Coach Amy Blair has been a head coach of the basketball cheer team at Hamilton Southeastern since 2014. Before she came to coach at HSE, she was a head cheer coach at Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High (HIJH) in 2013. At one point, Blair coached at both HIJH and HSE at the same time and moved to the full-time head coaching position at HSE. Blair attended HSE and cheered along with playing Rugby for the school. She then went to IU to study Elementary Education and came back to the district to become a fourth-grade teacher at Brooks School Elementary.  

When asked what inspired her to start coaching, Blair says she lost her love for the sport after high school but, she started coaching again because she needed another job and ended up remembering why she loved cheer so much to begin with. She hopes that her athletes come out of the program having become a well-rounded and successful individual. “I want them to know that they can be independent and strong”. Something very special that the team does before every game to get in the right mindset are team dinners. “Just letting them get to socialize and be together in a non-competitive environment before a game”.  

Blair’s coaching philosophy focuses a lot on mutual respect. If they give respect, they get the respect and ability to help create the routines. She believes that the purpose of high school athletics is to help teach athletes skills that they can use later in life. She says HSE is unique because of its reputation for its athletics in the community. Blair’s most exciting moment as a coach is when she got to coach at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse when the Lady Royals Basketball Team went to the State Championship in 2019. “Being able to be a high school coach and coaching on the court where they play [NBA] basketball was so cool”. 

Being a Royal to Blair comes with so much pride. “I’m not just a cheer coach, I’m an HSE cheer coach and that’s what I tell people”. The advice she has for athletes who are looking to play for HSE is, “Do it. Don’t be afraid to try new things”. And if you are considering becoming a cheerleader and aren’t sure, Blair says, “It’s always so fun having someone new”.