ORLANDO, Fla. - Coastal Alabama Community College's Cheer Team recently earned two top-5 finishes at the Universal Cheerleaders Association Nationals competition in Orlando, FL. The 26-athlete Coyotes squad missed a national championship in the Game Day division by less than a tenth of a point, and finished fifth in the Traditional routine. Since the program's first trip to UCA Nationals in 2020, the team posted its third Top 3 finish in Game Day and fifth Top 5 finish in Traditional.
"The athletes we have this year are extremely talented, and a lot of them are being recruited by major Division 1 universities," said Coyotes Cheer Coach Cassidy Goodwin. "Our Traditional routine was the hardest our college has ever put out on that floor, and we couldn't have performed the Game Day routine any better.
"I'm extremely proud of our team, and our success would not have been possible without the help of assistant coaches Conner Shepard and Brooklyn Strevel and the support from our college."
The Coyotes raised funds throughout 2024 to pay for their trip to Orlando for UCA College Nationals, with a lion share of the fundraising happening through monthly clinics the cheerleaders put on for local high schoolers. Every month an average of 50 high school athletes participate in the training.
To prepare for their run at the national championship — each team has the ability to earn dual titles every year, although it's rare — the cheer team stayed on campus most of their Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year holidays to train, often practicing twice a day to master the routines. And even though the Coyotes came up a little short in the competition, Goodwin says next year's team could be even better.
"We have a really talented group of returners coming back next year and a lot of awesome recruits that we're currently talking to," Goodwin said. "So we're really, really excited and hungry to hopefully get a national championship next year."
With 14 Sophomores graduating in May, Goodwin said there are still opportunities for cheerleaders to join the squad. The opportunity to earn significant victories is only a part of what the experience can give the athletes, she said.
"Cheering for Coastal teaches them teamwork, as well as a sense of community and family," said Goodwin, herself a top cheerleader for the college prior to being hired as head coach. "They got really, really close this year, and were able to build that sense of family that's going to last them forever.
"I'm still friends with some of the people I cheered with at Coastal because of that."
