Cheerleading has always been something that my very best friends and I have all enjoyed doing together. For the past three years, it has been something we have looked forward to because it was what brought us all together in the first place and we worked so incredibly well together. Cheerleading was our escape from everything else that was happening in our lives.
For years, our coaches were our role models. They always did everything with such grace and with the best intentions and we admired them so greatly for that. They were not just coaches to us though. They were the ones that were always there for us and actually wanted to be. All of the memories we made together- laughing, crying, frustration- we all treasure them in our hearts.
Our head coach, Colleen Day, was also the assistant coach at the University of Dubuque. She was so talented and rich with ideas and comfort; it is the perfect personality for a coach. At the end of the season my Junior year of high school, we had a team meeting in the school library after school. We had just got back from competing at Nationals in Orlando, Florida. We all suspected something was astray about this meeting our coach had arranged. As a huge group of cheerleaders piled into the library trying to get comfortable, shoving past everyone with their bulky book bags hitting the person next to them, we all wait with anticipation to find out what the obscure meeting is about and anxious to leave so we can go home and eat.
Girls sitting in others laps and some sitting on the floor because there was not enough room for everyone, we all faced Colleen who was sitting in the middle so we all could see her while she talked. She already had tears in her eyes because of what she was about to say to us. Once she started talking her voice was shaky and told us, once again, how much we all mean to her and how terrific and important we all are. At this point an abundance of thoughts were going through my head, What could this be about? Are they canceling the cheer program?, I was getting worried with the build up my coach made for the discussion.
She finally spit out the words she was trying so hard to say without bursting into tears. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, and informs us that she got the head coach position at the University of Dubuque. I knew exactly what this meant. She blubbers the rest of the sentence out, “This means that I will not be coaching here anymore.”
I stared at the ground with tears in my eyes, not knowing what would happen next. She won’t be here for my senior year. This hurt my heart and I could feel my throat starting to swell and my nose getting hot as tears built up in my eyes. I could not look up because the last thing I wanted was to see Colleen’s face and to burst out in tears.
Now my former head coach, had officially made every girl there cry, including herself. Knowing we will be parting after this year made me feel a little uneasy, so I just sat there staring at the ground as she said a few more words. Once she ran out of words to help explain all of this and why she was doing it, everyone got up and had one big group hug. I am not one for big group hugs so I waited till everyone backed off Colleen and gave her a short but sentimental hug to keep me from sobbing right then and there. Right when I let go of the brief hug, girls pulled her away and I never got to say anything. I had walked away not bothering waiting to say goodbye because I did not want to say goodbye to the most caring, loving, and talented coach I have ever had.
