Monica Aldama's Career History, from Navarro College to NBC's Stumble
Here's a look at the professional journey of Monica Aldama, the coach from Netflix's Cheer, who's now an executive producer on the sitcom Stumble.
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Five years ago, mainstream audiences became captivated by the high stakes world of competitive cheerleading displayed in Netflix's Emmy-winning docuseries, Cheer. The series focused on the co-ed Bulldogs Cheer Team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, which was coached by Monica Aldama.
Over two seasons of the series, the team and Aldama became celebrities outside their sport. In 2023, Aldama closed her coaching career by retiring from Navarro College and since then, she's been dabbling in some new areas. Now, she's ready to show the world her latest project, as an executive producer on NBC's upcoming mockumentary comedy, Stumble.
RELATED: All the Guest Stars Appearing on Stumble in the Cheerleading Sitcom's Debut Season
Created by siblings Liz Astrof (Pivoting) and Jeff Astrof (Shining Vale), Stumble debuts on Friday, November 7 at 8:30/7:30c on NBC and follows the career of fictional junior college cheer coach legend, Courteney Potter (Jenn Lyon).
Read on to learn more about Aldama's involvement in the mockumentary and her cheer history.
Monica Aldama's early years
After graduating from Corsicana High School in Texas, Aldama attended Tyler Junior College, where she cheered, according to The Guardian. She then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, according to a bio on the Navarro College Bulldogs site. Aldama went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Tyler.
She explained on the podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard in 2024 that coaching cheer teams was not something she'd ever planned to do professionally.
"I was definitely going to go into the business world," Aldama told Shepard. "I had a finance degree. I love numbers so I kind of pictured myself [at] Wall Street doing that whole thing in the finance industry."
But Aldama was unhappy with the job that she had at the time, so she didn't totally rule out the opportunity when a friend at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, let her know about an open cheer coach position. "He was like, 'Hey, come apply for this job. Our cheerleading coach is leaving,'" Aldama explained. "And I was like, 'Okay, I guess.' And so I did and here I am... So, it wasn't the plan."
She threw herself into the job and coached the Navarro College Bulldogs to 17 national titles with the National Cheerleaders Association. Under her leadership, the team also won six Grand National Championships. Her cheer program also holds the record of highest score awarded by the NCA College Nationals.
When did Monica Aldama retire from coaching Navarro College cheer?
The end of the Fall 2023 semester was Aldama's last at Navarro College. After nearly three decades of coaching cheer there, Aldama's retirement was announced by the school on November 29, 2023. "Aldama's legacy is nothing short of extraordinary," the school's announcement read, citing her many accomplishments and the titles she led the Bulldogs to.
Several days later, on December 3, 2023, Aldama posted her own message about her retirement on Instagram. "It’s been incredible what these amazing athletes have accomplished," she wrote. "From day one, my whole world has revolved around the Navarro College program and every cheerleader that has come through those doors. Every athlete has made me who I am and has made me a better person, a better coach, a better friend, and a better human. They have taught me lessons I never would have learned had I chosen a different career path."
What has Monica Aldama been up to since Cheer?
After Aldama was featured on Cheer, her new-found fame led to her being cast in the 29th season of Dancing with the Stars, which premiered in September of 2020. She was paired with veteran dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy and they placed 10th for the season.
Aldama released a memoir in 2022, titled Full Out: Lessons In Life and Leadership from America's Favorite Coach.
Now, she's an executive producer on Stumble, which stars Jenn Lyon and Taran Killam. Kristin Chenoweth has a recurring guest-star role. Ryan Pinkston, Jarrett Austin Brown, Anissa Borrego, Arianna Davis, Taylor Dunbar, and Georgie Murphy also star.
Stumble debuts on Friday, November 7 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Episodes stream the day after on Peacock.
