The National Federation of State High School Association has named Sweet Home High School cheer Coach Amber Rosa its Oregon state and Northwest sectional spirit Coach of the Year for 2016.
The association is divided into eight sections. The Northwest sectional award represents Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
In seven years, Rosa’s teams have earned a state trophy seven times, including three championships, three second-place trophies and one fourth-place. Her team placed fourth two years ago after a technical problem with a music player resulted in a deduction in scoring. Had the team not had the deduction, it would have won the championship that year as well.
The sectional award put her in the running for national Coach of the Year, although she did not win that award.
“That was pretty cool,” Rosa said, but she is quick to credit the other people involved in the cheer program. “Honestly, I think it’s just having coaches who want to come in and put the work into it.”
It’s coaches like Tiffany Lynn and Ginger Plebuch who help the girls develop their tumbling skills, Rosa said. The girls don’t just crawl out of the woodwork with their tumbling skills. They’re trained early in a junior club and junior high program.
Other 4A schools bring their teams to state and win trophies just a few years in a row, Rosa said. Sweet Home has earned trophies 12 times in the 12 years the competitive program has existed. Former Coach Crystal Kimbal’s teams won two championships, two second-place trophies and one third-place trophy in five years.
When she talks to coaches at other schools, that seems to be the difference, Rosa said. Sweet Home has youth programs, which definitely pays off as the cheerleaders are already in line with what the program wants when they reach the high school level.
“I nominated her,” said Athletic Director Steve Brown, noting the way this program has changed his understanding of the sport.
“I didn’t realize cheer – You just think ‘Rah, rah,’” Brown said. “But they’re throwing people, flipping.”
The hard work and skills involved in cheer have impressed Brown as he’s observed this team for five years, he said. “When you think about cheer, you don’t think about all the tumbling. It’s pretty amazing.”
“(Rosa) always has a good attitude,” Brown said. “She always wants what’s best for the kids. She’s just an ethical person. She’s a hard worker, and she never complains, at least not to me.”
She reaches down to the young children and involves them in the sport, he said. “She’s building that program from the ground up. She amazes me. She’s a mom. She’s a wife. She’s a very, very successful coach. I don’t know how she does it.”