Casey Brown
Staff Writer
Cameron University welcomes Ryan Flood as the new Spirit Team coach. Motivated and ambitious, Flood plans on bringing enthusiasm and spirit to the members of the Spirit Team. He hopes his fresh outlook and energy will translate to the members’ performances at games and other events. Flood wants to see more crowd participation at home games. As they can look like away games because of low attendance, he thinks that the Spirit Team can help change this dynamic. The home games are a place for Cameron students, faculty and community members to socialize and promote school spirit.
The new coach is originally from Appleton, Wis. He received a degree in Exercise Science from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Flood is excited and optimistic to be a leader for the Spirit Team. The team is comprised of dancers, who perform routines during halftime and on the sidelines, and cheerleaders, who lead cheers and promote spirit at volleyball and basketball games. There are nine dancers and 12 cheerleaders.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to lead a talented group of people, get enthusiasm at games and represent Cameron,” Flood said.
Flood’s goals as the new coach include raising the crowd’s energy at games which, in turn, translates into energy for the team.
“Getting the crowd’s energy up raises the energy of the team and promotes spirit at the games,” Flood said.
The partnership between the community and Cameron’s Athletics Department has made the transition to a new home easier for him.
Flood said, “It is a good place. There is a lot of regional involvement in the school. It is a local school with a lot of community participation.”
Another goal for Flood is to help the Spirit Team focus on becoming ambassadors for the Athletics Department and for Cameron.
“I want to see a lot of positive involvement with the community this year,” Flood said.
This year, the Spirit Team has participated in the Academy Sports and Outdoors Store grand opening and as part of a flash mob at the Lawton Rangers Rodeo.
“The flash mob was something new in the community to see, but by the end, the crowd got into it and thought it was good,” Flood said.
The coach plans to lead the Spirit Team in working with children in elementary schools and little league teams in the Lawton/Fort Sill community. Some children may even perform at one of Cameron’s home games in the near future.
“The Spirit Team could inspire the children to get involved. I want us to have a large and positive impact on the youth generation of our community,” Flood said.
This year, Flood will be preparing the members of the Spirit Team to compete. He would like to see Cameron participating in cheerleading competitions at the national level by next year. This will be something new for Cameron University’s Spirit Team. Flood is excited to help lead the dancers and cheerleaders into a season that includes cheering and dancing at games as well as competing against other schools from across the country.
Students and faculty can find the dancers, cheerleaders and Flood at the next volleyball game against Texas A&M University-Commerce at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27 in the Aggie Gym.