Megan Montgomery left her corporate job at Academy Sports and Outdoors in product development three years ago… to become a State Champion?
In one of the most inspiring stories in Houston high school sports this year, the Mayde Creek cheer team won the Class 6A DI UIL State Championship earlier this month.
Why so inspiring?
Montgomery is in her first year as the Rams’ head coach. She cheered at The Colony High School in the DFW-area and worked National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) Camps as a teenager. She didn’t cheer in college and learned how to navigate the high school hallways and lead new-age teenagers in a matter of months.
“I didn’t love the corporate life,” the University of Arkansas grad said. “I just wasn’t making an impact in other people’s lives. When I saw this job open up, I went for it. It was a complete 180 from what I was doing, but it was a calling.
“I just built a personal relationship with each girl and figured out how to coach them as a team and individually,” she said. “I’m a big detail person, and they started to trust me and bought in. When they started believing they could compete at a high level, their confidence grew very quickly.”
Montgomery leaned on the likes of Trinity Jackson, MacKenzie Espinoza, Camila Rodriguez and Ashayla Phillips along the way.
“Camilla just has that infectious energy and keeps everyone up, while Mackenzie battled back pain and just killed it,” she said. “Ashayla was an alternate and on JV much of the year, but stepped up when we needed her. Trinity is just a star. She was so coachable and led by example.”
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The State Cheer event is usually won by schools loaded with all-star cheerleaders who work daily on their craft at well-known gyms, and travel nationwide to compete against other elite-level teams in a multi-million-dollar business.
“God is good,” Montgomery said. “For some programs, a win is just another win… it means much more at Mayde Creek.”
The Rams, who have one all-state competitive cheerleader, battled through routine changes, injuries, and position substitutes every step of the way this fall and winter.
“We were changing our routine between the prelims and the finals at State,” Montgomery laughed. “That brought me back to my NCA Camp days when I was given a team from somewhere in Texas, and I had to create and clean up their routines on the fly. That experience helped.
“We had JV cheerleaders step up when the lights were the brightest. We have a girl getting an MRI on her knee even today after leaving it all on the mat.”
Mayde Creek (89.77) edged out Seven Lakes (89.40) and Katy Jordan (88.73) to win the title, which is even more story-book. All three are Katy ISD programs.
“When they announced our name, we just paused,” she said. “We didn’t realize they said Mayde Creek. We just cried on that mat, just stunned. What was so encouraging was that the other Katy ISD schools were so excited for us. They cheered us on all the way and had our backs. Our kids will never forget that.
“It is still sinking in. We are still so grateful for the experience,” she said. “It’s truly a God thing.”
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
