by Sinay Diaz–Erin Baker, Morningside’s new dance team coach, is ready to take on the challenge of winning dance nationals again this year.
Within the first month of taking the job everyone kept asking “Are you going to win again?” Baker admitted that at first the question made her nervous, but now she says it is “driving me to want to work more.”
Baker has major plans for the team, but she knows that in order to accomplish those she needs to bring new ideas to the table. She is just getting to feel more comfortable with this new position and is implementing some of her own ideas into the program. Baker said two of her major changes involve increasing recruiting and having a positive coaching environment.
Baker understands everything the team did last year led them to their victory, but she believes her approach to coaching may be more beneficial for the dancers mentally. She went on to say, “If we only do what we’ve always done, we aren’t going to get anywhere.”
Junior dancer Jocelyn Hendrix, said, “Erin has been amazing so far, and I’m excited to see what else she has in store for us.” Hendrix said the dancers feel the pressure from competitor teams because “they are going to be out for blood” during the competition season.
Baker has big plans for the year. Her transition from coaching a high school dance team to a college dance team made her nervous at first, but now she says, “I’m confident that we can be a national winning team.”
Baker isn’t the only one who is confident about the team this year. Sami Snyder, a junior dancer, said, “We are different this year, and different for good reasons.”
Snyder described how the dancers feel the pressure for themselves but it will only drive the team to work hard to meet their goals.
Baker was previously a dance team coach at Sergeant Bluff High School. She was nervous at first because the college dance team is a lot more self-led by the dancers. Baker said she did a lot of hand-holding in high school, so it is nice to have a team that takes things into their own hands.
Baker is also a Morningside alumni. She was a part of the dance team, but says it was a lot different back then. It wasn’t until her Sophomore year that dance was considered a sport and she was able to compete. Baker says, “Morningside offered me so much those 4 years”, and that was why she decided to apply for the position.
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