FloCheer is highlighting the small gyms and programs that help elevate All Star cheer and build champion athletes on and off the mat for Small Gym September. This week, we’re sharing the story of Liberty All-Stars, where they turned at-home private lessons to a family-owned program in Dayton, Tennesee!

Quick Hits with Liberty All-Stars:

• Location: Dayton, Tennessee
• First Year: 2022
• Number of Teams This Season: 4 teams 
• Website - Click here for more

The Story of Liberty All-Stars: 

The story of Liberty began long before there was ever a gym, a team, or even a name. After a lifetime in cheerleading and more than 20 years of coaching, Brittany began giving private tumbling lessons in the driveway of her home. What started as a hobby and a way to share something she loved quickly grew as more and more families in our small, rural community began looking for the same opportunity.

As interest grew, Brittany built a small facility beside her home and began offering tumbling classes. Her daughter, Maggie, and daughter-in-law, Liz, soon joined her as coaches. The three of us quickly realized not only how much demand there was for quality cheerleading and tumbling in our area, but also how our different experiences and strengths complemented one another.

More importantly, we saw an opportunity to create something our community did not have. We wanted local athletes to have access to competitive All-Star cheer without families feeling like they had to travel far from home or spend beyond their means to give their children that experience. We also wanted to introduce athletes to opportunities that can extend far beyond our gym—including the possibility of using their skills and love for cheerleading to pursue opportunities and scholarships at the collegiate level.

In 2022, the three of us decided to take a risk together, and Liberty Cheer & Tumble was born.

The response from our community was greater than we ever imagined. In our very first season, Liberty fielded four All-Star teams. Since then, hundreds of practices, countless new skills, competitions, victories, setbacks, and athletes have helped shape Liberty into what it is today.

What began with a few tumblers in a driveway has grown into a place where young athletes from a small town are given the opportunity to dream much bigger than the place they come from. We are incredibly proud of how Liberty has grown, but we are even more proud that the heart behind it has never changed: creating opportunities, building confidence, and giving the kids in our community a place to belong.

- Maggie Daoust, Co-Owner of Liberty All-Stars

Fun Facts about Liberty All-Stars: 

• Liberty All-stars is both family-owned and women-owned! Our program is owned and operated by three women from the same family: Brittany, her daughter Maggie, and her daughter-in-law Liz.
•  During only our second season, all five of our All-Star teams earned bids to compete at an end-of-season Summit event—and every Liberty All-Star team has continued to earn a Summit opportunity each season since!
•  One of our teams came incredibly close to an undefeated season, with their only loss of the entire season coming at the Summit Championships!
• Several Liberty athletes have continued their cheerleading careers at the collegiate level, something that is especially meaningful to us because one of our goals has always been to create opportunities for athletes from our small, rural community that extend beyond our gym.
•  Before there was Liberty All-stars, there were athletes tumbling in Brittany's driveway! What started with a few private lessons eventually grew into the program we have today.

Proud Wins & Accomplishments:

• Since opening in 2022, our teams have earned Top 3 finishes at every competition we have attended. Last season alone, all five of our teams earned numerous first- and second-place finishes throughout the season.
• Since our second season, every Liberty All-stars team has earned a bid to an end-of-season Summit event. Our teams have also earned championships at Athletic Championships in Chattanooga and Aloha in Gatlinburg.
• This season, we’re continuing to grow with our first-ever trip to One Up Grand Nationals at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. From tumbling lessons in a driveway to competing on bigger stages, we are incredibly proud of how far Liberty has come!

What Makes The Program Special:

What makes Liberty special is the community we have built inside our gym. As a family-owned program in a small rural town, our athletes are more than just names on a roster—we know our kids, their families, their goals, and what makes each of them special. We truly are a family, always there to celebrate one another’s accomplishments, both inside and outside of the gym, and to pick each other up through the hard days, tough practices, and disappointments.

At Liberty, success isn’t only measured by trophies or placements. While we love watching our athletes grow in their skills, we care just as much about who they are becoming along the way. We strive to build confident, resilient athletes with strong character who understand the importance of hard work, teamwork, and supporting others.

We may be a small gym from a small town, but our athletes have big goals—and we love giving them a place to chase them.

What Are You The Most Proud Of?

We are most proud of the people and community we have built through Liberty. Of course, we are proud of every new skill, hit-zero routine, trophy, and big accomplishment, but nothing compares to watching our athletes grow in confidence, character, and resilience.

We are proud of the way our athletes support and celebrate one another, and we are incredibly proud of our staff who pour their time, energy, and hearts into each of our athletes every single day. We are also proud of what Liberty has brought to our community and the families who have trusted us along the way.

At the end of the day, trophies will collect dust, but the confidence, friendships, work ethic, and memories created here will last far beyond the competition mat. We are proud of what we have built, proud of the people who make it what it is, and most of all, we are proud to be Liberty.

What Is Your Biggest Goal This Season?

Our biggest goal this season is to take the next step as a program and advance to Day 2 at Summit! Since our second season, every Liberty All-stars team has earned the opportunity to attend an end-of-season Summit event, and now we are ready to raise the bar.

We want our athletes to return to Summit confident, prepared, and ready to advance. Reaching Day 2 would be an incredible milestone for our athletes, coaches, families, and our small rural community. This season, we're chasing Day 2—and we're ready to work for it!

Where You Can Find Liberty All-Stars This Season:

• All-Star Challenge - Lebanon TN
• Athletic Championships - Chattanooga TN 
• JAMfest Super Nationals - Nashville TN 
• One Up Grand Nationals - Nashville TN 

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