Cheer Dads Unfiltered is a real, raw and hilarious podcast about life as a competitive cheer dad.
Hosted by Tom, Geoff and David we break down everything no one warns you about once your kid joins cheer. The long nights, early mornings, gym culture, competitions, money, emotions, wins, losses and the chaos in between.
From the stands to the car ride home this show is for parents, families and anyone living the cheer life who wants honest conversations, laughs and a place to feel seen.
No filters. No fluff. Just real talk from dads in the thick of it
Cheer Dads Unfiltered – Episode 42: Ashlie Modabber | 26 Years in Cheer & Why the Story Isn’t Over
After more than 26 years in cheer, Ashlie Modabber is still finding new chapters and she is nowhere near done.
Ashlie joins Tom, Geoff and David to trace a life shaped by cheer across every stage: discovering the sport as a kid, competing through high school and All Star, spending 13 years with UCA, coaching at the college level and returning to the floor with Golden State Grit in the Pro Cheer League.
Along the way, Ashlie explains why back spots are the backbone of a stunt group, how coaching taught her to loosen her grip on control and why tough love alone is no longer enough. She also opens up about recovering from knee surgery, arriving at her pro-cheer tryout in a brace and what it meant to finally put on the Grit uniform.
This is not simply a conversation about staying in cheer. It is about allowing your relationship with the sport to change—as an athlete, coach, mentor and adult—and refusing to accept someone else’s expiration date for what comes next.
In this episode:
• How Ashlie’s earliest cheer experiences became a 26-year journey
• Why back spots are overlooked leaders and the backbone of the floor
• What coaching taught her about patience, trust and letting go of control
• Tough love, empathy and the generational shift in coaching
• Preparing college athletes to represent more than themselves
• Recovering from knee surgery and trying out for pro cheer in a brace
• The emotion behind wearing the Golden State Grit uniform
• Parent-coach communication and meeting athletes where they are
• Why there is no single correct way to build a life in cheer
Follow Ashlie on Instagram: @Ashlliiieee
Subscribe and follow Cheer Dads Unfiltered for new episodes every Thursday.
Real dads. Real cheer conversations.
Here for the parents. Here for the athletes. Here for every count
1 Oct 2026
Cheer Dads Unfiltered – Episode 41: The Season Is Getting Real | Stay-to-Play, Setbacks & Cheer Dad Chaos
The season is officially getting real
In Episode 41 of Cheer Dads Unfiltered, Tom, Geoff and David sit down for a dads-only cheer-season check-in about the part families live through before the lights, uniforms and first competition: repetitive routine reps, stretching, conditioning, small wins, hard falls, travel logistics and figuring out how to support our daughters without making their journey about us
We catch up on Ruby, Everly and Izzy; why bases may be the underappreciated quarterbacks of a cheer team; Izzy recovering from a hard fall and returning with determination; and the confidence, maturity, independence and resilience the girls are building away from the mat.
Then we get into post-practice food survival, Tom and Geoff’s first Stay-to-Play hotel-booking scramble, football pain, cheer superstitions and everything coming next: the USA Cheer Combine, the first showcase and competition, and taking the girls to an Atlanta Pro Cheer League match.
This is not a formal interview. It is three dads comparing notes in real time as competition season gets closer and the family calendar gets louder.
Subscribe and follow Cheer Dads Unfiltered for new episodes every Thursday.
Real dads. Real cheer conversations.
Here for the parents. Here for the athletes. Here for every count.
24 Sept 2026
Cheer Dads Unfiltered – Episode 40: Coach Bryce Kirkley on Tumbling, Mental Blocks & Progression Over Perfection
What does tumbling progress actually look like when your athlete is stuck on a back walkover, battling a mental block or grinding through private lessons with no obvious progress?
For Episode 40, Tom, Geoff and David sit down with Coach Bryce Kirkley, better known as the Tumble Whisper, to help cheer parents understand what we are actually watching from the other side of the gym.
Bryce is a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran with more than two decades of gymnastics and coaching experience. His core message throughout this conversation is simple:
Progression over perfection
We get into why some athletes struggle with back walkovers, when another tumbling path may make more sense, the difference between having a skill and being ready to use it safely, mental blocks, private lessons, how to know when a coach is not helping your athlete progress, going outside your home gym for additional coaching, video feedback, parent boundaries and what it looks like to help athletes fail forward instead of carrying our frustration for them.
This is not a technical coaching clinic
It is a parent-first conversation about understanding the tumbling journey, asking better questions and helping athletes keep progressing without turning every skill into a finish line.
Huge thank you to Bryce for being willing to challenge the way three cheer dads think about tumbling and athlete development.
CONNECT WITH COACH BRYCE/TUMBLE WHISPER
Website:
https://www.tumble-whisper.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tumble.whisper/
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@thetumblewhisper
Subscribe and follow Cheer Dads Unfiltered for new episodes every Thursday
Real dads. Real cheer conversations
Here for the parents
Here for the athletes
Here for every count
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
4.6 / 5
10 ratings
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