For the past few years, Buena Vista University’s cheer and dance team have been only a sideline team. While they have always contributed to athletics, they were normally found in the ‘Fan Zone’ on the athletic page. In recent university changes, they will now be located under the Women’s sports page on bvuathletics.com.  

Cheer & Dance is a building process with recent modifications in coaching staff, new team athletes, and changes to the entire program.  

Assistant Director of Athletics, Amy Maier, shares the university’s initiatives in wanting to put more adjustments into the Cheer & Dance program.  

“With bigger rosters, dedicated competition teams, and coaching staff, it is expected that we can compete in a broader range of competitions, be successful and help get BVU’s name out into new markets and to additional prospective students,” Maier said.  

In addition to the changes, a recent position was available to hire a director of cheer & dance/head competitive cheer coach. This director position would be able to hire more assistant coaches as well as a head dance coach. Maier defines the position as a way to grow the program and start the competitive teams that attend national level, as well as being responsible for recruiting student-athletes and engaging with campus and community activities.  

Filling this position is Kezia Molinsky, bringing in years of experience not only as a cheerleader and dancer, but as a coach with a great load of knowledge in the high school and collegiate levels of cheer and dance. Molinsky has a bucket of ideas and goals that she is hoping to achieve with this program.  

“My first goal for our programs is to establish a successful competitive and fun, family-oriented team. BVU should expect to see our technique and difficulty increasing as well as increase in the amount of competitions we will be attending,” Molinsky said.  

Molinsky has confidence that with the team’s dedication and spirit they can succeed in the long run. The Cheer & Dance program is actively improving their progress with years to come. With their involvement to support other athletics on the sidelines and competitive level experiences to be added, there could be possible benefits for athletes.  

“Cheer and Dance student-athletes will benefit from being under the athletics umbrella. We have a dedicated coaching staff and working budget to fund these programs. Next year we will have more incentives for team members, be on the lookout for specifics regarding this,” Molinsky said.