. I'm a coach myself and I'm just talking from experience. These parents are a little bit over the top. They will literally dress from head to toe, exactly what Jeff says. At cheer sport in downtown Atlanta, one of the biggest competitions in the country. And they don't care. They, you know, they will back. They will totally go from head to toe. The parents are there 24, seven. You know, they're sitting at the gyms, they're talking behind each other's backs. They're friends one minute and then totally like bashing each other the next. You know, they just don't care. These parents are just totally over the top when it comes to cheerleading.

[Joe]

It's like mean girls.

[Darren]

Yeah, well, that time's five. Yeah, it's really bad.

[Jeff]

I wonder if they ever have to stop at like the gas station on the way home and they're embarrassed to get out of the car in their cheerleading outfit. You know what I mean? Like when you dress up for Halloween and you're in your costume and you're going to the costume party, so you're gonna be fine when you go to the party, but you gotta stop off and like hit the mall real quick first or for whatever reason you have to get out of the car. Like in a normal people setting. Like, do they get out in their cheerleader outfits? Imagine if they get pulled over and get a Coke.

[Melissa]

What if they got pulled over drunk.

[Darren]

And they had to do the walk? Would mainly. See, like, if you're in a competition, some of the dads even get involved. No, there's a couple dads that I saw that had mohawks like spray painted blue and their wife's hair were bright pink to match their teen colors. And they're walking and their kids are just right behind them. Yeah, this is my dad and blah, blah, blah. And it's causing all this attention. You're like, what in the world is going on now?

[Bert]

As a general rule, before we wrap it up, as a general rule, are most of the cheerleading moms pretty sane and pretty cool about it? And there's just a handful that are this hardcore, or what percentage are we looking at?

[Darren]

I would say there's about 40% sane and 60% hardcore, and they're living their life through their kids.

[Bert]

And you've been doing this for how long now?

[Darren]

Going on 10 years.

[Bert]

10 years. And he says it's ridiculous. 60% are freaky crazy. We just stumbled onto this very dark world. Apparently, 60% of the moms that go to these things are a little over the top. 40%. They get it. They've got some perspective on it.

[Joe]

Forget the hills. There should be just. Joe just called cheer mom, and it just be this reality show about one of these things. If they haven't done that, I believe.

[Bert]

They haven't done that already. The email that started this whole thing, just the one meat of the paragraph was this. It says, sure. Seems to me that the majority of the mothers of these cheerleaders are taking this way too seriously. I know the sports cliche is the father that is living his own dream while he pushes his son too hard in playing sports. But I'm beginning to think the same thing's happening to moms in these cheer competitions. I've seen moms yell at their daughters. I've seen moms backstab each other right after they have a casual conversation with the same mother. And this is the one that really threw us. I've seen moms cake on their makeup and dress in cheer attire as though they were competing right alongside their daughters. And Ashley says I'm one of those. Hey, Ashley.

[Ashley]

Hello.

[Bert]

How are you?

[Ashley]

I'm wonderful.

[Bert]

Okay. How old is your daughter?

[Ashley]

My daughter is 7.

[Bert]

7 years old. And she's been cheering in these competitions for how long?

[Ashley]

Well, technically, this. This will be her third year doing it. Her first year was like the caller you had earlier. She competes in Gwinnett county, and they allow the kindergartners to be like mascots for the cheerleading squad. So this will actually be her third year competing in cheerleading, but she's only in second grade.

[Bert]

Do you agree or disagree with the coach that we had on earlier that said 60% of you guys are loco?

[Ashley]

I agree. I thoroughly agree. We go to competition every year, and it's. It's a pretty big deal. Cheerleading competition is a pretty big deal. Last year it was. Yeah, it was. It was pretty insane. It was pretty insane. My parents get really intense.

[Jeff]

I'd like to hear more about the costumes.

[Ashley]

There is actually, there's actually a shop in Gwinnett county that I know. Most of the athletic associations have their own shop where you can go get customized things for your team and your squad. And there's one in Gwinnett county that you can buy all the way from a brand new preemie baby girl cheerleading outfit. A full grown mother cheerleading outfit. And I have twins, actually. I have a little boy who is actually on the football team that my daughter cheers for. And then I have my sister in law who has a niece that is two weeks older than my daughter and she's also on the cheerleading squad. So we get fully dressed up and our, you know, mom attire.

[Joe]

So you and your sister in law wear your cheerleading outfits while your children cheer?

[Ashley]

That is correct. Y' all can chastise me. I know, because when my daughter.

[Joe]

We made a promise. We made a promise there will be no chastisement.

[Ashley]

You know, it's fine because when my daughter went into it in kindergarten as a mascot, I looked at these moms going, oh my goodness, what have I got myself into? But you, you really, I think Jen said it earlier, you just, you get sucked into it. You don't realize it. And I know I might be the only mom that's brave enough to call, but I'm definitely not the only mom that does it.

[Joe]

Like the mafia.

[Bert]

We're assuming that you were exactly. You were a cheerleader when you were younger.

[Ashley]

I was. I was a cheerleader from first grade all the way through high school except for my senior year. And that is because I had my daughter, but she was right there with me and I didn't care.

[Bert]

Do you get a, like, are you sort of like reliving like your past glory cheering days through your daughter now?

[Ashley]

I don't.

[Jeff]

Because she did steal that last year away from you.

[Ashley]

No, no. But that's fine. I wouldn't give my daughter up for any cheerleading thing in the world.

[Bert]

Maybe you would.

[Ashley]

Maybe. No, I wouldn't. I don't. I don't think I, I live it through her because I, I kind of get aggravated at her coaches sometimes because they are so hard on them because they are seven years old and seven year old girls aren't going to stick it and their arms aren't going to.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

Be straight and they're going to fall.

[Ashley]

When they, you know, do their cartwheels and their legs aren't going to be perfect. And some of the coaches, my sister in law and I had to get onto the coaches. Like, look, they're seven. They're not gonna be perfect.

[Melissa]

Really?

[Ashley]

Well, we wanna show our support for them. And my husband's just as bad at the football games. He doesn't dress up in football attire, but he's out there just as team dad.

[Darren]

If you don't wanna be our first.

[Melissa]

Cheer mom, when do you plan on starting to teach them that perfection is a good thing?

[Ashley]

I'm sorry, I didn't hear you.

[Melissa]

Well, don't you think right now by letting them know that mediocrity exists, then you're setting them up for a lifetime of just being average? And wouldn't you want them? And don't you think that's what the coaches are trying to do and you're screwing it up?

[Ashley]

If they were 15, I could be like, okay, you know what, be hard on them, that's fine. But when you're yelling at my 7 year old because she bent her legs.

[Caller Michelle]

Doing a cartwheel, that's a little over the top.

[Melissa]

Maybe your 7 year old's legs should be straight when she's doing a cartwheel.

[Bert]

Ashley, thank you for calling.

[Ashley]

Not a problem.

[Bert]

Bye. Bye.

[Ashley]

Bye.

[Bert]

At least she. That's like stepping in a loco. You know how we do? We're stepping in a psycho. Like, you see it and you don't care. You just go in.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Bert]

There's something endearing about her because she's.

[Melissa]

Embraced it and she knows.

[Jeff]

She's like, you guys are evaluating the phone call now?

[Bert]

I think that's what we're doing.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Melissa]

I got no evaluation because she was so honest about it. She was like, if there was, if.

[Joe]

She was coming, she didn't have attitude.

[Jeff]

If you take a step back, I mean, there could be worse things. There are lots of parents that neglect their children. So the fact that these parents are uber involved is great. You know, it is great that they're this involved in their kid's life. It's a little over the top if you ask me, but it's better than not being involved at all.

[Joe]

Well, I think for her too. She also said that she thinks it's too much to yell at her seven year old for not sticking it or not having her legs straight. But if she had been the mom to come in and say that my daughter needs, you know, like, if she was critical of her own daughter because of it, I think that's just as much neglect as anything else. If you are too hard on your kid that young.

[Bert]

Hey, Kate.

[Ashley]

Yes.

[Bert]

Good morning.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

Good Morning.

[Bert]

You're on Q100. Hi.

[Ashley]

Hi.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

I was going to mention that this is really not a new trend, though. I cheered for 10 years back in the 80s, early 90s. And we had mothers back then that were stepping into psycho quite frequently. I was actually injured very badly. I was up for homecoming court. We did a combination of voting and earning points for attending, doing fundraisers, going to regionals. And we were doing our photo shoot for our regional picture. And one of the mothers had their daughter, who I was on her back because I was. I'll put it nicely, I was lighter than she was. And the daughter threw me off the back. And I injured my knee very badly. And I was out for six weeks with surgery. I lost homecoming queen. I couldn't participate in regionals. My alternate had to step up.

[Ashley]

And to this day, I still have.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

Arthritis very bad in that knee from that injury. I continued to cheer after I recovered.

[Ashley]

But it was very psycho.

[Jeff]

That is so Tonya Harding.

[Bert]

It is. Man.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

And the alternates, mothers aren't any better. Because where I came from in Florida, our alternates, the girls that didn't make.

[Ashley]

Cheerleading squad would comprise the dance squad that was the B squad.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

And when something would happen like my injury, One of the dance squad girls would get to move up and be a cheerleader for a time. And we had a mother that was actually dating a very young teacher at our school. And somehow, amidst the pillow talk, he let it slip that he had actually been with one of the cheerleaders.

[Bert]

Oh, no.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

And the mother went to the school board and tried to turn her in to get her removed from the squad so that her. Her daughter could move up from the dance squad.

[Melissa]

Wow.

[Jeff]

Wow.

[Bert]

This is real cutthroat you're talking about.

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

Yeah, it was really, really bad.

[Joe]

Remember that? There's one there, a story out of Texas where mother had to go to trial because she plotted to kill her daughter's cheer mate.

[Bert]

Or forgot about that. See, I thought, like, the cheerleading just against each other was fairly new, like. But you're saying this was in the 80s?

[Former Cheerleader Coach]

It makes me very glad that now that I'm a mother, I have both boys.

[Bert]

Right. Wasn't there a time, though, like, that the cheerleading squads were based out of cheerleaders that were rooting for existing teams and not just squads just for the sake of being squads.

[Melissa]

That's a cheerleading start. It has, but now it's like competition. There might be a school that doesn't.

[Bert]

Even have a football team now it's its own sport.

[Jeff]

Exactly.

[Bert]

The first show.