Today we’d like to introduce you to Jade Pittman.
Hi Jade, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was seven, my parents put me in cheerleading, and I completely fell in love with the sport. I loved competing, the glitzy style, and honestly, anything that encompassed the essence of cheerleading. When I was about eight or nine I told my mother I wanted to coach. She has never discouraged me from anything in my life, but I knew she didn’t completely believe I was serious. I don’t blame her, most people typically change their minds about what they want to do with their life dozens of times before adulthood.
When I was 16, I decided to begin coaching, and I was amazed to discover I loved being a coach even more than an athlete. It was my junior year of high school when I began coaching, and I was in school and working a job, and that’s what my life would come to look like for the next couple of years. Once I graduated high school, I went immediately into college and was still a full-time student, working, and coaching cheerleading. As a coach, I loved creating routines, mentoring children, and feeling like I was making a difference in their lives. I was a part of the first phase of their journey to Collegiate cheer, or in the middle of an experience that would grow to be one of the highlights of my athletes’ childhood.
When I was between 17 and 19, I informed my mother I wanted to open a cheerleading gym. Similar to the conversation we had when I was about 8, she encouraged me and spoke life into my ambition, even though I could see she wasn’t completely sure that goal would be something I truly wanted to pursue in my adult life. During the Christmas break of my junior year in college, my mother and I spent even more time together than is typical for us. During that time we watched countless amounts of cheer videos on YouTube. Somehow during that break, we wound up driving all around the Westside of Jacksonville looking for potential gym locations. During those car rides, the concept of the gym was still many years away. I continued to look for a space for my future gym, days and weeks after we had driven around Jacksonville looking.
In January of 2021, I found the perfect place for my future gym. but the space I found wouldn’t stay vacant until the day I eventually, maybe, many years down the road, was ready to open my cheerleading gym. So, I went out completely on faith and did something that didn’t make a lot of sense in the physical and logical means of being, but was something God called me to and he would not allow me to walk away from. I decided to start my cheerleading gym.
Opening my gym was one of the scariest things I’ve done so far in my life. I was 20 years old, I was a junior in college, and most weeks I worked less than full-time hours, but no matter how scared I was, God wouldn’t let me turn back or stop in my tracks. It was something he called me to, and he made a way when I could see no way. Through God, so many nos in the process of opening my gym turned into yeses with no explanation as to why there was a change in the answers being given.
We just concluded the inaugural season at Jade’s Cheer Gem, LLC, and excitedly preparing to begin our Season 2 this summer! The first season of JCG happened during my senior year of college when I began working a full-time internship position with CSX. Through my parents, partner, and very dear friend, God blessed me to have the full support I needed as a young business owner at every moment of this journey.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Success is not a straight path. When I look back on JCG’s inaugural season, a few things come to mind that I would describe as easy or something that went to plan. In Season 1, I learned that owning a business has a surplus of unexpected expenses, but your budget is the budget, and you have to stick to it. Learning how to make a dollar out of $0.15 when unexpected necessities arise was a reality for many months. Initially hiring a strong staff of coaches who possessed the same vision and held the same goal for the children and their athletic and personal development, was more difficult than I initially expected.
Learning how to create a balance in my life was an obstacle I didn’t expect to encounter. I discovered being a coach and being an owner are two very different roles! I had to find time to do them both while pushing to graduate on time, fulfill my occupational obligations during my internship, and incorporate quality time with the people I loved and my self-care.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Jade’s Cheer Gem?
As a cheerleading coach, I push athletes into competitive spaces where they have the opportunity to develop skills that are imperative to their current and future success as a cheerleader, whether that is at the middle school, high school, or collegiate level. At JCG we provide tumbling and stunting instruction and enforce proper technique to ensure safety and give the athletes the polished look that is valued at the collegiate level.
I am most proud that JCG acts as a positive and safe environment for adolescents to develop and interact with their peers. The athletes are exposed to discipline balanced with nurturing that gives athletes and parents trust in their coaches and allows them to continuously progress athletically and socially.
At JCG our family-like atmosphere is like no other. Cheerleading involves a great deal of trust between teammates. Through the developed trust, lifelong bonds and connections are established. Parents are heavily involved, and whether at competitions or monthly team bonding activities, they find a community for themselves as well.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
From a personal aspect, living in a state of peace around the people that bring me joy is my priority. Regarding the gym, growing it into a staple in the community that is known for enriching, protecting, and nurturing children in the community to become the best version of themselves personally and athletically, is what matters most to me. Life is far from easy or fair. That is a lesson some people learn as children. I want JCG to be a place where adolescents can be happy and void of any problems they may have outside of the gym’s walls. Pushing athletes to their greatest potential in preparation for acquiring a Collegiate scholarship, if they choose, is the standard and priority. I also thrive from the relationships we build with the cheerleaders, and their families in the gym. It makes me so happy to know that I am blessed to play a small part in their journey on this path of life, and I will continue to strive to make a positive impact for each child that enters the doors of Jade’s Cheer Gem.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jadescheergem.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jades_cheergem/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JadesCheerGem/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz1Qq_2b3j2mmFNSs3yr2iw
