With fourteen years of experience under her belt, Nicole Becker was the perfect candidate for the head coaching vacancy for Buffalo State’s cheerleading team. She was hired over the summer and has begun her first season with the squad this year.
“Nicole has tremendous experience, not only as a coach but also a cheerleader. In fact, she still cheers in some senior events,” said Tom Koller, senior associate director of athletics.
At eight years old, Becker started cheering for the Town of Wheatfield. She was on the varsity cheerleading squad at Starpoint High School for five years and continued her cheering career at the University at Buffalo, where she competed in the college nationals and has remained in competition as recently as the 2011 World Cheerleading Championship.
Becker also has experience as a coach, including her time as coach of the varsity team at Startpoint for the past three seasons. She has also traveled around the world with the National Cheerleaders Association for the past five years as an instructor.
During practice, Becker pushes her squad as if they were at an actual competition or cheering at a sporting event. Practice starts with stretching and then jumps. For the remainder of the practice, the squad does their stunts and goes over their routines. At the end of practice they condition.
Becker’s passion for the sport stands out in practice. If something isn’t going the way it is supposed to be, she makes her squad do the routine again and again until she figures out the problem. If a group is having trouble with a sticking stunt, Becker will see what is wrong and aims to fix it as soon as possible.
“She works us very hard but it is still always nice and no one is afraid to ask her things because she will always answer and help,” said Christina Tomassi, who enters her first season as a Buffalo State cheerleader.
Tomassi said that Becker is much harder on the squad and has more knowledge than any of her other previous coaches. She also said that a lot of the cheerleaders already knew Becker and what to expect because she was an instructor at a National Cheerleaders Association camp that most high school squads go to.
“I think what sets her apart from other coaches is her drive and love for the sport combined with all her knowledge and experience,” said Mindy Becker, assistant coach of the squad and Nicole’s mother.
“The squad understands that Nicole means business and it will take a lot of hard work from everyone but it will all pay off in the future,” she added.
Koller said that he is excited to see the cheerleading squad perform and that they do show excitement in their new head coach.
“I think it’s very visible,” he said. “I think the ladies are focused and ready to add to the atmosphere of our games.
“I like their enthusiasm for cheering and adding to the school spirit. I’m excited to see them perform indoors at our basketball games.”
The season started with the first week of classes. Although they won’t be competing throughout the year, the squad will be going to Daytona Beach for nationals. Becker said she’d love to take Buffalo State to the next level in cheerleading.
Danielle Wayne can be reached at bscrecord@gmail.com.