Coach Madison Newman has been a head coach of the basketball cheer team at Hamilton Southeastern High School (HSE) since 2016. Newman attended HSE and cheered in high school. She then went on to Purdue to study Human Services and get her master’s degree at Ball State University. She now works as a behavioral specialist and works with kids who have autism.  

When asked who inspired her to start coaching cheer, Newman says that Coach Meyers (her high school coach) gave her such a good experience on the team, that she wanted to give that to other athletes that come into the program. She hopes that her athletes come out of the program having learned how to be a good human and be good to others. “I want them to be kind, trustworthy, and respectful. Just an all-around good human.” Something very special that the team does to get relaxed before games and competitions are team dinners. “It helps them mesh together before practicing or a game.” 

Newman’s coaching philosophy is based around respect. “If they are respecting themselves and each other, they can have control [over the routines] and feel like they are a big part of the process”. It’s also important to her to have fun in practice, but still get work done. She believes that the purpose of high school athletics is to teach about collaboration, teamwork, and teaching athletes how to be the best person they can be, not just teaching the skills of the sport. What makes Newman very proud of being a high school cheer coach is her seniors. Especially the seniors that were freshman during her first year as a coach (class of 2020). She loves to watch them grow and function as adults into college and even after.  

Being a Royal means having lots of pride to Newman. She says HSE is unique because it’s such a well-known school in the community. Especially in the cheer world, HSE is known for being a successful cheer school. The advice that Newman has for athletes looking to play for HSE is, “Be ready to work hard, but have fun”. When asking Newman why she chose to come back and coach for HSE she said, “I can’t picture myself coaching anywhere else. Just knowing that I went there, and I want to keep the standard high.”