Cheerleading’s Professional Evolution: Brad Habermel and the New Era of Professional Cheer Coaching

The meeting room at Cheer Athletics’ Dallas headquarters buzzed with anticipation as Brad Habermel addressed his assembled coaching staff. After three decades of building champions in youth cheerleading, the co-owner was preparing for something entirely different: leading a professional team where athletes earn five-figure salaries and coaches receive the recognition that has long eluded their sport.

Habermel’s appointment as team manager for Dallas in the Varsity Pro Cheer League marks a fundamental change in cheerleading – one where lifelong coaches can finally build sustainable careers beyond the gym walls of youth programmes.

Cheerleading’s Professional Evolution

The Varsity Pro Cheer League launched this year as the first professional cheerleading competition in the United States, featuring six city-based teams and offering five-figure annual compensation for athletes aged 18 and older. For coaches like Habermel, it offers the sport’s long-overdue professionalisation.

Unlike the usual model where coaches work part-time for modest fees, the professional league offers full coaching salaries that can range from $43,000 to nearly $78,000 annually, with top coaches earning significantly more. The league also provides benefits, professional development opportunities and national exposure previously unavailable in cheerleading.

‘I’m incredibly honoured and excited to be a manager and coach in the new Varsity Pro Cheer League,’ Habermel said. ‘This league represents the next evolution of our sport, and I’m proud to be part of something that celebrates elite talent, professionalism and the passion that drives cheerleaders at the highest level.’

A Champion’s Pedigree

Habermel brings unmatched credentials to professional cheerleading. Since joining Cheer Athletics as co-owner in 1996, he has helped build the programme into the most successful all-star organisation globally. Under his leadership, teams have claimed over 200 NCA National Titles and earned 58 Worlds medals as coach or choreographer.

His own competitive background includes three NCA Collegiate National Championships at the University of Louisville and experience as an NCA instructor. Working alongside fellow Cheer Athletics leaders Angela Rogers and Jody Melton, who co-founded the organisation in 1994, Habermel forms part of a coaching triumvirate with decades of championship experience.

Expanding Career Horizons

The professional league addresses a long-standing problem in cheerleading: what happens to elite athletes and coaches after age restrictions or college graduation. Traditional all-star cheerleading features age divisions from Tiny (age 3) through Senior (age 18), with limited opportunities beyond these brackets.

For coaches, this has historically meant choosing between low-paid youth coaching roles or leaving the sport entirely. The professional league changes this calculation entirely. Coaches can now pursue cheerleading as a legitimate career path with competitive salaries, benefits and professional recognition.

Athletes face similar limitations. After aging out of all-star competitions or completing college programmes, most had few options to continue their cheerleading careers professionally. The new league provides a pathway for post-college cheerleaders to compete at the highest levels whilst earning meaningful compensation.

Breaking Through the Ceiling

Cheer Athletics’ involvement in the professional league carries particular significance. The organisation operates nearly 2,000 athletes across multiple locations, making it one of the largest all-star programmes in the world. With over 70 NCA National Titles and 53 Worlds medals, it has established the blueprint for elite cheerleading success.

The programme’s business model – combining competitive excellence with sustainable operations – has prepared coaches like Habermel for professional stages. Unlike smaller gyms that struggle with financial stability, Cheer Athletics demonstrates how cheerleading can support professional careers when properly structured.

Managing professional athletes, handling media obligations and building fan engagement require skills that successful all-star programmes have already developed. The growing movement of university sports investments shows similar patterns across athletics as institutions recognise how professional structures can elevate entire sports.

Professional Recognition at Last

The timing of cheerleading’s professional evolution coincides with broader changes in women’s sports. Recent pay increases for Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders – from $15 to $75 per hour – highlight how professional opportunities for female athletes are expanding across multiple sports.

For coaches like Habermel, the professional league validates cheerleading as legitimate sport requiring elite-level coaching. The league maintains USA Cheer standards whilst providing the structure and compensation that coaches deserve for their expertise.

The professional model also addresses concerns about career sustainability. Youth coaching, whilst rewarding, often requires coaches to maintain other employment to support themselves. Professional salaries allow coaches to focus entirely on their craft, potentially improving outcomes for athletes and advancing the sport overall.

Future Prospects

As the Dallas team prepares for the league’s first season, expectations run high. The combination of established coaching talent and professional structure suggests cheerleading may finally achieve the mainstream recognition it has long sought.

Plans for national expansion could create additional coaching opportunities, whilst success in the initial markets may attract investment and media attention. For coaches who have dedicated their careers to cheerleading, these developments offer unprecedented possibilities.

The league also creates new pathways for current all-star athletes. Knowing that professional opportunities exist beyond age 18 may encourage more young people to pursue cheerleading seriously, potentially raising the sport’s overall standard.

A New Chapter Begins

Habermel’s journey from youth coach to professional manager shows what many in cheerleading hope becomes the norm rather than the exception. After decades of treating cheerleading as a stepping stone rather than a destination, the sport finally offers coaches and athletes the opportunity to build lasting careers.

For those who have poured their lives into perfecting routines, developing athletes and advancing the sport, professional recognition feels long overdue. The success of coaches like Habermel in this new environment may determine whether cheerleading joins the ranks of fully professional sports or remains forever on the sidelines.