FEBRUARY 20, 2012
Three Rivers introduces new dance and cheer coach
Brad Piercy, formerly a co-ed cheerleading coach with Arkansas State University, joined the Three Rivers staff in December. Piercy has assumed the duties of former coach Deana Douchant, who returned to her home state of Wyoming in late 2011 for personal reasons.
"This was a dream job," stated Douchant. "The kids and I became very close. They feel more like my brothers and sisters than the kids I coach. It was an incredibly hard decision for us to make, but in the end we just want to be closer to our families."
Piercy began his coaching career in 1992 and has worked as Arkansas State's co-ed cheerleading coach for the past ten years. A Monett native, Piercy has coached every experience level from preschool children to college students, and is involved with an extensive network of coaches throughout the Midwest.
"I'm extremely excited to have him," said Three Rivers cheer captain Calli Cutts. "I think he is going to be really good for our team as a whole. I think it's going to bring a new dimension to the Three Rivers spirit squads. He has had a lot of experience in cheerleading, and I think after we get accustomed to the change, we will grow together."
"The administration wants to make the cheerleaders a nationally competitive squad," said Piercy. "We want to be competitive and our goal is to make nationals in two years, but the primary goal is school. I want this to be the stepping stone to something else for my athletes. In my opinion, it has much more to do with academics, but the cheer and dance side of it is their vehicle to get where they want to go."
The health and wellness of the Raider cheerleaders and dancers will also be a top priority, said Piercy, who will complete a degree in exercise science at the end of the summer 2012.
"Injury prevention will take first priority, right up there with academics," stated Piercy. "My philosophy is: cheer or dance is something you do on the side. I am a very firm believer in 'academics first,' and I will not have members on the squad who do not fulfill their academic requirements first. End of sentence, no questions asked."
Piercy has also taken over game promotions for Three Rivers athletics.
"I'm getting the opportunity to run the show," Piercy said. "Hopefully over the next few months, in preparation for next year, I'll work with the band director more, and I'll work with some neighboring businesses and my squad to try to make the game experience more of a show. It needs to be fun. If it's fun, people will come and if people come, it makes our job as cheerleaders and dancers as easy."
Mandy Rongey cheered at Three Rivers from 2005-2007 and also cheered under Piercy at Arkansas State and, like Cutts, is excited to see Piercy take the reins.
"I couldn't be more excited for Brad to be the new coach," said Rongey. "He is an awesome coach and will do a wonderful job. I wish I could come back and cheer at Three Rivers, now that he's there. I can't wait to see the squad under his training."
"It will be a learning experience for everybody," Piercy added. "If you've come to a game before Christmas and after Christmas, there's a huge difference as far as what is happening on the sidelines. The team will have to learn my style and I'm going to have to learn their personalities. I want to build on what Dena has done, but especially after try-outs in the spring, we will transition more into my style of coaching and game performance."
For more information on the spirit squads at Three Rivers, including try-out requirements, contact Piercy at 573-840-9735. Full game schedules for all Three Rivers athletics teams, along with game photos, staff interviews and more, can be found at raidersathletics.com.
