I’m officially almost 2 months post-op. As I’m writing this, I’m on my flight back to Birmingham after spending the weekend coaching in Indiana. For the first time since surgery, I went the entire weekend without my scooter. Twenty-one hours of coaching. Countless conversations. Countless breakthroughs. This recovery has been one of the most humbling seasons of my life. For a while, I wondered if my biggest fear had become my reality. Coaching has never just been what I do—it’s who I am. Then something hit me this weekend… Even when life takes away one of your greatest strengths, it can never take away your purpose. I may not be flipping yet, but I was still able to coach. I was still able to pour into athletes. I was still able to help change lives. John and I watched athlete after athlete break through mental blocks that had held them back for months—some for years. The crazy part? Most of them didn’t need a new skill. They needed someone to believe in them before they believed in themselves. Sometimes a five-minute conversation can change the direction of someone’s entire career. That’s why coaching matters. That’s why leadership matters. And that’s why I’ll never let adversity write the ending to my story. If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this, it’s this: Your circumstances do not define your ceiling. Your response to them does. Every setback carries an opportunity to become someone stronger, wiser, and more resilient than you were before. This comeback isn’t just about my Achilles. It’s about proving—to myself and to everyone watching—that you can lose your footing without losing your purpose. We’re coming back. Stronger. Smarter. More grateful. See you all at the top. — Coach Jay

I tore my Achilles. For an athlete that is one of the scariest sentences you can hear. And I want to be honest with you about what that has felt like — because I think it matters for some of you who are going through your own version of adversity right now. The first thing I felt was not pain. It was the thought of everything I had planned that suddenly felt uncertain. But here is what I realized within the first 48 hours: The Achilles heals. The build does not stop. I cannot train right now. I cannot demonstrate on the mat. I cannot do a lot of the things that defined me as an athlete for most of my life. But I can coach. I can build. I can create. I can show up for the athletes and businesses I am responsible for. So that is what I am doing. This boot on my foot is not a pause button. It is just part of the story. If you are going through something right now that feels like it is slowing you down — I want you to know that the climb does not stop because of one setback. It just looks different for a while. Keep going. — Coach Jay

The thing nobody tells you about reaching the highest level of this sport is that getting there is only half of it. I have seven World Championship titles. I have cheered at Navarro and the University of Alabama. I have represented Team USA. Officially cheered at the pro level. I have been on Netflix, NBC "STUMBLE", America's Got Talent, Ellen DeGeneres Show, etc.. I still have so much more in store. And the most important lesson I have learned from all of it is this — The standard you hold yourself to when nobody is watching determines everything about where you end up. Every world championship I won was decided in the gym at 11pm when practice was over and everyone else went home. Every opportunity I have today was built on thousands of decisions I made in private that nobody saw. That is what The Summit Standard™ is built around. Not the result. The standard that creates the result. What standard are you holding yourself to right now when nobody is watching? Drop your answer in the comments. I read every single one. — Coach Jay

I want to tell you something that most people in my position would not say publicly. Building two cheer businesses and an education platform simultaneously at 25 years old while rehabbing a torn Achilles is not glamorous. It is not what the highlight reel looks like. Some days I am sitting in my office at the gym with a boot on my foot, answering parent emails, reviewing coaching schedules, building curriculum, and posting content — all before noon. Not because it is easy. Because this is what building something real actually looks like. I came from nothing. I did not have a blueprint. I did not have someone hand me a roadmap and tell me exactly how to get here. I figured it out by showing up every single day and refusing to stop when things got hard. That is what Base Camp is built on. That story. That standard. If you are a young athlete trying to prove something to the people around you — I see you. I was you. And I am building this community specifically so you do not have to figure it out alone the way I did. Welcome to the climb. — Coach Jay

This is my space inside Base Camp to give you the full picture of who I am — not just as a coach but as someone who has been through the journey you are on right now and came out the other side having built something real. You are going to find four types of content in this category: → BEHIND THE BUILD The real unfiltered story of building Altitude Cheer, Black Watch Cheer, and Altitude University simultaneously at 25 years old. The wins, the hard parts, and everything in between. → FROM THE TOP Lessons learned from competing at the highest level of this sport. Navarro. University of Alabama. Team USA. Netflix CHEER. America's Got Talent. Miami Metal. Cheer Athletics Cheetahs and Wildcats. California All-Stars SMOED. Gymtyme All-Stars Chrome. Not motivational quotes — real insights from real experience. → THE COMEBACK My Achilles recovery documented honestly. What it looks like to tear your Achilles and keep building instead of stopping. This one is personal — and I think it is going to mean something to a lot of you who have faced adversity and wondered if you could keep going. → TELEPORTING UPDATES Behind the scenes content from myself at big events, whether that's me traveling to Los Angeles for award shows, New York for crazy opportunities, Miami for Creator events and Miami metal practice. You are going to watch this journey unfold in real time from inside this community before anyone else sees it. Check back here regularly. New content drops minimum twice a week. — Coach Jay Kendrick 7x World Champion | Netflix CHEER | Team USA | Navarro College | The University of Alabama