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152. BYU Cheerleaders Ammon & Aislee on Time, Trials & Taking Your Shot
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In this episode of the Especially for Athletes Podcast, we’re joined by Ammon Montenegro and Aislee Meachum, two standout cheerleaders at Brigham Young University who are not only athletes at the top of their game, but also thoughtful leaders and examples of how to balance faith, resilience, and intentionality in a fast-paced world.
Whether you’re an aspiring college athlete, a current high school cheerleader, or someone simply trying to be more deliberate with your time and goals—this episode is packed with practical advice, vulnerability, and inspiration.
Highlight Moments
Winning the Hour
Ammon and Aislee share how they structure their jam-packed days and the tools they use—from color-coded planners to weekly resets—to stay focused and intentional.
Bouncing Back from Setbacks
Aislee opens up about tearing her ACL in high school and how that detour led to something better than she could have imagined. Ammon shares the powerful story of shifting from football to cheerleading and how going “all in” opened a door he didn’t even know was there.
Advice for High Schoolers
They reflect on what they would tell their 15-year-old selves—including the danger of closing doors out of fear, and why it’s worth being vulnerable and taking your shot.
Competing Without Contempt
From their roles at LaVell Edwards Stadium and the Marriott Center, they talk about creating loud, energized, and loving environments without falling into hate or mockery. It’s all about gratitude and respecting your opponents.
Using the Spotlight
Aislee shares what it’s like being in the spotlight and how she uses it to be a source of light for the little girls who look up to her. Ammon reflects on the power of clean, uplifting content on his social media platform (@unclebub) and why it matters to be intentional with your influence.
🎧 Don’t miss this episode if you want to:
- Build better time management habits
- Learn how to turn trials into triumph
- Understand how to thrive in your role—even if it’s not the one you imagined
- Compete with class and purpose
- Use your platform to lift and inspire others
📚 Learn more about the Especially for Athletes movement, order the book The Sportlight, or bring the program to your team or school at especiallyforathletes.org
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Especially for Athletes:• Website: https://e4a.org • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EspeciallyForAthletes/ • X: https://x.com/E4Afamily • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/especiallyforathletes/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmbWc7diAvstLMfjBL-bMMQ
Join the conversation using #TheSportlightPodcast
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Credits: Hosted by Shad Martin
Produced by Shad Martin and IMAGINATE STUDIO
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Transcript
Introduction to Especially for Athletes Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Especially for Athletes podcast, where we explore essential principles that empower athletes to learn life's most valuable lessons through sports.
00:00:15
Speaker
Well, hello, everybody. Welcome to the Especially for Athletes podcast.
Meet the Guests: Ammon Montenegro and Aisley Meacham
00:00:19
Speaker
We are so honored to be joined by two BYU cheerleaders, Ammon and Aisley. Ammon Montenegro and Aisley Meacham.
00:00:28
Speaker
And you might recognize the last name Meacham. We've had Doug Meacham on our podcast a couple of times. And Aisley, you have the honor, or I guess Doug has the honor of being your father-in-law, right?
00:00:43
Speaker
That's awesome. But Aisley, you went to Crimson Cliffs High School.
Journey from High School to College Cheerleading
00:00:47
Speaker
yeah And I imagine you were a cheerleader there at Crimson Cliffs. Is that correct? Yep. And then now you're up at BYU and Ammon first came into my life.
00:00:58
Speaker
I still remember Ammon. It was five years ago. And you were a football player at Snow College. I think it was October General Conference.
00:01:10
Speaker
Yeah, you came over for ah October General Conference to our house. We fed you guys. My daughter, Emma, was a dancer, a badgerette at Snow College. And she said, can I bring a few friends for general conference? And brought half of Snow College with her. and So I have fed Ammon. and and the But you were a football player at the time at Snow College. And then after that year, I believe, is when you switched over and and used all that weightlifting and strength.
00:01:41
Speaker
to become a member of the Spirit Squad there at Snow and then and then went to BYU. Do I have the timeline correct? Yeah. I mean, I did both cheer and football both years. busy Busy years, but ah yeah, they were lot of fun.
00:01:55
Speaker
Yeah. How cool. How cool. And so thank you both for joining us. I told you a little bit in our pre-meeting here that a lot of those who join our program and and participating especially for athletes come from our spirit squads in the high school.
00:02:13
Speaker
And so we've been wanting to do one of these podcasts for a long time. And maybe let me start out with a question for the two of you.
What is the 'Win the Hour' Principle?
00:02:24
Speaker
And that is this, we have a principle, it's called win the hour. We try to, to help young people be intentional with their time. And sometimes you've seen the shirts like win the day, and things like that, that We think that's a little too general, right? Because when you get down to actually being good at something and taking enough time out of your day to be a college cheerleader, for example, and and do good in school and do good in your community and go to all the games, that takes being very intentional
00:02:58
Speaker
with your time. And so we tell young athletes to learn to win the hour, look at every hour of every day during transitions and to ask themselves, how am i going to win this next hour of my life? What does it look like to win that?
00:03:13
Speaker
And so as you've tried to manage, because i I've been to a lot of BYU sports and the cheerleaders are always there. It really doesn't matter what the sport is or when it is. So you two must have incredibly busy schedules and you participate in a super technical sport that requires a lot of repetition and a lot of reps in the weight room and all of that.
00:03:39
Speaker
What have you learned about time management that if you could go back and talk to your 15 year old selves, 16 year old selves, you'd say, hey, here's some things that would really help you that I've learned as I've juggled all these things in college that I wish I would have known when I was 15. Does that make sense?
00:03:55
Speaker
That question. Okay, Aisley, let's lead off with you. What would you tell yourself? Yeah, you definitely have to intentional, as I said, because we're so busy. I think the first thing that comes to my mind is you have to have that mindset.
00:04:09
Speaker
Something I've been thinking a lot of lately is like that it's a privilege to have the work and to have just the amount of opportunities we have. It's a privilege. So you've got to take that privilege up and have the mindset of like working hard and being efficient with your work.
00:04:25
Speaker
Because if not, yeah, the hour is going go by and it's you're in the next activity already. You know, you got to get that work homework done already. So I think just having that mindset of like knowing what you're doing is important.
00:04:37
Speaker
And then from there, being a good planner and just being able to plan out. I plan out my months, then my weeks, then hour by hour even, you know. And once you have that plan in mind, and then you can, when it gets to each hour and time, taking that next best step, right?
00:04:53
Speaker
Then you can conquer it when it gets there and just focus on in that moment, then go on to the next hour. Yeah. Awesome. And before we come to Ammon, can I ask a follow-up question there? We'll give Ammon all the time to think here.
00:05:09
Speaker
So you say you plan, like you plan your month, you plan your week. And then I imagine there's taking a look at the calendar and planning your day. For some that, oh, yeah, I totally get what she's saying. But can you tell us, like, what processes have you put in place? What does that look like for you to do that?
00:05:28
Speaker
So i actually have this little, like, I love things to be written and, like, in paper, not only just, like, on technology, which I do use my calendar on my phone and can see my day-to-day, you know, hour by hour.
00:05:43
Speaker
but I love writing things physically down. So I have a school calendar and I actually have like for classes, for instance, I have a different color of pen for each class. So I will put in different colors and my do date like my due dates for each class each day. And I love this because I can look at each day and say, okay, this is what I need to get done. It's not just broad due dates of like this essay on the 20th. It's like, the step-by-step process almost because you can't just get an essay all done in one hour like when i get to that day don't want to have to procrastinate and then be stressed out to get done i want to see the step-by-step progressions to get that assignment done so it's so nice to physically write this down on paper it helps my brain um so that i can see each day what i need to do in order to accomplish that goal
00:06:34
Speaker
So if I'm picturing this correctly, like the month, you'll take and say, okay, this is the due date, you know, and all of that. The week, this is what I need to get done this week. And then today, it's like, I need to find references for this paper I'm going to write. Like, you break down the final things. and Yeah. It's like specing it out a little bit. Yes. But it's not all so much and a little time. You know, I love to see the progression. Yeah.
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah, that's that's great. And somewhere in there you have to fit in college cheerleading with all of that. And I assume you do that the same way. You look at the week and you say, what games do I have this week? When's my practices? and then you print yeah plan the other stuff right around there.
00:07:15
Speaker
Yeah. I love to see a month view first. And then instead of like a planner where you're writing every single day out, flipping the pages, because that month view is kind of good at the glass. Okay, look, this is my month.
00:07:27
Speaker
And then I can take each day into perspective after that. Sweet. Yeah, thank you. Ammon, tell us how you do it.
Mastering Time Management as a Student Athlete
00:07:35
Speaker
So I used to never write anything down.
00:07:41
Speaker
But since my workload and everything has been so crazy over the past few years, yeah getting a calendar is a big game changer so because being able to know what is next, especially with like athletics and practice and everything on top of what you're already doing, is get to know, like for me, when I have free time throughout my day.
00:08:03
Speaker
And now when it comes down to the free time, You have to, it's important because I have to make conscious decisions what I'm going to do. I'm not as meticulous as Aisley, okay? And it might show with my in my study habits, you know?
00:08:18
Speaker
I mean, I get things done, but there's a lot of really good things that I can be doing. And sometimes... it's really easy to find myself kind of like lost on my phone, which I feel like is a big issue for for lots of people because next thing you know, and the hour that you want to win has gone by and you haven't gained anything but or like progressed or accomplished things that you know you you want to progress.
00:08:51
Speaker
Now, I think a great way, and I learned this on my mission, is weekly planning allows me to sit down, bring all my thoughts together. so Okay, this is the things I want to accomplish.
00:09:02
Speaker
Now, which day that I already have, which day can I work that into cheer, games, and classes? And then what do I want to do each day? And then when it comes down to that day, then I can attack that day.
00:09:16
Speaker
And then whichever part of the day I want to do it, I can attack that hour. And yeah, I've learned that um just thinking of everything that I want to do without feeling like over, over exhausted or like there's so much I like to just break it up and then exactly what you're saying.
00:09:40
Speaker
But a calendar definitely helps. Yeah. That's my biggest takeaway. And one thing I've learned is the older I get, the shorter the days get for some reason, which is kind of crazy.
00:09:51
Speaker
You know, two quotes come to mind when I think of the way you guys approach your busy schedules. We share them often. Stephen R. Covey said, you don't prioritize your schedule, you schedule your priorities.
00:10:06
Speaker
And there's another one, I forget who said it, but he said, ah the bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. So, so it's like, we have all these things that are important to us. And if we're not intentional, like you said, Ammon,
00:10:25
Speaker
It feels like an hour can fly by like we could literally lose an hour just by scrolling through our phone, you know, and and we didn't intend to lose that hour. We didn't plan to do it.
00:10:38
Speaker
But there's dreams and goals that we have that are being impacted because we weren't intentional with our time steering it toward our goals or. scheduling our priorities. And for me, I don't know if it's this way with you, and maybe you two could speak to this, but when I have it in front of me,
00:10:56
Speaker
It's harder for me just to, when I'm intentional with my time, I guess is what I'm saying. When I say I want to do this, between this hour and this hour, I want to accomplish this. And between this hour and this hour, I want to accomplish this. I usually do it.
00:11:09
Speaker
But oftentimes when I just kind of let life happen to me, Justin Sua, who you might be familiar with, was a BYU baseball player, went on and he's the mental performance coach for the Tampa Bay Rays now.
00:11:23
Speaker
But he was on our podcast and he said, we can either live a life by design or by default. And it seems to me that when we're in default mode, we just wake up and let life happen to us. We're very reactionary It's easy for time to be steered away from those things we really want to accomplish.
00:11:44
Speaker
But when we're intentional with our time, we put it down on paper and we say, this is what I want to accomplish in my day, in my life, in this hour. It's easier to become what we want to become. Does that produce any thoughts? Anything either of you would share that in your own personal journeys, you're like, yeah, I've learned this lesson and and maybe articulate it in the way you would like to. I'd love to hear it The consequence of not being intentional like you're talking about is I think when we are like, okay, we'll let it come to me, right?
00:12:13
Speaker
And that default, I think it's easy to get satisfied with where we're at instead of like keeping that hunger and drive and motivation to be better, right? We're always on becoming 1% better each day.
00:12:27
Speaker
And so without that intention, I think is when we kind of stay stagnant a little bit. And so It's important to like expect more of ourselves because we are like, just believe that we're meant for more, you know, and that we can do more. And just, I think holding yourself to that higher standard can help so much with becoming more.
00:12:46
Speaker
Awesome. Yeah. I, I've had the experience, you know, with, with life and going through different times of the year, different seasons of like when I'm really busy and when I'm not as busy, oh basically,
00:13:06
Speaker
I've gone through really productive times and really non-productive times. And there's actually an empowering feeling when i am productive, when those things that I've written down, those things that I've always wanted to get done, check off, make sure i um able to accomplish them.
00:13:25
Speaker
When I do it, i feel more empowered that I can accomplish more in my day. I have the power. And opposite of that, when I am not intentional in that and I scroll on my phone or just do other things.
00:13:39
Speaker
And I know in the back of my mind, I could be doing that, but, and I do, I am doing that. Isn't what I really need to do. It's kind of, ah feel like, like a, there's like a dragging weight or like a nagging thing in my mind. And, and that definitely, oh ah definitely,
00:14:00
Speaker
can impact mental performance. I think everything begins with the mental perspective and mental performance. And so when I'm productive, when I'm trying to do the things that I've already decided I want to do, because I know the outcomes will be good for me and it's things i need to get done.
00:14:16
Speaker
And I just feel ready to go more invigorated to just do the next thing. But when I don't do that, man, I feel like your self-esteem goes down. You feel like, oh man, can I really get stuff done? There's just something that happens. And luckily I've experienced both of them and I know which one I want to continue to feel each day and that's going out doing it.
00:14:43
Speaker
I think it's kind because we thrive as humans, being agents and being in control, which we truly are at least in so many factors. Of course, there's going to things in life that aren't in our control, but we thrive off of doing what we can control being those agents for ourselves.
00:15:01
Speaker
I have felt the drag of being unintentional. that you're talking about, Ammon. Like that feeling of, I could have done so much more either with <unk> today or even sometimes that season of my life, you know, yeah where if I would have known and I would have been more intentional,
00:15:25
Speaker
And i I love what you're saying. The act of putting down your priorities on a calendar and going after goals step by step, Aisley, as you talked about with this is what I want to do, whether it's completing an assignment or accomplishing a big goal in life.
00:15:43
Speaker
When you have it down and you are attacking that goal, it brings this feeling of growth and self-esteem. when we are unintentional and life happens to us instead of us happening to life, when,
00:15:59
Speaker
When, Justin Suha said another statement, when we aren't living life on purpose, with purpose, but we're just in default mode, it just seems to bring a drag into life.
00:16:11
Speaker
And anyone listening to this, especially young people listening to this, who who've never put goals down, broke them down, like said, hey, here's what I'm going to do today to get where I want to get.
00:16:23
Speaker
if you have an If you haven't experienced the exhilaration of seeing progression in your life and not feeling in default mode, it's it's really cool to feel that, to feel that sense of growth and accomplishment.
00:16:35
Speaker
And I think, Aisley, what you said is very true. It's because when we're agents and we're acting instead of being acted upon, it feels better. We feel like we're becoming who we're we're meant to become.
00:16:49
Speaker
So great stuff, man. No wonder you guys are where you are right now. That's awesome.
Daily Life of a College Cheerleader: Balancing Act
00:16:54
Speaker
So on the same subject, maybe, especially to those who are cheerleaders that hope to one day be where you are right now.
00:17:06
Speaker
Would you describe the day in the life of a of a college cheerleader. I would love to know like what time you wake up, when you go to practice. like Describe what a typical day would look for ah look like for someone in your shoes. So...
00:17:25
Speaker
yeah so You know, in college, lots of cheer teams practice at different times. I know in Louisville, they actually practice super late, like very late at night.
00:17:36
Speaker
We happen to practice early in the morning. So we practice, we start at 7. So I like to be up 545, okay, just so I have time to to wake up. Because once we start at 7, our bodies are going.
00:17:50
Speaker
And so it's good to have a little... Me personally, I just can't roll out of bed and go to practice. I have to do a lot of... also have to be aware with like the stunts we're doing and stuff. We have to be so mentally aware.
00:18:01
Speaker
yeah Yeah. We have to be mentally awake morning straight on the ground. And so early morning, we get up, we go to practice, and it's two hours long.
00:18:15
Speaker
And some practices, they're pretty intense. Lots of reps. And again, we our sport is holding people in the air, holding them well, catching them, lots of stuff.
00:18:28
Speaker
Working as a team, building pyramids, three people high. So there's a lot that goes into it. And after practice, we have another hour of weights. And so we go to the weight room and we get stronger.
00:18:40
Speaker
And this is cool because a lot of people on the team They haven't lifted before college. And so weight is new to them. But every girl has seen progress and every guy has seen progress.
00:18:54
Speaker
Every two of the guys may be playing other sports. They probably lifted before in high school and whatnot. But everyone makes progress and they all feel stronger. And we can see it in the weight room, but we can see it at practice. And then after that, I mean, the day is full of school and classes. Some people worked.
00:19:14
Speaker
and Yeah, the work is, I don't know how some people fit that in. Like I'm lucky enough not to work that often, but because school is so much i mean like that sounds like I'm going to say that school, but like it's a lot like you call it level, like it's a lot of studying hours.
00:19:31
Speaker
and And then like let's say we have games that same day. We can have practice and then games that same day. appearances We could just be told that we need to be yeah random place.
00:19:44
Speaker
And would say for the girls, it's a lot harder because they, they, the they, AZ will talk on it, but they have a long, have to get ready and it takes a long time. Guys, we have to shower, shave, put our clothes on. live let i guy um And then we go at these events 30 minutes before, hour before, two and a half hours before, depending on what it is. You have get warmed up, prepared.
00:20:09
Speaker
And then we have the full extent of the game and then kind of a little bit after. So yeah, it can be really busy day. Every day is different, which is fun because it's always like, it switches it up and makes it fun, you know?
00:20:22
Speaker
So yeah. It is fun though. It's worth it. It is so worth it. Like I said, it's privilege, but like we ask and we dream for this. Like we pray for this. So yeah. Yeah. So what advice would you give yourself knowing now what you know?
00:20:38
Speaker
And you've obviously achieved that dream of of being cheerleaders in college. And and what would you what would you say to your 15-year-old self or someone who maybe is is there in high school going, and man, that's my dream.
00:20:56
Speaker
i just don't know how to get there. Yeah. um mine wife This is a kind of tender for my heart because on ah didn I didn't, mean, this actually never was my dream to be at BYU specifically. um I told myself like, i mean, growing up, I always wanted to be a college cheerleader. um But I told myself I wanted for sure get out of Utah and just go somewhere. Like, don't know, that just in my high school mind, you know, like I want to get out, experience the world a little more.
00:21:25
Speaker
And then my senior of high school, I tore my ACL and my world shattered. Like I did not know what to do. i didn't even know if cheer was in my future. So yeah dream crusher. I just didn't know what to do. It kind of,
00:21:38
Speaker
threw my life into a place where, yeah, just uncertainty and unknown. um I was luckily able to recover, and that's actually when I met McKay, Doug's son.
00:21:51
Speaker
I got married and i still was recovering, and then it just so happened that I ended up trying out for be BYU,
00:21:59
Speaker
And was like, okay, I'll just try this out for a year. Like I'm lucky enough that i like I'm back to being recovered from ACL. But i was like, I'll just give this a shot like for a year. Like it's not, I mean, yeah, it wasn't my original dream, but this sounds amazing too, you know?
00:22:15
Speaker
And I tried it out and beyond my expectations, like never could have drew this even up. Like it's so amazing. So I think that's,
00:22:27
Speaker
I mean, going back to your question of what would I tell that 15 year old girl? Yeah, like just no life is full of unexpectancy, like, but you're going end up in a place if you work hard and if you set those goals, like no matter what, you're going end up in place that's like farther better than you could even imagine, especially you know, you have God by your side. Yeah.
00:22:51
Speaker
Yeah, that's really
Overcoming Challenges: Personal Stories and Advice
00:22:53
Speaker
cool. And one thing, if Dustin was here right now, he's my partner, especially for athletes. He also coaches high school football. So right now he's he's coaching and he often tells young people, do not close the door on yourself.
00:23:11
Speaker
Yes. There are so many young people that for fear of failure, close the door on themselves and don't try things. And they just assume i probably can't do that. I tore my ACL or I probably shouldn't even try out because what if I get, it's almost like the fear of being rejected. They would rather and,
00:23:33
Speaker
yeah then maybe be rejected. And we just plead with them. Please don't close the door on your on yourself. And I just saw that in your and your story, Aisley. For sure.
00:23:43
Speaker
Yeah, don't close the door on me. Yeah, that you even just look paps, you know? Like, you never know. Like, don't assume that something's going to be a bad experience. I don't assume that, yeah, that's not for me because what if it is for you? Like, I don't know. I just couldn't imagine myself anywhere else now. i truly couldn't. So...
00:24:02
Speaker
I'm just thankful that it ended up happening because, yeah. So cool. Ammon, what would you say? What would I say to my 15-year-old self? but If your 15-year-old self saw you as a cheerleader at BYU, what would he think?
00:24:18
Speaker
Oh, my goodness gracious. Well, he wouldn't even fathom that was at this point. But one thing i You know, I'm proud of my 15-year-old self.
00:24:34
Speaker
I'm proud of who I was in high school and like what i was and what was i well I was shooting for, it you know? And the reason I say that is because my dreams were to go out and to do.
00:24:49
Speaker
And really, and yeah it comes back to... Football. I really wanted to play football. OK. And i went on a mission, served a mission. I came home and that was still my dream. like Nothing changed. like I just want to go play football. I love the sport so much.
00:25:06
Speaker
And I decided to to walk on to school. No offers, no anything. Just let me just go walk on. And I walked on at Snow College. And, you know, I'm grateful for Coach Zach Erickson for giving me a shot to to be on the team, to be part of that, to feel like I was part of that brotherhood, that family.
00:25:26
Speaker
And by happenstance, you know, I stumbled upon guy on the cheer team. and the rest is history. i I still love football as part of it. But it's exactly what you're saying.
00:25:39
Speaker
That door that I never imagined, hey someone knocked. And so I, I creeped it open. I looked, but I still love football. And then as soon as I opened it, man, it was like the warmth of after a long winter, you know, came in and I totally made me realize, you know, this is, this is awesome. And my advice to 15 year olds and my 15 year old self is just be all in for whatever you go into. Okay.
00:26:09
Speaker
Because at the end you might not, you know you might not make the team that you want to make, okay? But that doesn't mean you should ever not be all in in the journey because you never know what can come from it. It's not just about making a team, not making team. I was blessed to like find another opportunity to use all the...
00:26:31
Speaker
athletic talents and also the mental fortitude I was able to garnish from wrestling and football and weightlifting and put it into something else. And I don't know what that something else is for for you guys, but there can I believe there's always something else. And whether that's athletically or in some other aspects of your life, going all in will help open those doors.
00:26:56
Speaker
And you can't shut them out, but If the door opens, you you might as well just look into it. And that's what I did. i went all in with football.
00:27:07
Speaker
And it didn't end up the way I wanted it to. But it allowed me to get on another path that led me to where I am today. And it just happens to be cheer. It just happens to be at a Division school, which helps me, like,
00:27:23
Speaker
I'm living the dreams that I never imagined I had. with but So i would just say go all in and yeah, say exactly.
00:27:35
Speaker
Bob could tell, i don't know if you've heard of Bob could tell, but he's well known speaker, you know, it goes around and speaks very motivational. He spoke at one of our events and he compared life to like the door at the end of a hallway full of doors is your goal.
00:27:53
Speaker
And as you work toward that door, that door might remain shut forever, right? But every door you cross,
00:28:05
Speaker
opens. And so by going toward one goal, you often open a bunch of other goals. And in your case, it's like you turn, you walk through one of those doors that open for you, and it leads to a place, a destination that you never even thought up in your mind. You never even thought of.
00:28:25
Speaker
Like you said, I love that. The dream you never knew you had might be behind one of those other doors that you open up. And That's a ah beautiful way to put it. So cool. Really, really cool.
00:28:37
Speaker
Okay. Can I transition to, but I'll make this a little more rapid fire. that You two are very thoughtful. I could talk to you for hours. It feels like. so Thank you. Thank you.
00:28:50
Speaker
So on being resilient and overcoming difficulty, I'm sure in cheer and in football, Ammon,
00:29:01
Speaker
There's these moments where where you do experience failure and difficulty and opposition. What have you learned in your personal journeys about how sports can help you build resiliency in your life? and And also just what have you learned that has helped you be resilient and respond to failure in healthy ways that lead to growth?
00:29:30
Speaker
on up yeah I'm go back to my ACL injury again because it truly shaped my character and I am who I am today because of it. But in those darkest times where uncertainty, right, have just never been in that position before. I was just...
00:29:45
Speaker
My typical day was running around, i mean, kind of like how our schedule today was just constant on my feet, you know, go, go, go. It was the first time my life that I slowed down.
00:29:57
Speaker
And so I really had to rely on just pushing through uncomfortable times. But it was so crazy to see that during those most uncomfortable times was when my character built the most. When I recognized other people around me who had gone through the same thing and now I could connect with them.
00:30:17
Speaker
Or, um, I think you're just, yeah, just having that. I mean, I was physically injured, right? But it was physically and even more so mentally a recovery that I had to go through.
00:30:31
Speaker
And so for my brain to rewire and to understand that, okay, I can go from, not being able to walk to not fully be able to run again. But that is the same thing happened in my mind, right? Like, okay, I'm going from all this uncertainty to like, okay, now the world is in my grasp.
00:30:48
Speaker
I have so many more opportunities than I did before this injury. So just using, I would say using your trials as trials because they 100% can be if you choose to let them.
00:31:00
Speaker
So no matter what point in your life that you're in, um in whatever aspect that you're hanging low, like just use those times. I promise, like be patient, be resilient.
00:31:12
Speaker
And I promise that there's going to be like at the end of the other side of that tunnel brighter than you can imagine, like we were talking about. So. so Yeah. yeah Go ahead, Aaron.
00:31:25
Speaker
Yeah. Overcoming, overcoming failure, especially, how overcoming it through like my
How Can Failure Be a Stepping Stone?
00:31:32
Speaker
sports. And i I never really thought about I've compared cheerleading with wrestling and football many times.
00:31:41
Speaker
and in in the And in the competitive aspect, in practices and whatnot. And i I see that and I've learned. And that's what love so much through my experience and experience in everything and being able to look back and reflect on it. That failure isn't, it should not be the end.
00:32:01
Speaker
Failing one time should never be the end. Because if i would have failed if i would if I were to were to stop stunting or trying to hit a stunt after failing over it over and over and over and over, then I would never be able to get it.
00:32:17
Speaker
And one of those stunts, some of the stunts, all the stunts, I've had to go through so many repetitions of inconsistency, failure, not hitting it well, to finally understand and getting a grasp for it.
00:32:31
Speaker
And it's the same thing, let's just say, with weightlifting. Man, you put so much weight under you, and there's something called going to failure. You just go, you go, you go, and you go, you can't go anymore.
00:32:44
Speaker
And it doesn't mean that, you know, strong. You're literally building yourself up only if you continue. If you don't go back, if you're not persistent, then that failure will do more than just a physical toll on your body. It'll all be with your self-esteem, your self-image.
00:33:04
Speaker
So failure should never define failure. what you think of yourself. And I, mean I've seen it so much in my own life. If I were to stop at the face of failure, man, I would not be where am today.
00:33:21
Speaker
I know these are rapid fire, but I want to add one more thing with that. Hey, I'm doing rapid fire for your sakes. I don't know how much time you have. So, so please talk as much as you want. Well, just so important, failure doesn't change your worth.
00:33:36
Speaker
In fact, I think it can now allow you to discover your worth. But nothing about your worth will ever change if you fail. But it can allow you to grow. so overcoming Overcoming and accomplishing something that you have consistently failed at before is one of those things that empowers you so much that makes you realize, wow, I can do more. am more. Look where I am now.
00:33:59
Speaker
So that's why failure is important. It makes you not afraid to fail because, yeah again, learning. But it's so hard to go through that. Actually, no one likes to fail, but it's important. yeah Yeah. We have often we've often said that if you haven't experienced failure, then you don't yet know your limits.
00:34:24
Speaker
Right? I mean, it's that bumping up against failure when you start to say, okay, here's where I can start. start to grow but if you haven't taken enough chances or put yourself in situations where if you've experienced failure then it's hard for for you to know exactly what you could become and playing life safe will never lead to the best life and so that's that's really great thank you both now okay this is something that i am so excited to talk to the two of you about and uh we have this principle called compete without contempt
00:34:59
Speaker
You don't need to hate your opponent to compete against your opponent.
Competitive Spirit with a Positive Mindset
00:35:05
Speaker
And we love sharing this quote from GK Chesterton. um We see this embodied a lot right now in BYU football. Coach Kalani Satake talks about this a lot, that love and learn is their mantra, right? And GK Chesterton said, the true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.
00:35:32
Speaker
And I just love that quote that so many people, it seems they try to use hate to motivate, right? Instead of love, like love of my teammates, love of my school, love of my community, love of you to represent a ah school that is a faith-based institution, love of my faith and being a representative of of that.
00:35:58
Speaker
And there's so much love that could be our fuel that we shouldn't have to tap into hate. And you're in the business of helping a crowd impact a game.
00:36:10
Speaker
Lavelle Edwards Stadium and the Marriott Center, for example, are legendary for being home court and home field advantages because because the crowd is just so intense. I mean, every broadcast you see, they're talking about this place is nuts. like People can't even hear themselves.
00:36:29
Speaker
And you're part of producing that, right? how can I'm thinking of young students in the student sections and the cheerleaders and the creating traditions at school, what have you found that helps create such a positive, loving, but super competitive environment versus one that's full of hate and vitriol?
00:36:53
Speaker
Does that question make sense? to So I'd love to know your thoughts on creating that loving but intense competitive kind of environment instead of a hate-filled environment.
00:37:05
Speaker
Yeah, I think A great example, and you brought it up. I mean, he's done such a good job at building the culture and community that BYU athletics is in football because Kalani Sitake, he's like one of the greatest coaches in the country when it comes to exactly what we're talking about.
00:37:28
Speaker
And I feel like because he's the embodiment of what we want to be athletes, as a fan base at the games.
00:37:41
Speaker
I think when people go to watch BYU and we watch them play football, they are always reminded as well of the message that Kalani has said to his team, what he said out Cougar Nation.
00:37:56
Speaker
And so they have that in the back of their mind. We want to go, we want to win, but we also want to do it with love. And i think that motivates our fans, that motivates our student section to be intense, to be in the game.
00:38:13
Speaker
But at the end of the day, understanding that it's all about um doing it with the love for the people we're going against. Awesome. yeah Yeah, I'm going to off gratitude a little bit here, just because I love talking about gratitude.
00:38:30
Speaker
But personally, i feel like when you have a grateful heart for what you're doing, for the people around you, right for the environment you're in it's impossible to lead with hatred.
00:38:42
Speaker
So and and the example of the football game again, or even just us competing with cheer, when I'm grateful for just the experience I am in moment,
00:38:54
Speaker
looking at the mountains, right? Just being there with all the people, like, we're so, when I'm thinking in that way, it's, yeah, it's impossible to lead off of hatred and then in turn, and then in that way, not like, yeah, all competitiveness is lost. Like, you can still work hard, right? And do your best.
00:39:16
Speaker
I think we ultimately feel our best when, Maybe, yes win is so nice, but I think we also might feel our best when we perform our best. And so, don't know. I just think gratitude has a lot to do with that because the grateful heart takes away hatred.
00:39:31
Speaker
Yeah. what What's it mean at the end of the game? What does the win? What does the loss mean? I think it comes down to, it just might sound funny to what we really believe in our heart about the people we're competing against. What do they mean to us?
00:39:46
Speaker
Again, on the field, they're competitor. But win or lose, we will still be just as nice to them on their way out as they were on their way in.
00:39:58
Speaker
Because what really matters in life, you know, like at the end of our lives, what's going to matter? You know, how we treat people, how we made them feel, and think is what matters most. So, yeah.
00:40:09
Speaker
Awesome. One last question for you. I told you that the heart of our program is using our position as athletes to help and lift those around us and to be good examples.
Being a Role Model: Impact and Authenticity
00:40:24
Speaker
Um, Aisley, maybe I'll start with you because I've seen having all girls going to even BYU sporting events, having girls that were dancers that ended up, you know, two of them dancing in college and, and,
00:40:40
Speaker
doing a lot of what the two of you do, I would go to games to watch football. But I would notice my daughters were always more interested in the cheerleaders and the cougarettes.
00:40:53
Speaker
When it went to, when it went to um you know, break, commercial break, and the cheerleaders or the cougarettes would come on the on the field,
00:41:04
Speaker
That's when, oh look, the Cougarettes are out there, you know, and they wanted to go get sodas during the game. Right. And so. But I've seen the impact like a BYU cheerleader like yourself could have on little girls that look up to them, that admire them.
00:41:24
Speaker
And i would just wonder first, what has that been like for you to be in that sport light? And I'm sure you have a lot of little girls that come up, want to take pictures with you and things like that.
00:41:35
Speaker
And then how have you been able to use your position to help and lift people? Yeah. Okay. Wow. i love this question. Um, those little girls are my why, like, that's why do what i do. Like I could get emotional from that.
00:41:51
Speaker
Um, Just because they see this almost perfect face, especially as a cheerleader, right? I've got full face of makeup on. And don't know. It always makes me emotional even when I'm taking pictures and people are looking up to me. Because I'm like, little do they know, I'm just a normal human.
00:42:09
Speaker
Like, I have my fair share of problems. I have those nights I'm crying. I'm just an you know ordinary girl, you know? And they almost look up to me like I'm just... bob just like, you know, and don't know.
00:42:24
Speaker
I just think that's, I hope that I can give off the lesson to those little girls that like they can chase after those, after their dreams though, and accomplish something amazing and be able to put on that uniform, you know, Sunday or that uniform may be just their task of life, you know, what they choose to do with their opportunities.
00:42:45
Speaker
We really do have so many opportunities to serve and to lift each other up. especially in our positions as cheerleaders, just because we have a lot of little eyes on us.
00:42:56
Speaker
And so just being that example of light and kindness, we're always smiling, right? But like, smile through life. Like, that yes, we go through hard times. And yes, I'm more of an ordinary person that goes through trials. But we all can, i think, do a little better job at smiling through it. Um,
00:43:18
Speaker
Because, don't know, life is precious. And so if we are grateful for those little things and happy to where we're at, then, yeah. Yeah. Aisley, one like another question and then I'm coming to you, Amon.
00:43:33
Speaker
Someone might look at you and think that that girl's probably felt zero insecurity in her entire life. You know, but you've been a teenage girl. You know how it's easy to look around and compare and I imagine that like my own girls, you've experienced your own insecurities, your own moments of doubt.
00:43:57
Speaker
What would you say to a young person who's battling that right now? And I'm not saying we ever fully get over it and grow out of it completely, but it is hyper, maybe a time of hyper intensity during high school.
00:44:14
Speaker
Anything you would say yeah girls who might listen to this? I think that re relying on your community and connections with others is so important because but you're so likely to feel alone in those circumstances. And every girl, mean, everyone, but especially girls, struggles with insecurities, I think, maybe lot more sometimes than men.
00:44:37
Speaker
But, um yeah, don't do it alone. Like, there is so much... joy that can come from or even help that can come from reaching out to other people your same age or people you look up to. Because if I get a little girl reach out to me, like I will not hesitate to tell her, you know, like to give her hope and to share my insecurities, you know, but reaching out to other people makes you realize that you're not alone and that we can do this together, right? We're all in this together. So I say reach out and then from there, just
00:45:13
Speaker
Yeah, and be confident and know that it's okay. It's normal to have those feelings. Because the worst thing you can do in those situations is like, oh my gosh, something's wrong me because I'm having these feelings. and It's normal. You're human.
00:45:25
Speaker
But, you know, do it together. I love what you say. yeah Yeah. Not only reaching out to others for help, but reaching out to others to help.
00:45:35
Speaker
I had my daughter who's a senior in high school right now.
00:45:41
Speaker
I think a lot of people would look at her and think, oh, she doesn't have any insecurities. You you know, she doesn't have anything like that. Obviously, like all of us, she does. And and um she said something. She was invited to speak in a church meeting on service.
00:45:58
Speaker
And she said, it's hard to feel self-conscious when you're being conscious of other people. I love that so much. And I was like, wow, that's that's profound.
00:46:13
Speaker
And it really touched me to think about that, that I've never really been trying to help someone else and feeling self-conscious at the same time. So true. Yeah, I love that.
00:46:24
Speaker
So I love what you're saying. You reach out. You need to have people in your life you could reach out to and say, hey, help me. But also, you those same teammates that you think have no insecurities, yeah, they probably do.
00:46:37
Speaker
So reach out to them and make them, instead of worrying about whether you feel beautiful, smart, talented, whatever, if you leave your door and say, I'm going to try to make other people feel beautiful, smart, talented, whatever, um it'll be hard to be self-conscious. So awesome.
00:46:55
Speaker
And Ammon, I've avoided this up to this point, but oh man, you make me laugh. You make
Ammon's TikTok Persona: Spreading Positivity
00:47:01
Speaker
me laugh. And for those who maybe see this and haven't put two and two together, so Ammon is Uncle Bub TikTok, right? yeah I have laughed so hard at some of your videos that I've had to like gather people to you have like a little fan club of people just laughing so hard at some of the stuff that you do. If, if anyone listening to this doesn't know what we're talking about, just go to Tik TOK or are you on Instagram too?
00:47:35
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And search up Uncle Bub and just watch. And you could be entertained for a couple of hours. Oh, thank you. Thank you.
00:47:46
Speaker
But you also use your platform. it's It's fun. It's wholesome. It's good. It's encouraging. And every now and then you'll even throw in a little, hey, I had this thought. And it's not the funny type of thing. It's like, I want to share something, you know.
00:48:03
Speaker
why is it important to you to use whatever platform you're given to try to help and lift other people? Because to me, as I watch you, yeah it seems like that's important to you.
00:48:16
Speaker
Yeah. the Like you said, when I post on social media, it's really everything about myself that I'm like portraying, whether that's my humor humor.
00:48:33
Speaker
my spiritual side and there's everything that goes into it.
00:48:40
Speaker
a ah lot of it is because it was just an experiment, just put stuff out there. And when people, they reach out to me and they appreciate ah like you were saying, whether that's just wholesome or some content or stuff that's really making them feel like better. That's guys trying to get guys into cheerleading or whatnot.
00:49:11
Speaker
I just, I like to do it because
00:49:18
Speaker
This just, I, I'm on social media and I see what's out there. And there's a lot of stuff that I'm like, oh man, this stuff, like I'm watching it. And i'm like, I'm just, I always came back to my little siblings are on the same app.
00:49:35
Speaker
Okay. And there's little kids everywhere or there's families everywhere that, you If anything is posted, they probably want to see something good or wholesome.
00:49:47
Speaker
And so I decided I'm going to post stuff that is great to share, that people are willing to share, that people are willing to show other people.
00:49:58
Speaker
And i don't intend for any subtle meanings that, you know, people wouldn't want to have their kids to learn about or anything like that.
00:50:12
Speaker
And it's just a great ah great process that I've been able to to have and experiment with. that I'm still learning an awesome journey. And everything that has to do with it is just, you know, just being myself and being uplifting.
00:50:30
Speaker
ah char Well, I appreciate it. You have one fan in the world. yeah That's at least two on this call. Well, to the two of you, i just want to say thank you so much for joining this podcast and for sharing your own experiences and and your own thoughts.
Closing Remarks and Encouragement
00:50:51
Speaker
We appreciate it and we wish you the best of luck in all your goals, all your endeavors. And we look forward to maybe doing some things with you in the future. We would love to to do some things together and and appreciate all that you do for the community and for the people that you are.
00:51:09
Speaker
And so thank you for joining. Thank you so much. You're so great. Thank you. Thanks everyone for joining the especially for athletes podcast. As always, keep your eyes up and do the work. Thank you for joining the especially for athletes podcast to learn more about especially for athletes organization, get a copy of our book, the sport light, or to bring our program to your team, school, business, or organization.
00:51:32
Speaker
Visit us at especially for athletes.org.