Exploring Life & Business with Christine Partlo of CL Spirit

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Partlo

Hi Christine, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Cheerleading has been a part of my life since I was around twelve years old. As I grew in the sport as an athlete myself, my love for cheer continued to blossom which in turn, would lead to a coaching career.

From a shy middle school girl learning how to do basic skills, to cheering at a Varsity level, to becoming a staff member for an elite cheerleading camp company, to cheering and coaching for an all-star team and coaching at the high school level, to even cheering for a pro arena football team, you can say I have had some pretty amazing opportunities! My now husband even proposed following a halftime performance. Cheer is engrained in me!

After getting married and eventually having my daughter, I really had the desire to get back into coaching. I had started my then 2-year-old daughter, Lydia in a dance class at a local dance studio. After chatting with the owner, she mentioned that she would love to have cheer added as a class and gave me an opportunity to coach again. I am forever thankful to her for that initial opportunity. After a short season there, I realized that the style in which I was used to and wanted to have the athletes compete, along with the physical needs for the sport, would really be best run separately. That was when I decided to start my own cheer gym and CL Spirit was born! A lot of people think the CL stands for Croswell-Lexington since that is the area we are in, but it really started as nod to the family/mother-daughter relationship for me (Christine) and my daughter Lydia.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting the cheer gym has had a whole slew of bumps in the road. When we officially started, we rented out the local elementary school gymnasium. We did not have the equipment most facilities have and slowly got our feet wet in the all-star world. A lot had changed since I had last coached, and there was a lot of learning both by the athletes and me. Then the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic hit right in the middle of our first official season as CL Spirit. Once some restrictions were lifted, we had socially distanced practices in my front yard. I had been looking for an actual practice space to utilize since we also were not able to use the school anymore. I found our first space and it was a great little starter. When I say little, I mean it. I look back and question how we made it work. A competition floor is 42’x54′ and the floor we could fit into the building was 21’x30′ which isn’t bad when you are learning basic skills, but with growth of skills and number of athletes, we were busting at the seams. After looking tirelessly, I finally found a place that could give us a spot to grow. The building is old, dirty, and a slew of issues, but we have made a lot of improvements and made it work. After our one-year lease, the landlord decided to sell the building. I frantically searched for a place to move but to stay in the same area and find the specifications needed proved basically impossible. After a lot of thought and depleting our savings, we were able to purchase the building. There are a lot of things to do, but now that it is ours, we can improve on our investment and be able to offer a safe space for our athletes.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about CL Spirit?
CL Spirit is a facility that trains and competes in the sport of all-star cheerleading, dance, and tumbling classes. We offer things that range from full season travel competitive cheer/hip hop teams to recreational classes ages 2+.

There aren’t a lot of all-star gyms in the state of Michigan. The next closest would be around an hour away. We offer opportunities for youth to learn the sport and compete while learning leadership, teamwork, and discipline. We are growing in the dance aspect but mainly specialize in the hip hop genre.

I want people to know how loved their children are when they are here. Yes, we work hard and compete, but the focus is also on the memories that the athletes and families create while here. I want every athlete/dancer to know that whether they come for a one-day class, or are here for years, they are valued and always a part of our family.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
One thing I am working on is asking for help when needed. I have always been the type of person to figure things out and make things happen. I have struggled with asking for others to jump in. Finding someone who has been through what I have and talking through situations has been a huge benefit. I am thankful for my cheer coach and gym owner community who have been there for me to work through situations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://app.jackrabbitclass.com/regv2.asp
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clspiritallstars/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clspirit/