Nicole Valentino has been coaching cheer since she graduated from Hamburg Area High School in 1997. She got into coaching because she cheered for the school too and wanted to keep traditions going. She also likes to be heavily involved in the community and school. Nicole’s favorite thing about coaching cheer is the new connections and relationships she gets to build with each new group she coaches each year.
Peyton Snyder states, “Nikki is a great coach, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to coach us. She is almost like a second mom to us. She makes sure we have good grades and advises us when we need it.”
Many of her previous cheerleaders have had such strong connections with her they still keep in touch even after many years. While she likes all the groups she coaches, she liked the 2010 squad the most because “there were strong bases, great tumblers, and the flyers were very flexible and could pull amazing tricks in the air.” She loves being the cheer coach but her one pet peeve is when “an athlete can’t take negative feedback. Everyone is amazing and special in their own way, but there is always something that everyone can work on.” The most memorable moment from her 26 years of coaching was when her all star team won division champions in Wildwood, because it was a very unexpected win due to the other teams having bigger stunts and better tumbling. Nicole loves coaching and does not see giving up the position of cheer coach anytime soon.
