Cheerleading coach steps down, veterans step up

    Sighting time constraints as his reason, Kyle Hood stepped down as head cheerleading coach last week.
    “My reason for stepping down was that I am at a place in my life where the rigors of cheerleading, school and my job just became too demanding,” Hood said.
    Hood is currently a graduate student at GCSU and is pursuing his master’s degree in Public Administration. He plans to use the degree as a basis for a career in politics.
    Hood also works in Wilkinson County where he serves as assistant to the county commission.
    “He was just overwhelmed as a graduate assistant and graduate student taking classes,” said Dr. Jerry Fly, advisor to the cheerleaders. “I certainly understand how he felt like he needed to (step down), I just don’t think he had enough time.”
    Fly noted that Hood will certainly be missed and said there are no hard feelings on his part.
    Hood echoed those sentiments.
    “I will always love cheerleading, my team and this program,” Hood said.
    Hood has been a part of GCSU’s cheerleading program for five years, serving as a cheerleader in his sophomore, junior and senior school years before taking the reigns as coach last year after graduating in 2006.
    Senior cheerleader Stacey Scobel said that Hood was a big part, but that his resignation has not necessarily had a negative effect on the team.
    “I’m not saying that it was positive, but it has brought us closer together as a team,” Sobel said. “It has kind of made us realize how much further we are away from getting the  National Championship we want. It makes us work that much harder.”
    Fly said he will take over the leadership roll.
    “It shouldn’t have a real big effect on what we are trying to do,” Fly said. “We have cheerleaders leave every year and we just move on as usual.”
    Fly said he could not recall a time when a coach had to step down.
    “He’s a college student and he’s busy, I understand, no one can say anything negative, it’s just a situation that arises,” Fly said.
    PJ Schinella, a junior cheerleader, said the team will now rely on upperclassmen for leadership.
    “We wish we wouldn’t of had to lose him,” Schinella said. “Now it’s more of a team effort than a coaching effort. We really have to rely on ourselves. All of a sudden the upperclassmen are in charge.”
    Hood now will have more time to pursue his personal goals.
    “It was with a heavy heart (that I stepped down) and I wish it hadn’t of ended that way, it just got to be too much,” he said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 16 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry