This year we want to give a warm welcome to the new cheerleading coach, Katie Lewis! Coach Katie is from Vancouver, WA. Throughout her life she has been a gymnast, figure skater, dancer, cheerleader, and mother. With tons of experience in the athletic field and taking care of others, she has joined our Granite Falls sports staff and she now takes on the role of a coach, teacher, leader, and role model for our cheerleaders.
She started competing in cheer at 8 years old, and continued to compete for the next 10 years afterwards. She would often teach/coach the youth teams at her local cheer gym, and has always had a love for cheerleading and taking care of children. Her caring nature has brought the cheerleaders together as one big family, bringing the best out of the athletes. She finds coaching as a very fulfilling and rewarding thing to do, especially when watching her athletes progress in doing what they love. Despite coaching the varsity and junior varsity teams by herself, she never fails to display her love and passion for those around her and for her occupation. With her determination, kind nature, and optimistic attitude, it is safe to say that we are looking forward to working with her in the upcoming seasons!
She has been coaching the cheerleading team since March of this year, and she originally had interest in the job because of the saying, “Once you start cheerleading, you can never truly leave it. It will always be present to you in some shape, way, or form.” As she missed it, she took the opportunity to coach cheer to help her knowledge make other people’s experiences better. Katie thinks of her coaching as just a continuation of her cheer life from when she was younger. Her favorite thing about her job is that she gets to hangout with her student athletes. She loves to build relationships with her students and watch them grow as people. Coach Katie believes that it is very important for people to push themselves out of their comfort zone, as it is one of the best ways to build a community. She says that, “…if someone has a genuine interest in helping others push themselves to be the best person that they want to be, coaching is the right job for them.” From her perspective, “You can only succeed in coaching if you do it for the right reasons.” All in all, we are very grateful to have Coach Katie at our high school, and want to wish her a warm welcome!
