Meet Maddie Benton, head varsity competition cheer coach at Cherokee High School
CANTON, Ga. — Honored as the Cherokee County School District 2024 Coach of the Year for Cherokee High School, Coach Maddie Benton is the Head Varsity Competition Cheer Coach. This next school year will be her seventh year of coaching, where she has also served as a math teacher for the last six years.
Coach Benton has cheered since she was 5 years old, beginning with sidelines for the Cherokee Youth Football Association (CYFA) Sequoyah Chiefs and then Jr. Chiefs football programs. While attending Sequoyah High School, she cheered both on the sidelines for football as well as with their competition squad. She was also a member of the all-star cheer squad at ATA Cheer in Cumming during her senior year. After graduating from Sequoyah High School in 2014, she obtained her bachelor鈥檚 degree from Kennesaw State University in 2018 and then went on to earn her master鈥檚 degree from Georgia State University in 2021.
Coach Benton met her husband, Zach, while in Spanish class at Sequoyah High School鈥攁lthough since she was a freshman and he was a senior, they did not know each other well. They reconnected in 2018 and were married in 2022. Zach is her biggest fan and attends each competition in support of his wife. Coach Benton is also grateful for her parents, Kurt and Janet Wheeler, who supported her as an athlete and now as a coach. This past season, Kurt came to practice to offer an encouraging pep talk about handling unexpected events, such as injuries, and finding the strength to adjust and keep going. He also gifted the girls matching tank tops with the words, 鈥淭hrive in Crisis.鈥�
Coach Benton shares that the expectation for their competition cheerleaders at every practice is that the stunts will hit, and athletes will throw their tumbling. If something doesn鈥檛 hit or is not thrown during a full out, they must perform that skill prior to getting off the mat. If something is not consistent the week of a competition, then they will not attempt it during the event鈥攕o that the girls go into the competition feeling fully confident on everything they are putting on the floor.
In competition cheer, they are competing to place as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, or do not place. For the 2023-2024 year, the CHS competition squad was successful in placing at the majority of their competitions. When they did not place, it just fueled the team鈥檚 fire to push even more at practice to make sure they did better the next time. Coach Benton says, 鈥淚 am fortunate to have a great group of athletes where they do not let the placements affect them. They are all intrinsically motivated to continually do better and motivate each other.鈥�
A highlight of her coaching career thus far was the CHS Warriors competition squad winning Region for the very first time in school history in 2020-2021. She says, 鈥淚t was an amazing moment because history was made.鈥� They went on to win Region again the following year as well.
Learning a lot in her first years of coaching, Coach Benton shares that she has developed the mentality of 鈥渉uman first, athlete second.鈥� While the success and trophies have been great during her coaching career, she recognizes that building a program and watching these young women conquer fears and grow in life is way more rewarding than the accolades. She says, 鈥淎t the end of the day, my job as a coach is to raise up these girls to become amazing young women. I know this stage of life can be brutal for teenage girls, including peer drama, struggle with body image, and anxiety. I believe I was called into coaching to be a role model and lift up these girls.鈥�
Her proudest coaching moment was witnessing a cheerleader push through crippling anxiety and watching her team rise to the occasion to support her. Before a performance, this athlete would often struggle with anxiety but ultimately push through. At one competition, an anxiety attack occurred just prior to taking the floor and left her feeling unable to compete. Her stunt group quickly came up with a plan to adjust their stunts without her鈥攚ith coaches and teammates assuring her that they understood鈥攁nd she went to the bleachers to watch. However, just before the music came on, she ran onto the floor and completed the entire routine flawlessly. All 15 of her teammates rallied around her throughout the routine and afterwards praised and celebrated with her. Coach Benton found herself in tears by the end of their performance and says watching this athlete overcome her anxiety and all 15 other girls celebrate her accomplishment is something she will never forget. She says, 鈥淭his is why I coach.鈥� And it鈥檚 moments like these that have led her to the 鈥渉uman first, athlete second鈥� motto. She cares more for these young women as people than as athletes. She has seen too many coaches chase trophies and lose sight of the opportunity to make a positive impact.
At Cherokee High School, they place a big emphasis on culture. Coach Benton and Assistant Coach Carson O鈥橞ryant strive for their athletes to understand that you can have all the talent in the world, but if the team does not get along or care for each other then you cannot be truly successful. They know that not all 16 girls are going to like each other, but they are expected to respect and support one another for the betterment of their team.
Coach Benton believes, 鈥淭o set great culture, athletes need to know your heart and know that you love and care for them. I am a strict coach, but when I am strict, the girls know that it鈥檚 coming from a place of love.鈥� She hopes that each athlete that moves through the program knows how much she cares for them, saying, 鈥淭hey have made such a positive impact on my life, and I hope that I do the same for them.鈥�
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