The Golden Trident

By Alexia Gallegos

If you’re a part of the Golden High School athletics team, you’ve most likely heard of Ashlyn Day. Day is one of the cheer coaches for Golden while balancing being a math teacher at Bell Middle School. Her love for cheer was found in her high school years and lasted throughout college. Day excelled rapidly and became a standout who cheered by example and proudly represented her college. After 5 years of traveling across the United States to coach young athletes, Day started assistant coaching at other schools, leading up to judge cheer competitions and becoming the head coach at Golden High School. To this day she still considers her passion for cheer as more a hobby than a job. “Cheerleading has always been a passion of mine,” placing top 5 in cheer nationals every single year in college while working for the Universal Cheerleading Association where she was able to coach cheer camps nationwide.

But Day is not just Golden’s beloved cheer coach, she is also a 6th-grade math teacher at Bell Middle School. Though it is two completely different activities, she uses the same techniques she does on the mat; breaking things down step-by-step and building confidence in the material. Having to balance both is not an easy task. 

      “At times it is very difficult, I have so much to stay on top of and get done. Those busy weeks pile up fast, and it’s challenging to get through everything you wanted to get through.” However, Day thrives in stressful environments. Dealing with two entirely different groups of students every day is a struggle that not lots of people can do. It is all about problem-solving, whether you need to figure out how to land a difficult stunt or understand a difficult math concept. 

Ashlyn expresses how important communication is between the athletes and coaches. Day thrives to be a safe space for an athlete, cheer can be extremely stressful and communication is key with your coaches to make sure it stays fun and doesn’t become a chore.

“I just make sure to feed their needs. Whether it’s teaching them how to take care of a sore muscle, or helping them through a tough day in life. I want them to know that us coaches are there for them no matter what.” 

Cheer is an important piece of her life and without support from others, Day wouldn’t have gone this far in life doing cheer. Having good role models for something you enjoy will increase your happiness with the activity. Day has always tried her best to help her teammates and athletes to ensure cheer feels like a hobby, not a chore. 

Her love for cheer started in high school, and she aspires to help endorse the love for cheer she has felt for years to other young athletes. Day is living the dream, with her job being something she has spent years trying to accomplish. Turning her favorite hobby into a full-time job is an aspiration that everybody wants to achieve. She is an inspiration to many and has proved that if you work hard enough, you will be able to achieve a dream.

After more than half her life dedicated to cheerleading, she is still as passionate as ever about the sport that has changed her life. From her high school days, she was an inspiration to all of her teammates, and now she mentors a new generation of cheerleaders. She participated in turning the opinions from cheering being a sideline club into a professional sport. Being an inspiration to many along the way. For Day, cheer is not just flips and pom poms, it’s a commitment to building confidence and encouraging teamwork for everybody. She will continue to be an inspiration to many and her journey is a reminder that coaching isn’t just about teaching cheer, it’s about teaching morals that go beyond the cheering.