IN HER freshman year of high school, Macy Olive decided to try out for the cheerleading squad. Olive came from what she considers a “football family” and was in love with the game. She shared, “My dad has a real passion for football, and that translated to me. I took up his same passion. I wanted to be on the sideline. I wanted to have a part in what that experience of football in a small town felt like. I wasn’t playing football, so the next best thing I could do was be a cheerleader.”
Unbeknownst to Olive at the time, both her time as a cheerleader and her passion for football would serve her well in life. Specifically, Olive’s time as a cheerleader grew her personally and professionally. She shared, “I cheered for coach Gina Bumbalough my sophomore year through my senior year. And senior year, I was the cheerleading captain. Bumbalough was an amazing, fantastic, very organized, and detail-oriented coach. I saw her kind of like she was my boss. She would call me and say, “Hey, do you have the practice schedule plan? Do you have our fundraisers sorted out? Who’s cheering this game? What do you have for the team? What cheer are we doing this time out? What are we doing this halftime?” And as an 18-year-old, I didn’t understand all the time why I had to shoulder that responsibility. Truly, it was the first time I was responsible for something.”
While the weight of leadership may not have felt fun for Olive throughout high school, the saying “diamonds are made under pressure” has proved itself true in her life. Olive’s experiences helped prepare her for a bright and brilliant future in college and beyond. Olive shared, “My experiences as Bumbalough’s captain translated through college, specifically into the clubs and activities I was involved in. I was the president of my sorority. Without cheerleading and the leadership skills I gained from being on a team, I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish everything that I did in college.”
Olive graduated with a degree in journalism and mass communications. Then she switched gears a little bit and decided to pursue a path to work in college football. She was able to work as one of the only females on an all-male team at Middle Tennessee State University, get her master’s for free, and lead a group of 20 interns, all simultaneously. Olive shared, “A lot of people see cheerleading one way and don’t realize all its benefits. Cheerleading has taken me throughout my life and developed in me great leadership skills, which keeps translating into every job that I have. A lot of people see cheerleading one way and don’t realize all the benefits that it has.”
Currently, Olive is the assistant coach for Tullahoma’s high school cheerleading squad. Her reasoning for coaching is closely connected to her own experiences. She said, “I’ve realized through the years how much this town gave to me. If I didn’t have the support, mentorship, and opportunities that Tullahoma gave me, I don’t know if I would be where I am in my life. So to come and give back to the community that gave so much to me is huge. Pouring into these girls and being there for them in more ways than just cheerleading is why I do it. It’s all about the girls and their growth.” GN
