Cheer and dance hire new coaches

This is the year for new faces and fresh places at SMU.

Already, SMU has added new football coaches, football uniforms,a women’s soccer head coach, a women’s equestrian teamand green artificial turf at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

Now SMU will have dance and cheer coaches to put on the growinglist of new additions on campus.

“Andy Neighbors brings a lot of knowledge to thetable,” Dance Team Captain Julie Sikes said.

Neighbors, a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University,will debut the dance team to the home crowd at the football homeopener on Saturday when SMU takes on Oklahoma State.

You can catch the dance squad at the football and basketballgames in their shiny, royal blue uniforms.

With an organized squad of 15 girls, Sikes hopes the team willmake an impression.

“You will be pleasantly surprised,” Sikes said.

“It is our job to keep everyone up at thegames.”

New coach Sara O’Connell will instruct the cheer team thisyear.

A former head instructor for the National Cheer Association andformer cheer national champion, O’Connell said the cheersquad has “plans to get the crowd more involved in thegames.”

To accomplish this, 12 girls will now comprise an all-femalecheer squad, in addition to the co-ed squad.

O’Connell is also preparing to have the squad compete atthe national level, something that has not been done in the pastdecade.

“The girls have an incredible amount of talent,”O’Conell said.