025 David Sims - Inside Travel Cheer & Dance + YCADA

What if there were more than one pathway to competitive cheerleading?David Sims joins More Than Counts to take us inside YCADA and the evolution of Travel Cheer & Dance, an alternative competitive pathway built for programs that don’t necessarily fit into the traditional All Star model.We talk about where youth and recreation cheer fits into the history of our sport, why Travel Cheer was created, and what makes its approach different. Then, of course, we get into scoring. David breaks down a system where difficulty isn’t capped, every skill has value, execution comes with real risk, and coaches have more freedom to build a strategy around the athletes they actually have.We also review a listener-submitted routine from Carlton All Stars and talk choreography, floor use, creativity, movement, and why full-team tumbling might deserve a comeback.Because sometimes growing the sport isn’t about getting everyone onto the same path—it’s about creating more paths for people to stay in it.Chapters00:00 The Evolution of Cheerleading02:59 Youth and Recreation Cheerleading23:55 Precision-like Scoring in Cheerleading25:47 Strategic Decision-Making in Cheerleading28:19 Barriers to Entry in Cheerleading29:14 Competitive Pathways in Cheerleading30:02 Scoring Systems and Comparative Aspects39:23 Routine Review and Feedback42:25 The Essence of Cheerleading