As the girls practiced their dances and stunts throughout the two and a half hour practice, the connection between the team and their coach was impossible to go unnoticed. Even though the girls had past coach, Robin Gwinn, for several years, new coach Matt Dawes somehow managed to jump right into the cheer family with ease. With his extremely impressive background in cheer, he knew exactly how to train the girls in a way that would be uplifting and keep them motivated through the rough patches during practices.

“My background with cheer started my freshman year at Illinois State University. I cheered for four years there and competed with the National Cheerleading Association small co-ed division as well as NCA partner stunt. Once I graduated ISU, I went to Morehead State University on a full ride scholarship from my graduate degree,” Dawes said. “At MSU,  I was a part of the 2012 and 2013 UCA division one co-ed national championship teams. The first one in 2012 was the 22nd overall for the program, and the 11th consecutive in a row. … Morehead State University is the most well known sporting program in the world. … They have a very good reputation at being clean, confident, always hitting their routines, and coming out on top.”

Based on his extensive cheer experience, it was interesting to hear why he choose to come and coach at Antioch, a very small town.

Dawes said, “My first experience with Antioch was when I worked for UCA back in 2009. I was friends with Hannah Gwinn at the time, the daughter of Robin Gwinn. I came to Antioch to work a camp, and they struck me with not only their hard work, but also their discipline and drive to always be better. I worked with them for a couple of years consecutively with the summer camps, and I stayed in contact with Robin. As of recently, the coaching position opened up again with Robin leaving for the second time, and I applied for it, got interviewed and now I’m here,” Dawes said. “Robin did set a very high standard, and at the same time, her and I think very alike in terms of the UCA mentality of clean wins and always putting on the floor what you will be able to hit. I believe that as long as I follow the tradition and the practice regimen, I believe that this team will come out on top.”

Adapting to a new team may be difficult, but it is a nice challenge for the girls as well.

Sophomore Alexa Castino said, “Matt is very hands on and able to really work with us. I think what also separates him from other coaches is that he has a lot of experience in cheerleading personally, not necessarily just with coaching. … It’s nice for the team to experience something new because Robin was our coach for so long,  he really is a great fit to our team as well as our community.”

Dawes is excited for the team leadership, something he hopes will elevate the program to new heights.

“They are blessed with great leadership skills with the older girls and also a lot of hard work and dedication from the younger ones as well,” Dawes said. “The most challenging part of being a new coach is trying to understand 24 teenage girls and their personalities and what motivates them all in one year, and be successful at it.”