This short books five chapters include: Cheer as a Career, Professional Cheerleader, Coaching and Teaching, Behind the Scenes, and Cheer Business. I was pleasantly surprised by the content of this book because I had never thought past the very visible cheerleader. A career in this profession can include being a teacher and or coach for cheerleaders, a choreographer, a judge for competitions, a designer of uniforms and accessories, being a professional cheerleader, and operating a gym or cheer leading training center. A career in cheer requires skills including: “working together as a team, encourage others, manage busy schedules and organize events.” (7)

Professional cheerleaders practice during the week, spend time warming-up before the game, cheer for several hours during the game, often sign autographs after the game, and attend other publicity events. They usually need to have a second job, as professional cheerleading does not pay well.

in addition to the obvious job of being a high school, college, or professional cheer leader for a national football or basketball team, there is also work on the CHEER CHANNEL – an Internet show. “The Cheer Channel website has a lot of content for teens and tweens. It has cheer and dance news, fashion news, cheerleader profiles, and live and taped competitions.” (24) AND closer to home (Washington state),  “CHEER Seattle is a nonprofit adult cheerleading squad. They do not perform for a sports team. Instead the squad performs to raise awareness and money for charities.” (28)

There are usually one or two paragraphs next to a full-page photo.