Meet Alissa Crane of Poudre High School Cheer Coach in Northern Colorado

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alissa Crane.

Alissa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started four years ago, applying and calling to coach the cheerleading team for Poudre High School. I never got called back. But then last year (2019), I got a text message from a random number. It was the head coach for their cheer team asking if I would like to apply to coach. I was ecstatic. I so to this day, refer to my coaches as coach, they made some of the biggest impacts on my life. I wanted to do that for someone.

And I was finally getting to live that dream! We walked through tryouts like normal, worked through the summer on pre-season conditioning, preparing us for our competition season. Then things kinda went downhill. Our awesome head coach came down with some health issues and had to leave us midseason. We had no routine to compete at our first competition, it was two weeks away, we had no uniforms, we were in full football season, and I worked a full-time job outside of coaching. I was approached at a cold and wet foot ball game to take over as head coach and I promptly accepted. That night I reached out to my coaches. Asked one to come on and help me with the finance side of things and the other one guides me in how to put together a routine. Mind you, this routine is only 2 min and 30 seconds, but there are so many pieces that go into making this routine happen. I then hand wrote out some timing sheets, started watching hundreds of YouTube videos of different types of competition routines, and then started writing. I stayed up till 3:45 am to put this routine together for the team. We canceled our first competition, I wanted the girls to be safe and not feel rushed.

But four weeks after I took over and the team learned their routine, we competed at league. (We must compete at League competition in Oder to compete at state in December.) we didn’t score well. But what I did see were 13 girls, who felt like they had nothing become something. They didn’t just run through the motions of competing, they were motivating each other to keep going, to hit every stunt they threw in the air, to hit every jump. They were a team. They did it as one with their heads held high. Representing their school in the upmost pride. I went home and cried that night, for hours. I thought I had failed them. I kept reading the score sheets. Just some words on paper of people’s opinions. They had no idea the amount of time that the team had put into just being able to walk on to that floor and hit every single thing. I was mad. I was angry. But then I watched our video again. Right then, I knew it didn’t matter that we lost, it didn’t matter that we didn’t score well. What mattered was they were able to do what they loved and as a team, come together to achieve one goal. To represent Poudre High in the best way we could give. We continued the practice late and early practice four times a week.

We went to our winter blast competition at Greeley West high school. I was nervous. I hid it well from team because what they did when they went out on the mat was like in the spring when you see flowers just start blooming but then they fully open. That’s what they did. They had confidence. Smiling from ear to ear, wearing our colors proud. They won that night. State time came at the speed of light and that morning I felt confident. Not that we would go out and win state but that we would go out and represent our school proudly with the upmost pride. We had kids that quite and left and we changed the routine thousands of times. But they went out and shined. My heart was full. We didn’t win. But we did place 20th and I was full of pride.

After everything they had been through they did it. Just two months before state, they learned an entire routine, lost some friends on our team, learned a whole new routine, and still went out and KILLed it. We didn’t get to end our year the way any of us imagined, but we ended on a high note. I started this year with a whole new focus. It’s not about winning or bringing home trophies, don’t get me wrong those things are great, but what matters most is being able to be on the Mat with girls/boys you love and would do anything for. Coming together as a team. One team One Dream. Bring our school together, supporting our athletics and our academics. Having pride in the things you are doing. We never know who’s watching. So always do everything with a smile and an open heart. 2020 has been rough but we are pushing through together.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never easy. I feel like the best things come out of hard things. We need every bump to get us where we need to be.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
What I am most proud of as a cheer coach is watching all these kids work so hard for something. With social media and the internet being just at their fingertips, I feel there is a pressure for teams to be the “best” and we lose site of what actually matters. And it’s the bound you create with girls/boys you will spend a lifetime supporting.

I also am so proud of all the parent support we get from our team. Our booster club team has helped our team get to where we want to be financially. We couldn’t do it without all of them. They make this program go!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood would be all the hours of getting ready for my competitions with my mom and dad. Her watching me dance around in front of the t.v. Or me sending them videos of me doing jumps or dances. My parents always helped me build the perseverance to be the best person I could be. To have an open heart and giving hands. I couldn’t have done it without them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.poudrecheerboosters.com
• Instagram: poudrecheer
• Facebook: Poudre High School Cheerleading

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