Courtney Krauss ’06, current teacher and head cheerleading coach at Fort Worth Country Day, shared her journey as a high school talent to cheering at the collegiate and NFL level. Her story is nothing but remarkable and truly inspiring; the pure grit and determination that is within her has pushed her to heights any cheerleader would dream to achieve.
As a freshman in high school at FWCD, Krauss knew she had the capability to cheer in college. She was a part of an all star team with Spirit of Texas, and the mats there became like her second home. It became a daily commute for Krauss and her family to travel to Arlington for her practices. Often, she missed much of the social aspect of high school.
“Even though it was tough, my goals and ambitions were worth it,” said Krauss.
Krauss draws on both of her experiences cheering competitively and in high school. Each contributed greatly to her future success in college.
“I competed at the national and world level with my all star team, which really helped prepare me for the skills that I would need in college, and then cheering at Country Day really helped me for the game aspect,” said Krauss.
After visiting many schools and trying out for their cheer program, Krauss was invited to join numerous teams. Her primary choices at the time were Vanderbilt and the University of Miami. Coach Breedlove, a source of reason for many FWCD athletes, encouraged Krauss to go to “The U”, considering their much stronger athletic institution and the opportunity for her to gain air time.
Following two influential seasons of cheering at the University of Miami, Krauss transferred to the University of Oklahoma. While still at UM and cheering at an away game in OU’s stadium, she was enticed by the exciting atmosphere performing in front of 80,000 people could bring. She described her experience at OU as life changing and intrustrumental in her growth as both a student and a cheerleader.
Once graduated, Krauss moved back to Dallas, and cheered for the Dallas Stars for two seasons. As an Ice Girl, she learned how to dance and skate on the NHL stage. Aside from this being an enjoyable experience, her ultimate goal was to cheer in the NFL.
Krauss tried out for the country’s most renowned cheerleading squad, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Referred to as “America’s Sweethearts”, this program has been known for its immense impact on the growth of professional cheerleading since the 1970’s.
She made it to the finals, an astounding feat, yet was later cut due to her height.
“I was basically told that I was too short, and that was really hard to hear, because that was something I couldn’t change. And I was someone who, if my coach told me I needed to work on something, I would get in the gym and work on it and really strive to get better,” said Krauss.
Despite this disappointment, Krauss was pointed into a new direction. Her husband, who grew up in the Northeast, suggested that she try out for the New England Patriots cheerleading team. Not being familiar with their program, she traveled to Boston in 2017 for one of their prep classes, and was immediately struck by their style and how the coach trained her athletes. Krauss fell in love with both her future teammates and instructuors on this brief trip.
Krauss took a year to enjoy being a newly-wed following this. During this period, she trained diligently for the NEPC. She worked on her skills assiduously, making sure there would be no doubt of her making the team.
While balancing a nine to five job, Krauss still made time to find a gym to practice her routines before and after work. She spoke of the importance of being prepared. It not only allowed her to perform with more confidence, but also a sense of calm. She leaned into all areas she could improve as an athlete, from nutrition to meditation.
“Performing on that big of a stage just showed me how much dedication you need behind the scenes,” said Krauss.
In the following year, Krauss tried out for the New England Patriots cheerleading program and unquestionably made the team.
“It did not come easy at all, but making the team was truly one of the biggest accomplishments to date,” said Krauss.
Achieving this kind of success is unknown to many. Much of the work Krauss did came with many setbacks, yet these issues she encountered fueled her fire even more to improve as an athlete.
“Like I said, I got told no before I was told yes. And sometimes those no’s are super motivating, because there could always be something better waiting for you down the road,” said Krauss.
In 2018, the Patriots had a successful run through the playoffs, and made it to the Superbowl. They won their sixth championship under the leadership of NFL hall of famer, Tom Brady, and produced a record of then 10 Superbowl appearances.
“It was a really exciting year to make the team,” Krauss also mentioned, “when in the tunnel I would sometimes make eye contact with Tom, and I was like ‘Oh, this is the coolest job I’ve ever had.’”
Eventhough Krauss made the team the previous year, she still had to go through the try out process again. She made the team once more and was also elected team captain. This was not Krauss’s first rodeo, she also captained while cheering for the Dallas Stars and during her collegiate career.
She attributed her strong foundation as both a leader and an athlete to her formative years at FWCD.
“Country Day really helped me become more confident as a leader. Public speaking, being there for my teammates, making up choreography, those were all things that I did while cheering in high school,” said Krauss.
Assertive in her skills as both an athlete and leader, Krauss knew she wanted to pursue a future in coaching following her second year of cheerleading for the Patriots. She later scheduled a meeting with FWCD’s athletic director and spoke of her keen interest in coaching at the school.
For her to begin this next step in her athletic career she needed to obtain a graduate degree in education, so that’s exactly what Krauss did. She applied to Texas Christian University in 2020 and graduated the succeeding year.
Now with a degree, Krauss started as a substitute teacher and a volunteer coach. The next year both a teaching position and head cheerleading coach job opened up, and she was, of course, the first on everyones mind when looking for a new hire.
“The stars aligned when it was time for me to go from the professional world and doing it myself, to then being able to coach and teach, which is my current passion,” said Krauss.
The transition from athlete to coach is often a difficult experience for many, yet with the implementation of Krauss’s past coaches’ advice, the adjustment was smooth.
While cheering for the Patriots, her coach often emphasized the importance of her cheerleaders’ opinions and safety. Krauss now uses this past guidance in order to better understand and support her athletes.
“I understand that my Country Day cheerleaders are super well rounded and involved in a lot of extracurriculars, so I try to put myself in their shoes and would never ask them to overcommit themselves, because that wouldn’t have worked for me in high school,” said Krauss.
Feedback is a valuable skill for all leaders within any program, so Krauss often asks her girls to provide their opinions on how the past season went. She looks for things to improve on and things to continue in order to build a better program at Country Day.
Numerous collegiate and professional athletes find themselves at a loss when their athletic career ends due to them dedicating much of their time to their respective sport. Krauss mentioned the value in being well versed in things outside of performing.
“Your sport is not going to be the only thing that defines you. So being well rounded and having different experiences will help develop you both as an individual and an athlete.” said Krauss.
Krauss has dreams of creating the Country Day cheerleading team into an even more remarkable program through the lessons she’s learned from her inspirational career.
Cheerleading has taught Krauss more than amazing skills and crazy jumps; cheerleading has built her into a dedicated, encouraging coach- not only empathizing with but also pushing her athletes to their best selves as well.
