Dad in a Cheer Bow - Patrick Riccards

Cheer dad! The incredible lessons from this middle-aged man learned coaching a team of tween girls. When Patrick first became a "boy cheer coach" a few years back, he had no idea what was in store for him. He had agreed simply because his daughter asked him to. Once the deal was done, there was no turning back!

Initially, Patrick struggles to fit in with a group of women and feels out of place. Will he ever truly belong? Working with nineteen tween girls and absolutely no understanding about cheer or cheer competitions, surprisingly cheer soon becomes part of his DNA. It was quite a learning experience. Together, they overcame major adversity to win second place at Globals and place Top 10 at Nationals. Over the course of four years, he helped these girls' become athletes and young women, including during the struggles of COVID and how it took a final season away from his daughter and many of her teammates.

Dad in a Cheer Bow provides us with an in-depth look into the cheerleading world and this father's relationship with his daughter. It begins with him believing he would just stand in the back as a volunteer, but he couldn't be more wrong. The pressures of coaching were high, and the stress of managing work and being a coach was beginning to get too much, but the payoff was well worth it. Being a Wildcat cheerleader made Patrick a better dad and a better man.