Earlier this year, the cheer squad and dance team struggled with sharing one head coach, Dinishia Nichols, between the two different teams. Recently, in a sudden turn of events, Nichols quit her position as head coach and both teams have been put to the test of working with temporary coaches.
Nichols moved back to her previous home in Modesto, leaving Coach Brittani Sua to lead the dance team, and coach Darris Davis-Gorman to work with the cheerleaders. Both Sua and Davis-Gorman were brought in by Nichols. The instructors as well as the team members are getting used to the switches while continuing to make progress for their upcoming competitions and performances.
“Coach Dinishia quitting has been devastating to the team,” sophomore cheerleader Summer Smith said. “We feel a little homeless without a coach, but our current volunteer coaches brought in by Dinishia are doing the best they can.”
Both teams are gradually adjusting to the new coaches’ styles, as well as their different standards and expectations.
“It is definitely difficult to get used to all the new rules coming from the volunteer coaches,” Smith said. “Even though we don't like all the changes, we are trying to do the best we can to get accustomed to them all.”
The dance team faces the same situation. The dance team is a new addition to the school, though, the members remain optimistic and are flexible with the changes.
“I’m pretty positive about the whole change, and we loved [Nichols], but our new coaches [Sua] and [Davis-Gorman] are great at what they do,” sophomore dance team member Jenna Chen said.
Despite the difficulties, the change could be positive for both teams. The two teams will most likely be having separate coaches, allowing each group to have their respective coach’s undivided attention.
“Although Coach Dinishia was a good coach, it was a little difficult for both teams to get the most they could have done in a practice, since Dinishia had to coach both teams,” Chen said, “so I do think having two coaches like we do now benefits the individual teams more.”
