When she finishes her day working as a human resources generalist associate at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Jennaye Wade typically does not go home to relax.
She heads to another full-time job that she works on an entirely volunteer basis as a cheerleading coach.
Wade spends her free hours as the varsity cheer coach and cheer director for the Washtenaw Junior Maize Football and Cheer League.
“My favorite parts about being a coach are working with the kids and helping them with their own personal growth or learning how to work with others, and building those essential skills that you end up needing in life,” Wade said.
Wade grew up in Ann Arbor and started cheering with the Washtenaw Junior Maize Football and Cheer League at 11 years old. She then went on to cheer all four years of her time at Pioneer High School, where she was the varsity team’s captain her last two years.
“I felt like cheer helped me when I was a kid and becoming an adult because it helped me become more personable and how to work with other people,” Wade said.
During the cheer season from June to November, Wade coaches cheer every weekday evening. On Saturdays, she travels with the teams to cheer at freshman, junior varsity and varsity football games. At the end of each season, the teams compete in a league competition in November.
As the cheer director, Wade oversees more than 60 cheerleaders and coaches the 14 girls on the varsity team. The league allows girls in elementary and middle school to compete as cheerleaders. Girls as young as 4 years old can cheer in a “mascot” team.
Wade said choreographing new routines “consumes my life.” She watches past cheer footage and online videos to analyze the latest trends to incorporate into her routines.
Several of Wade’s former cheer students have gone on to thrive in college and reached out to thank Wade for her guidance as a cheer coach.
“I think it’s just important to remember that you’re an example for these kids and that they’re looking up to you,” Wade said.
Working so closely with children and teenagers comes with challenges, Wade said. She explained that parents of younger girls can be overbearing and try to overstep at times by yelling at their children from the sidelines or approaching Wade to feature their child in a routine. With older girls, Wade said, attitudes can be the greatest struggle.
“They’re at that age where they might be hitting puberty, or things might be going on at school or at home,” she said. “And so, sometimes they bring that to practice, and it can be challenging, but then I just have to remember to put myself in their shoes and (remember) what it was like when I was growing up.
“And I’m sure it’s harder for them now with technology and social media, so that’s what I think is the most challenging, but we always end up working through it.”
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Another challenging aspect to coaching is ensuring the safety of the cheerleaders. Practicing “stunting,” throwing one of the girls into the air, can be dangerous and can result in broken bones and concussions.
“I have to take steps in ensuring that each girl knows their role and knows each other’s roles and knows the importance of (safety),” Wade said.
With so much of her time dedicated to cheering, Wade said, she struggles finding a work-life balance.
“I’m always busy, so I’m trying to find that nice, healthy balance. But at the end of the day, when I am feeling stressed, working with the girls makes it better for me because I’m doing something for them, and therefore filling like a hole in me by feeling appreciated and valuing each other,” Wade said.
Wade said she hopes the girls she coaches develop a sense of confidence and learn the value of hard work and friendship.
“I tell my girls every single day how important they are and how important it is to be a leader and not a follower,” she said. “I want them to have that self-confidence. I want them to have that sisterhood and know how to work with other girls instead of working against each other.
“I always believe that you don’t ever know what’s going on at home with kids, or at school. And so, when they come to practice, it’s like a safe haven kind of place, and I just want to make sure the girls stay in an upbeat spirit and know there’s an open-door policy. It’s more of a sisterhood instead of just something to do after school.”
