On Friday, Nov. 1, at 6:33 p.m., Lincoln Southwest’s (LSW) entire cheer squad received an email stating that one of their coaches was dismissed from her position at LSW with others leaving as well. Head Coach Bria Williams was dismissed after one year of coaching. The reason for the dismissal will not be made public.

“For our next coaches we are looking for more dynamic people,” Athletic Director Andrew Sherman said. “People who can build close relationships with our cheerleaders.”

In the fall concerns were brought forward by cheerleaders about the way the program was run. The seniors did not feel appreciated and felt disrespected and brought those concerns to Sherman. Now that there is not a current coach, Abbie Grimm will be taking over until there is a new coach.

“There were three seniors, including myself, that were being sent to the back while the rest of the seniors were teaching the cheers,” senior Mason Farmer said. “We felt disrespected, so we walked out.” 

Moving forward, the seniors and other cheerleaders have high hopes for how the future of LSW cheerleading will go, hoping that the positive energy and traditions will be restored to how they once were. 

“I hope that we can get our team spirit that we used to have,” junior Sophie Fox said. “I hope for a return to all of our traditions and that things will get better.”

When asked, the senior cheerleaders were seeing that things will only get better from now on. With a new horizon ahead, many see hope in their future. 

” Everything is just going to go uphill from here,” senior Annie Sander said. “We have spoken to the temporary coach Abbie Grimm and she is open to listening to all of our ideas.” When contacted, Williams did not respond to the questions.