New CHS cheer coach Emily Stevens, out and about with son Aiden. (Photo courtesy Stevens)
“Cheer can be fun!”
It’s a statement Emily Stevens repeats more than once as she bops happily between making espresso drinks, tickling her 14-month-old son and talking to an intruding interviewer.
A former Coupeville High School cheerleader now returning to coach the activity (WIAA won’t let us call it a sport) at her alma mater, the former Emily Norris is bubbling with ideas.
Her final two years of high school, she was a member of a competition cheer squad which won state and went to nationals, and she would love to see the Wolves return to their roots.
“I would love for us at some point to compete again, but I won’t ask them to do anything they’re not ready for,” Stevens said. “We’ll take it step by step.”
Stevens, who cheered for four years under long-time CHS coach Sylvia Arnold, graduated in 2007 and will be assisted by Amanda (Streubel) Jones, another first-time coach and Wolf alum who obtained her diploma in 2011.
The pair have already met with prospective cheerleaders and parents, and plan an open gym after school May 31.
“If they are interested at all in cheer, I would love to see them there,” Stevens said. “It’ll give us a chance to answer questions and give them a feel for what’s going on.”
And it’s not just open to girls, as at least two Wolf boys have expressed interest in joining the squad.
Coupeville had male cheerleaders for several seasons in the ’90s and 2000’s, and adding guys to the mix again could allow the Wolves to do more stunting.
Since being hired, Stevens has juggled her day jobs (she and husband Bruce own Emily’s Sweets and Treats and she works at Front Street Grill), her bouncing boy and getting fully up to speed in the modern cheer world.
From learning what popular cheer terms from 2007 are no longer used, to the white-hot battle which has erupted over glitter use, to whether her squad will travel for road games (and if so, how), there’s a million little things to learn.
She’s been recently stunt certified and is attending coaching conferences, eager to pick up every detail.
“It’s a lot flying around, but I love being back in this world,” Stevens said with a huge smile.
“I’ve found a really good community on this side of town (with the cupcake shop). I thought this would be a great way to find a really good community on the other side of town.”
As she plunges into her new adventure, Stevens is doing so with the same take-charge attitude and sunny personality she brings to everything she does.
“I want our cheerleaders to be respectful, disciplined and to know what they’re doing when they’re doing cheers or stunts,” she said. “But most of all, cheer can be fun.
“If you work really hard, you’ll get to do really cool things!”
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