Written by: Whitney Cadavid
God is always at work. If reading this breaths nothing else into thought, I hope it breaths that. He is ALWAYS working. He is a master at ALL things new. In fact, that's where He does his very best work. Ashes to clay that He molds into new creation. Sitting us on a rock... Calling us by His name. Making our hearts new again... over and over. It's really amazing to look back and see Gods handiwork in exactly where I am today. It's amazing and it's also so humbling. He truly is THERE before we ever get there.
To start-- Cheer was such a huge part of my life from the time I was 6 & all through middle/high school at Goodpasture Christian School as well as college at Lipscomb University. I cheered competitively with my school squad as well as 2 local All-Star gyms for over a decade & it absolutely shaped so much of how I approach life and leadership. I coached tumbling classes & competitive teams at a Cheermoore Athletics through college and after graduation until I took on a job at Blush Boutiques.
My class graduated during a recession and good jobs were hard to come by. Branden, my husband & Lipscomb Baseball Alumni, always look back on that time and shake our heads at how HARD it was to get employed when we got out into the real world. Very different than it is today. When looking for a job, I wasn't even sure where to start because there were NO JOBS. I knew I wanted to work my way into leadership of some sort. Had no idea what that would look like, but I drove past Blush Boutiques, a store at the time I had never been in-- and I parked and walked in (God at work) and they were hiring a manager. HIRING. A sign you never saw at that time. They were busy so I walked up to the register and slid my resume to who I assumed was in charge and said-- "I do not want to bother you right now. They store is slammed, but I wanted to give you this. Call me if you feel I would be a good fit." She apparently was impressed that I had feel for the situation & she called me that evening for an interview. At the time Blush had just opened not long before I came on board so I jump in head first to help build their business alongside some amazing people who continued to pour into my leadership abilities. What's really awesome (and shows the importance of sports mindset in the workplace) is that any role I've taken on, I've always applied techniques, attitudes, habits and mindsets from my years as a competitive & collegiate athlete. In regards to cheer, my leadership abilities and comfortability come from my time cheering on the mat, the court and the sidelines. You learn how to command the attention of a room in a way the fits the scenario. You learn how to turn it on and provide an experience to the fans (& eventually to your employees, clients or customers) even on tough days. You learn work ethic and what it takes to get the job done in the midst of trials, changes in plans or unexpected hurdles. Basically--> You learn how to make it work... whatever "it" is & no matter how tough the climb looks. It's all about push through in sports... HEALTHY push through & so much of my time in cheer taught me how to do that.
Bringing that into the work place was a positive for my time at Blush Boutiques and I stayed with the company for over a decade growing and learning as the Regional Manager. My role there was to lead. They jokingly called me a shepherd, but that was so much of what it was. Shepherding and directing employees towards their personal goals and the goals of the company. You see, coaching has been a trending theme in my careers in adulthood and it's always gone back to cheer. My time at Blush was spent building teams, identifying leadership candidates, teaching them how to staff by finding top notch candidates, creating an inviting atmosphere and solid culture for growth and through that-- achieving the goals we set--> over and over at each location. Very similar to my job now as Cheer Coach at Lipscomb University. You find the right team candidates, you place them on the team, you teach them how to lead others, create an atmosphere, set a tone, work towards goals, repeat. I had a coach tell me when I was young that there are two things he couldn't coach us on because we had to bring these things to the table on our own. Those two things were: effort and energy. That stuck with me through the years & I have taken that mindset into each role I've had & each team I've had the honor of leading. I hope that as a coach, my teams leave their time with me learning solid truths like that one that will help them in their next ventures.
This brings me to now. Shortly after I had our 2nd son in 2018, I hit the pause button on my career, specifically at Blush, to be home to take care of my boys, Greyson & Leo. I dove head first into mom-life with a side hustle I had been playing with since 2016, Whitney Cadavid Photography. I have always loved taking pictures and again, through the Lords handiwork and support from my husband who cheered me on the whole way-- it was clear that WCP was the next step & a way for me to be home with my littles during a time when I needed the flexibility. WCP took off in ways I can't describe and that could be a "hands and feet of Jesus" conversation all on its own. The Lord continues to use WCP in big ways for my heart & for our family. It brought us out of the pandemic as our only income for the awhile and it connected me with families that became friends and people who have carried us through when we needed it most. It has been a BLESSING... A truly wonderful & unexpected blessing. When Branden & I started the business-- we never imagined it would become what it has today, but God knew. He was there before we ever were... paving the way.
During the pandemic, I was in touch with Sherrie Eubanks, former Lipscomb University Cheer coach. I told her that the Lord had put on my heart to connect and see how cheer was going at Lipscomb and if there was any ways I could help. My cousin, Ann Michael Graves (formally Merritt), was on the team at the time and she would come over talking about it and our conversations would fester in my heart. I missed cheer. It was such an huge part of my life for so long. Although I loved shooting and I loved my clients-- I missed coaching. I was business building, front facing with clients, creating an experience, setting the tone, setting goals, delivering as promised etc... and it was amazing! I wasn't trying to stop doing that, I just felt a shift in what else the Lord had for me, but had no idea what that would look like. So I prayed about it and asked the Lord to help make it clear.
Sherrie was wonderful in her responses to me and we intended for me to volunteer a bit through the season, but covid had other plans and it just didn't make since as the season hung in the balance for most of the year. I ended up getting an offer to come help out at Lipscomb Academy as the JV cheer coach and I looped Ann Michael in as my assistant and the rest is history really.
I saw immediately why the Lord was leading back to cheer. Yes, it was about leading. Yes, it was about coaching. But more than that... it was about the athletes I was about to meet. It always is! It's always about the people and what the Lord needs to use you for in their lives, BUT also-- what He has for you through what they bring into yours. Coaching is a ministry to me. It's so much more than cheer. It's about finding ways to glorify the Lord through the talents He's given us. If it's not about that first, then what are we doing it for?
Through that experience, I stayed in touch with Lipscomb University Cheer & after having our 3rd baby, Callyn Joy in 2021, my name was put in the hat to take over after Sherrie retired. I was hired on alongside Ann Michael as our assistant coach & we jumped in head first with the 2022-2023 team, ready to make some positive noise, work hard on cheer skill, life skill and spiritual growth-- all in an effort to build a team that could one day--> be competitive. On the mat, the sideline and in life. We don't just cheer, we lead.
I have learned so much about Jesus and His heart through my time as a coach. The most beautiful thing about coaching at Lipscomb is that I get to share that THE JOY you see here is JESUS. I get to share truths that are bigger than effort and energy being what you need to bring to the table. I get to share that if you do it with the Lord, He will make your path straight. I get to share that He does His very best work in the messiest of situations. I get to share that He has plans for us that are greater than any plan we have for ourselves. It's always going to be bigger than cheer skill for me. No matter how close you think you are in your walk with God, He always identifies ways you can lean closer, press in deeper, learn more, experience more of His goodness in ways we didn't see coming.
God used Lipscomb cheer to remind me what I was capable of, but most of all-- He used it to remind me what HE is capable of.
