Herriman High Cheerleading: Coaches

Coaches

KIRA BAIRD'S BIO

I am the Head Cheer Coach and Advisor for Herriman High School. I have taught and instructed cheerleading for 10 years. The 8th grade is where I began my love for the sport of cheerleading. Cheering for Farmington Jr. High, Jordan High School, Competitive cheer at Cheerz All-Stars, The College of So. Idaho, and 9 years for the prestigious National Cheerleaders Association. Voted as Top Rookie Instructor in 2004 and Top Veteran Instructor in 2005 and 2006. In 2007 I was selected to represent the West Coast region as a Head Instructor. I have instructed many Residential and Private camps all over the West Coast from Alaska to Texas. I am very excited to coach another year here at Herriman High School with my new assistant, Brooke Dimond.

Coaching Qualifications
2006-2007 Jordan High School
2007-2008 Juan Diego Choreographer
2008-2010 Bingham High School
2010-Present Herriman High School

Kira Baird Brooke Dimond

Brooke Dimond Bio

It began at an NCA Cheer camp back in 1954 where one team stood out among the rest. It wasn't for their talents, rather for their attitudes. They couldn't keep up with the others. They weren't coordinated or technically skilled. But they were the backbone of the camp; they were always the first to arrive in the morning to class and the last to leave, they were always cheering everyone else one, they always had the best attitude and they worked great as a team.

What they symbolized was far more than any display of technical skill or talent. They represented the pure essence at the very core of cheerleading; they stood for spirit in every sense of the word. However, their spirited performance wasn't the kind the NCA scoring process recognized with a ribbon of excellence, a praise every other team would receive.

Yet it was this team's vibrant, positive energy that bolstered the camp, a creed Lawerence "Herkie" Herkimer wanted to instill in the NCA. Knowing he couldn't just up and change the scoring and award process, "Herkie" was in a quandary. He quickly needed something to acknowledge the impact the team had on the others. In expressing his desire to the other instructors, "Herkie" spontaneously reached for a twig off a tree and declared it the official "Spirit Stick". He knew that as awesome as the team was, they wouldn't care if they were handed a simple stick.

The NCA "Spirit Stick" has evolved, from a simple tree limb, being cut, painted and dried in Herkimer's garage....to a red, white, and blue wooden dowel, now manufactured by the thousands. It's now an integral part of summer camp honors given to teams that exemplify the Spirit as defined by NCA. A first place ribbon isn't complete without a "Spirit Stick".

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