Today we’d like to introduce you to Anyssa Salazar.
Hi Anyssa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My mom enrolled me into a tumbling class at Laredo All-American when I was 5 years old and that was it for me! The following year, the owner asked my mom if I wanted to join one of their competitive teams and she said yes. I spent the next 10 years competing for Laredo All-American as well as cheering for my elementary, middle, and high school teams.
When I turned 16, I saw that another local gym was hiring cheerleading coaches so I applied and got the job. I worked at Planet Cheer in Laredo, TX my junior and senior years of high school and then moved to San Antonio to cheer for UTSA on their coed team. After two years at UTSA, I moved back home to finish school and went back to coaching cheerleading. At the age of 23, I opened up my own cheerleading gym and was also the head cheer and dance coach at Texas A&M International University. Owning a gym taught me so much and also made me stronger and hungrier for more success.
While looking for more ways to grow my gym, COVID hit, and at the same time, due to my husband’s job, we were forced to move out of Laredo to San Antonio. It was bitter-sweet letting go of my three programs but I knew God had bigger plans for me. After settling into our new home, I received a pop-up ad from Arizona State University for their new Healthy Lifestyles & Fitness Coaching program and after reading more into it, I decided to enroll.
I have now combined my love for fitness and cheerleading into a strength and conditioning program specifically for cheerleaders as well as developed a screening process and various fitness programs for adults looking to live a healthy lifestyle.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I learned a lot when I opened my own gym! It took a lot more than being a great coach, it took me learning more about business, finances, and time management. I struggled some months financially and excelled in others but I believe I had to go through that entire process in order to be successful today.
When starting my new programs, I knew to start small, start at home, build trust, gain knowledge and then go big.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Even though I am running my own programs for cheerleading fitness and adult fitness, I still coach cheerleading and do choreography for teams as well. In the world of cheerleading, I am most known for “cleaning”. I pick apart routines and make them look as sharp and synchronized as possible. I have an eye for those small details and many people don’t realize that those small little details in routines are what sets apart first and second place.
You could put up the hardest stunts and throw the most difficult tumbling passes but, if your transitions are slopping and motions are all over the place, and jumps are off, you will not win. I am most proud of my two years as head coach at Texas A&M International University. When I took over those two programs, it was a re-building year and no one had ever really taken the dance program seriously so I decided to put more focus into recruitment and got them the best choreographer and the best assistant coach and took them to compete which had never been done before.
In 2018 the dance team made their first appearance at the NDA National Collegiate Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida where they placed 7th in the nation in both pom and jazz. The following year, they competed at the ADTS Collegiate Championship and placed 1st in both jazz and pom and had the 2nd highest combined scores out of the entire competition beating out the 12-time pom national champions, Blinn College.
What are your plans for the future?
I would love to open up my own children’s wellness center. I would love to have a team of mental health coaches, nutritionists, and a set of different fitness classes for kids. There is a rise in childhood obesity and I am ready to fight that cause!
Pricing:
- Cheerleading Fitness One on One Lessons: $60/Hour
- Adult Fitness Programs: $160/Month
- Cheerleading Choreography: $75/Hour
- Cheerleading Routine Clean Up $55/Hr
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @coachanyssa
