CDF Website Go-Live Launch

www.cheerdancefactory.com

Ronda Thomas

Some of you may know me personally but for those that don't, please let me introduce myself. My name is Ronda Thomas and I have been involved in cheer and dance for more than 40 years. Though that makes me want to say "yikes!" for obvious reasons, it is also something I'm very proud of and that continues to course through my veins. Truly, it actually runs in the family as my Mom was a high school and semi-professional cheerleader, my sister who was older than me and passed when she was young was a cheerleader and actually buried in her cheer outfit, I was a cheerleader and dancer, and I have 4 kids -- all of whom cheered and dance through the years and some of whom are still very involved in one way or another.

I was raised cheering and dancing in California, Texas, and Virginia and then started coaching in California during college. When I met my amazing husband and moved to Washington, I was coaching at the time and deeply missed coaching and working with kids. I wasn't finding, in Washington, what we had in California and decided if I couldn't find it, I would create it! If I were to tell the whole story, it would be a very long one and for those that know me, you know this email COULD print out to be a small novella. LOL! Hence, I will try to condense it and keep it "short" as we introduce this new chapter and ask you to come along for the ride with us!

Condensed version is that I started a competitive cheer gym here in WA that I ran for ten years and during that time, I was a founding member of the Washington State Cheer Coaches Association (WSCCA) alongside amazing people like the amazing Kim Mayer, I was an original member of the Washington State Cheer Judges Association (WSCJA) alongside one of the founders, Stephania Gullikson (nee' Lemeshko), and I was the co-founder of the WIAA State Cheer Championship which used to be run by the WSCCA and included All-Stars. Pam Headridge, former coach of Oak Harbor High School, and I started the Championship and I am amazed to what it's grown to be. I have coached at every level - from PeeWee to College and Rec to College - and I have a passion for cheer and dance on each and every level. I have had the honor and pleasure of coaching at various high schools through the years and choreographing for even more! I judge locally, regionally, and Nationally and do clinics and private camps on a regular basis.

Video Review Example

Through the years of coaching, choreographing, doing camps, clinics, and judging, one thing I always wanted to see was an opportunity for proper video review. In the "old days," we would screenshot a routine, make comments about that screenshot, send it on to someone, and then keep doing that over and over and over again. That equated to double digits of screenshots and text messages that could get confusing. After working at a tech company for many years that ended up becoming the NFL's video gurus for playback and annotation, my husband and I talked about how we could do that for cheer, especially since cheer can sometimes feel so subjective. How could we stop at a moment in time and show a coach (and their team) what was being talked about on that scoresheet. What did it mean that the legs weren't the same? What did it mean that spacing was off? What did it mean that building timing was off? It is so easy to miss when watching a routine live for sure but even in a video, unless you can pause and time stamp it, sometimes the details are lost and as all coaches know, the "devil is in the details."

As an amazing partner, my husband figured out how we could do it and we beta-tested a few teams with the technology. They loved it and we felt we were on to something! We are most excited by that piece for sure and hope others will be equally excited as we roll out that opportunity for greater use for cheer, dance, and maybe other athletic activities as well! Considering I also choreograph, do clinics, camps, practice visits, and more, for teams locally and regionally we felt it made sense to create a "one stop shop" for all the people I cherish that trust me and continue not only to utilize me, but also refer myself and my services to others. Thus, Cheer and Dance Factory was born!

Hence, I write this to introduce you to cheeranddancefactory.com where we can meet needs from choreography to clinics to scoresheet reviews to video reviews and more! If we find we can't help you with something ourselves, rest assured we'll find someone that can with our vast and expansive network of incredibly talented coaches, choreographers, and athletes! We have just just launched (3/3/2025), so please know that there is more to come! We have already started booking for choreography - both Game Day and Traditional - as well as some judging and stunt clinics, so we are very excited for what the future is to bring!

We plan on the website being interactive which includes opportunities to get loyalty points for visiting, trivia, blogs, newsletters, feature articles, an opportunity to be involved in a book project, and more! We'd love to have your thoughts, suggestions, feedback and input! And of course -- we'd love you to be a client as well. However, no matter how involved you are, we hope you know, there are people out there beyond the "big brands" that care, are deeply invested, and want to see each and every one of you (and your colleagues!) succeed in the best possible way! Our athletic activity (or sport if you are designated as that as well!) NEEDS competition and the better we all are, the better we can all grow to be!

The Cheer and Dance Factory looks forward to being here to support you, to being your partner, and to being your biggest fan in your journey from year to year! Take a look, register, become a member, and get ready for some fun as we start on OUR new journey right alongside you!