Coaching the Leader in Me by Molly

Coaching the Leader in Me by Molly - March 2023 Scholarship Essay

The spring before my senior year, I got thrown a curve ball. The varsity cheer coach of my school, the backbone of the entire program, was getting married and moving. This announcement was coupled with the news that I was selected to be head captain for the following year. I was honored to be chosen for the position, but I had some anxiety about being the link between an unknown coach and the squad.
The day I met the new coach, Jenna Wilkins, I was immediately put at ease by her authenticity and enthusiasm. She entered the program determined to uphold established traditions and also bring in her own fresh ideas, such as the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She maintained high expectations while working to create genuine bonds with every cheerleader. We all quickly grew to love and respect her. Cheerleading competition season typically consists of two competitions and then nationals. However, Coach saw our potential, was confident in her expertise, and entered us in several more competitions to better prepare the team for nationals. This meant a lot more practice and commitment, but she knew we would rise to the challenge. Many of the girls on our squad are also on highly involved competitive cheer teams. It was no easy task working around all the conflicts, but she performed scheduling magic. At one point it was so hectic that after a week of double practices came a Saturday with a high school cheer comp in Dallas and then book it to Fort Worth, changing in the car, for a gym comp. At the time I felt like I was working hard for her, but now I understand she was going above and beyond for us. She helped us balance it all and stay focused on our goal of perfecting our skills.
We were giving it our all, but at each event, we walked away feeling disheartened. Despite being talented cheerleaders performing a highly skilled routine, some issue was always arising. Either a stunt would fall or a back tuck would bust. Once our motions weren’t sharp and another time we just weren’t loud enough. But Coach used those moments to unify and inspire us to come back stronger. Then came our last competition of the season, NCA Nationals. Our crowd-performance routine went off without a hitch on both days of the competition! As the anticipation grew before awards, Coach was a model of humility and class. We sat in a circle on the cheer mat, holding hands as one school after another was announced getting closer and closer to the first-place team. Finally, we heard the words we had been waiting for, “Your NCA National Champions, taking home first place, Marcus High School”. The screaming, jumping, confetti-filled moment was even greater sharing it with Coach Wilkins.
Even though she guided us toward a highly coveted win at nationals, providing me with my most memorable moment of high school, I am most thankful for the personal impact Coach has had on me. She has been a consistent model of the qualities I would like to emulate in my life and future leadership positions: supportive, goal-oriented, knowledgeable, patient, and a clear communicator. She has taught me to work hard, always challenge myself, accept defeat, learn from my mistakes, adjust to change, and even grow from it. Through her coaching on the mat, I have become a stronger person off of it. The success I see in my future will undoubtedly be impacted by the person she pushed me to become.