Accomplished American cheerleader Kenley Pope’s mother, Courtney Smith-Pope, is a renowned cheerleading coach who currently operates the Cheer Extreme Allstars gym in Kernersville, Salem.
Courtney began coaching cheerleading when she was 14 years old. In 1992, after her mother, Betsy Smith founded the Cheer Extreme Allstars gym, Courtney started forming a group of recreational basketball cheerleaders and coaching them.
Eventually, her group got a chance to participate in a national competition. In 1992, it won the national title for the first time, becoming a significant turning point for her career and the Cheer Extreme Allstars gym.
Since then, the gym that Courtney operates with her husband, Ben Pope, has won over 850 national titles and been honored with several awards.
Likewise, as mentioned in her LinkedIn, Courtney Smith-Pope owned Cheer Extreme Allstars since August 1993.
Courtney Smith-Pope was a cheerleader at Wake Forest University
After graduating from Northwest Guilford High School in 1995, Courtney Smith-Pope enrolled at Wake Forest University to earn a degree in Biology.
During her study period at Wake, she also performed as a cheerleader; however, when it came to choosing a profession for a lifetime, she clung to coaching.
In 2009, she won the Coach of the Year award, aided by the U.S. All-Star Federation (USASF).
Having such a background, Courtney also encouraged her daughters Kenley Pope and Carley Starr to try out for cheerleading since their early years, which turned fruitful for them to get exposure.
Among the two, her daughter, Kenley, achieved a lot. Her Instagram bio says that she is a two-time World Championship-winning cheerleader.
Recently, in the 2024 Cheerleading World Championship, she grabbed the first position with the team Cheer Extreme Lady Lux, which was a proud moment for Courtney.
The mother-daughter duo has amazed audiences with their achievements in cheerleading. The sad part is that her daughter Kenley has announced her retirement now.
Additional Information
- Born in 1977, Courtney Smith-Pope is currently 46 years old.
- She is happily married to her husband, Ben Pope.
- Courtney is heavily active on Facebook, having 4.2k friends.
