“so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this” – Isaiah 41:20
You’ve probably heard of “prayer requests,” but I’m here to share a heartfelt “Praise Report”! Daily prayers are a part of our lives, and while I won’t pretend that owning a gym is easy, I want to express how clearly God has shown His presence to us during this new chapter of Rogue. We’ve genuinely witnessed the fruits of our efforts in recent weeks.
Rogue has experienced growth. After facing the possibility of losing Rogue altogether, I returned to rebuild at the beginning of July. I know Ive shared much on this in these 6 blog posts. It was a difficult time filled with intentionally spread confusion , upset and division that left many families uncertain about their future with us. To address this, we initiated a simple “Rogue Relaunch,” inviting athletes to practice without the pressure of team commitment. Just getting back into the gym was incredibly tough that first week. Walking into a gym with only a handful of people was disheartening, especially after nurturing Rogue since 2017 when I began with a feeder program that eventually transformed into Rogue in 2020. I vividly recall going to church the weekend after our first relaunch practices, pouring my heart out to God for direction while grappling with the grief of losing a core friend group that I considered family, feeling as if I was at the brink of giving up. The sermon that day was centered around Jonah—a reminder that we shouldn’t run from the calling God places on our lives. As a believer in Jesus Christ, my entire purpose is to honor and glorify Him, and staying with Rogue meant embracing a path of obedience. Reflecting on it now, I am profoundly grateful I didn’t run away, even though I wanted to at times. I had people reaching out, asking me to lead them, and now I am blessed to see those individuals and their families nearly five days a week excelling at the sport they love.
All this being said, Rogue has grown from a handful of athletes at the start of July to a solid 50 kids on teams as of mid October. And this does not include tumbling athletes who have joined as well. Our numbers have doubled and then some. We have so many new friends too. I realize that some may look at that and think it’s not much. But to us it’s incredible and it speaks to the strength and resilience of Rogue Cheer Athletics. We’ve gone from three teams to now six and we are being asked to start at seventh (a younger hip hop team). I do not share any of this to brag but to point to God in all His goodness. To share that walking in obedience, even when it’s lonely and hard and downright gun wrenching at times..it’s always worth it.
We’ve walked through the valley, navigating both grief and a necessary rebuilding after the hostile takeover of Rogue back in late June. That desolate experience only amplifies the profound gratitude I feel today. The good news? The comeback is real. I’m excited to share a few of the clear, tangible ways I’ve personally seen the restoration and blessing of God take hold.
1. The Call to Return: The first step of rising up was prompted by our community. The initial blessing was the clear mandate from our parents, who simply asked me to, as they put it, “Take Rogue back.” This little sliver of hope—this vote of confidence—was the precise motivation I needed to take a breath and step into a new, stronger version of this role. I was called to rebuild, and that was a fight I was suddenly ready to win.
2. Divine Timing of Coach Stevie: The hand of God was undeniable in the arrival of Coach Stevie. The very week the hostile takeover occurred, she reached out, completely unaware of the chaos, just putting feelers out because she was moving back to the area. I was so heartbroken I hadn’t even offered her a position because I thought I was likely going to walk away from coaching entirely if I couldn’t continue with what I had built. Now, she is my very dear friend and assistant coach for several teams, and I cannot express what a bright light she is at Rogue. The athletes and parents adore her, and her incredible timing proves that God knew exactly who we needed and when we needed her.
3. An Unforgettable Camp Victory: Just getting our Senior team to camp a few weeks into our new chapter was a massive victory. To gather a team so quickly and generate that kind of momentum, even with active opposition attempting to see us fail, felt like a miracle. But what made it truly special was the experience itself: it was the best camp we’ve ever had. The improvement in skills, the team bonding, and the genuine kindness of the athletes toward each other were unbelievable. Stevie and I kept pinching ourselves—we hit the team jackpot.
4. The Heart of the Program – The Kids: This leads me to the most profound blessing: the athletes themselves. Every kid the Lord has brought to Rogue this season—new or returning—is an absolute joy to coach. They are respectful, self-motivated, and genuinely love the sport. They truly don’t want to leave the gym! It feels like a family, and the culture has become truly beautiful. Everyone is so thankful to have what we do after the very real threat of losing it. This shared gratitude makes coaching fun and incredibly rewarding. Though we’ve had successful competitive seasons before, I’ve never felt this deep a closeness. Their genuine, sweet hearts are so refreshing. If you work with teenagers, you know this part can be hard, but I never walk away from the gym feeling taken for granted. It fills my cup in a way I didn’t realize it was empty.
5. The Provision of Our New Home: August brought intense anxiety as we realized a critical shift had to happen: we needed a new space. Our program’s operational needs had completely changed, and dealing with the worsening homeless/transient issues at our old Medford location was no longer sustainable. Moving was a non-negotiable step for the program’s stability. Securing this location was financially demanding. As we’ve had to do many times, Tony and I poured good amount of our family’s very limited income into making this move possible. However, the financial provision was nothing short of miraculous. I prayed non-stop specifically that the funds for the first, last, and move-in fees would be covered, and the provision came through to the exact dollar amount. God doesn’t always bless in surplus or excess; sometimes, the greatest proof of His care is receiving just enough to get you where you need to be. This was a powerful confirmation of His hand over Rogue.
But the blessings didn’t stop with the finances. We also witnessed the birth of our new community during the physical transition. We had the most wonderful group of parents and athletes help us clean, move, and get out of the old space AND into the new space in a matter of just three days at the end of August. They helped sell items we didn’t need, they did dump runs, they stayed late and started early… It was a massive project in a short window, but they made it happen by kindly volunteering their time and their trailers—dads, moms, and everyone helped.
The Lord provided our new gym space, and it has proven to be the absolute best move for Rogue. It was the fresh start we desperately needed and has successfully ushered in this new chapter. The kids treat it as their home, arriving early and staying late—nobody wants to leave. This communal effort has solidified our family feel, and we now all feel so happy and at home here. Yes, it desperately needs painting, there are still some spiders lurking lol, and less than half our banners are hung, but it is specialbecause of how much we all overcame to get into this new home.
6. The Magic of Community Fundraising: Another blessing worth mentioning is the incredible success of our recent gym events. We hosted a very cool and fun Princess Event for the public, which served as a fundraiser for our athletes competing in Anaheim this December. Our Senior team girls fully embraced the challenge, dressing up as various princesses and spending the day leading activities like face painting, hair tinsel, makeup, and nails, all while making cotton candy, popcorn and connecting with so many amazing community kids. It was a great success for the team’s fundraising goals, but more importantly, it was pure magic. It felt so good to host an event that was clearly a blast for our Senior girls (who doesn’t want to be a Disney princess for a day?) and genuinely magical for the children who attended. This event spurred new ideas, a definitely plan to do this event at least twice year, fostered new connections with local families, and served as a wonderful way to introduce the public to our new gym location.
7. Strength Through Partnership: Our partnership with Rush Athletics has been nothing short of a gift, and we haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet—competition! This season marks our first time having a Hip Hop team (Outlaws) and we’ve had Coach Nicole from Rush coming up to work with them on choreography. She is wildly talented, and the collaboration has been so fun. In turn, we’ve had the pleasure of taking some of our girls down to Yreka every other weekend to be on their Hip Hop “theme” team, Odyssey, which Nicole also coaches.
I’ve found incredible strength and solidarity in my relationship with Rush’s owners, Nicole and Shawna. We are very likeminded in how we run our gyms and have faced many similar struggles, allowing us to support them while they support us. Shawna has owned her gym for 13 years, and I am learning so much from her; she, in turn, has shared that she is learning from me -which I am completely honored she would say that. I firmly believe we, as coaches, benefit immensely from forming these bonds with other owners and cheer coaches. So many people have encouraged and cheered me on as I rebuild Rogue, offering a shoulder to lean on or a sounding board: The owners of Rush Athletics, Dan (ODT), McCall (Strive), Crystal (Tualatin HS Cheer), Deven (Hero Athletics—who built us the coolest dance section ever last month!), Ljay (Fresno Elite), and Makenna (Thurston Cheer Athletics), just to name a few. I’ve found such strength in these friends, and I know they will continue to be there for us, and we will absolutely be there for them. As well as cheering their teams on this competition season! 🙌
I truly could go on and on, sharing every single little mercy and huge miracle the Lord has shown us. Let me be clear: this post is not a humble brag or a boast about how well we are doing. This is truly a PRAISE REPORT. There will always be stressors as a gym owner—the heavy financial stress, the demand of operating a gym and helping our teams live up to their potential and the constant need for trusting God—that could keep me up at night and often does. But looking at these three months of restoration and redemption, I know with absolute certainty that it is so, so worth it. The strength of this community, the joy of these athletes, and the clear evidence of His provision make every challenge a privilege.
ROGUE CHEER ATHLETICS 