From student-athlete to head coach and events and sports coordinator, Meaghan Blakley has been busy since joining TRU in 2011. Recently, the Omega sat down to talk with her about her journey in cheerleading, how it’s shaped her career, her perspective on women’s sports and the successful season for the WolfPack cheerleaders.
Omega: What first got you interested in cheerleading and how did you get started in the sport?
MB: Growing up, I did dance quite competitively and so did my older sister. She came to TRU [first]. There was already a cheer program going on here and she decided to do it. [When] I came to TRU in 2011, she took over as head coach. She was scared that no one would come to tryouts. So, my mom kind of bullied me into going. She said, “Go support your sister just so she has bodies in the room.” I had no intention of joining the team; I was there literally as a dummy in the room. But I had so much fun at the tryouts. I was surprised because I used to have this big stereotype against cheerleaders because I was a dancer. I didn’t have any plans to continue dancing after graduation from high school, so I was like, I’ll try this out, and we’ll see how it goes with my sister as a coach. After that, I just fell in love with it. [It] gave me a new passion that replaced dance for me. So that’s how I got into cheer originally.
Omega: Was it your sister that drew you into the coaching role then?
MB: I wouldn’t say that, but when she stepped away as head coach her assistant coach stepped up. Back in the day, the team was always coached by students. There was never someone older to take it over. She then chose her assistant coaches. I was 19 and the assistant coach was also 19. She was really scared to run the program by herself, and she kind of put out to the team [that she needed assistance]. So, my best friend and I [volunteered]. We put together this massive proposal and gave it to her. So then, I was an assistant coach with those two girls for two years, [before] my best friend and I moved up to be the head coaches. I’ve been [in that role] ever since.
Omega: How has your journey of being in cheerleading and dance shaped your coaching philosophy?
MB: I had a really intense old-school traditional dance teacher, like very aggressive. I loved it. That’s where I thrived. It instilled in me a lot of independence and accountability. As I got older, I had different coaches and learned from different coaching styles and it really morphed my coaching philosophy. I’m really big on learning from others; I think you can always learn from other coaches, and you can learn from your athletes. I don’t know everything and I never will. I also learn a lot from clinic instructors. We bring in a lot of different clinic instructors from across North America. I’ve tried to piecemeal from probably 20 different people into the type of coach I am. My coaching philosophy now is that I like to work with my athletes, be humble and work hard, but still having a positive experience is key.
Omega: The teams had a fairly successful season, so how does this season compare to others in terms of challenges and accomplishments?
MB: We’ve invested a lot of time into our culture this year. We knew it was an area that we needed to focus on [a little bit]. My prior teams got caught up too much in working too hard and being too hard on themselves. We needed to balance out the fun and the passion a lot more. I’m really big on the idea that you can have fun and succeed at the same time. We [also] vetted our athletes more at tryouts; we looked more for personalities and skill sets while also looking for potential. In the past, I would weigh skill more over personality and what they would bring to the team. Now I’ve kind of balanced it out [a little bit more]. I look at athletes and be like, “I’d rather work with someone brand new for three years than someone walking in with a lot of experience [who] has a bad attitude. It used to be the other way. This year, our culture is really healthy, it’s positive, and they’re overly committed because it’s fun. It’s their friends and their family.
Omega: Looking ahead, what are your future goals for the program?
MB: For [the] premier [team], they’re really strong. [Their] culture is amazing, and we’ve got a lot of young athletes, so I’d like to keep a low turnover with them. My gameday team are largely newer athletes. I’m going to upgrade them to what’s called “advance”; that’s a higher division, and it’s more competitive. It’s similar to premier. We’ll really be looking to build out that team and create more depth with it. I’m going to keep it small; I’m not going to take like 30 athletes on that team, like we’ve done in the past. It’s going to be 15. Whoever’s the best for that team is going to make that map and just build up the quality [too]. Then it’ll be a feeder team to the premier [team].
Omega: What do you think is the most rewarding part of coaching?
MB: When I was an athlete in the program for five years, and then for a few years, I coached while I was an athlete. It changed my life around in terms of finding out who I was as a person, my values and morals, my confidence and my friends. My entire life just evolved after high school, and it gave me a safe space. So my [motivation] is that I want to be able to provide that for others. If I know that there’s one other person like me who benefited like I did back in the day, that makes me ecstatic. So it’s always about the experience and making sure it’s not just about the sport, [but also] about their life and giving them a safe space to have a good life for a few years before graduating.
Omega: There’s been a recent surge of visibility and support for women’s sports, especially when it comes to women in leadership roles. As a female head coach, how has your experience been, and what are some challenges you’ve faced along with it?
MB: I think it’s tough. I’m currently the only female head coach alongside my coaching partner, Heather. We do have a new strength and conditioning coach, Lisa, who works with all the teams. She’s not team-specific. I believe [in hiring] who’s best fit for the job, regardless of gender. However, there’s a huge lack of growing opportunities for females. There are not a lot of opportunities for an athlete to take steps toward getting there. So when you get to the interview process, you are limited in your candidacy because they didn’t get the steps and opportunities leading up to it, and a lot of male athletes do. Things like assistant coaching, empowerment programs, coaches in training, volunteer opportunities and female education in sports are really lacking across all sports. For me, with cheer, all of my current coaches are female. I have about eight on staff, so we’re a full female coaching team. That’s a part of one of my passions is just trying to grow them up so they can learn how to be leaders outside of here, whether it be in sports or in [other parts of] their careers.
Omega: Cheerleading is a very female-dominated sport that often comes with a fair amount of stigma around the athletes. How do you help your athletes face any challenges that may come along with that?
MB: Yeah, there’s a big stereotype around it. A lot of people think it’s just, yeah, glitz and glam kind of, but it’s a lot of hard work. We face it every day. It’s got better over the years as the sport’s [gained] more awareness. I handle a lot of situations with my athletes, dealing with them outside of practice. They face hardships from either classmates or colleagues or their bosses not giving them time off for competitions because they don’t view it as a sport, but they’ll allow a volleyball player that time off. So, I really make sure in those conversations with the athletes that they understand that everyone has a different perspective, and even though you don’t agree with it, you need to be respectful and take that and think about that. That way, one day, when you are a boss or a leader, you react differently, and that’s how things are going to change. We’re looking for opportunities to change people’s mindsets, and that can be, you know, inviting your friends to our showcase and sharing what you do on your social media. We post a lot on our social media of their skills on purpose so that way the public can see what it is that they are doing.
Omega: Is there a message you want to give to young girls or young aspiring athletes who might look up to you or your team?
MB: I would say if you are interested in either coaching or being a leader or a supervisor, make sure you tell your bosses or your professors. Unless you say that and put it out into the universe, there’s very little chance it’ll happen. So put yourself out there and seek the opportunities. That’s paid off in my coaching role and my job as a sports and events coordinator, but also in my prior career as well. You need to tell people, “Hey, this is what I want. I’m passionate about it. Pay attention to me like I matter,” so if something comes across their table, they think of you. Then, you can work towards having the accolades to be seriously considered for those bigger jobs and not just expect it to happen cause it won’t.