Ashley Ridge HS cheer coach Emilee Fidler prepares team for season
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — The Head Cheer Coach at Ashley Ridge High School, Emilee Filder, has a love and passion for cheer that goes back her days as a student. Coach Fidler cheered competitively in both middle and high school. This fall marks nine years of both her teaching and coaching career.
The ARHS Cheer Team has ambitious goals for this 2022-2023 season, due to their success and belief in themselves last year. Coach Fidler shared: 鈥淟ast year, we ended our competitive season with the highest score Ashley Ridge has earned in over five years! The team felt proud of the work they put in, and it lit a fire for an even more successful season this year. My proudest coaching moment at Ashley Ridge was when I knew my team put everything they had into their last competition of the year. It was the first time I felt they truly believed in themselves and their capabilities. We have so much talent, and they are starting to see that talent shines when hard work comes first.鈥�
For Coach Fidler, there are a few keys to success that are vital for the team, which include: focusing on physical strength and conditioning, and fundamentals of the sport. 鈥淧erfection over progression is important in cheer, and it safely leads to mastery of difficult skills,鈥� she said.
But of course not every competition is won, so it鈥檚 important to Coach Fidler to teach the team how to learn from their losses. 鈥淣o one likes to lose, but no one grows from always winning,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e acknowledge the good in the work that went into the loss and strategically plan to improve the areas that brought us down. There are 24 athletes on the competitive mat in a routine, which means there are at least 24 opportunities to improve for the next competition.鈥�
Not only has Coach Fidler tried to teach her athletes life lessons, she has learned some important ones herself. One of the biggest life lessons she has learned as a coach so she shared is: 鈥淎thletes don鈥檛 care what you know until they know you care. Relationships are the foundation to any successful program.鈥�
Of course every good coach thinks about what kind of legacy they want to leave over the years. Coach Fidler鈥檚 is one that makes us proud to have her coaching at ARHS: 鈥淲hen I leave coaching, I hope to have instilled a sense of belief in this program, that no goal is unattainable. 鈥楤eing challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.鈥欌��
Emilee is married to Shane Fidler, the head coach of the ARHS football team, and they have one active, fun-loving little boy, Wynn. The love for Friday Night Lights and cheering on the Swamp Foxes runs deep in their family!
Thank you Coach Fidler for the time and investment in the students lives you coach! Here鈥檚 to a great season!
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