The UNA cheerleading squads recently went through a coaching change.

The new coaches are David “Red” Bullard and Lyndsie McClure. Bullard is the head coach, while former UNA cheerleader McClure is the assistant coach.

“This is my first year as a coach,” McClure said. “I love it, I love the school and I love being a part of the program.”

The transition has had good and bad parts because of the new personalities the coaches bring to the squad.

“The rules have stayed the same, really, but it has been adjusting to new personalities,” said Mollie Hannah, junior cheerleader. “We kind of went from not really good personalities to two coaches who care a lot.”

McClure contributes some of the tough transition to the different styles of coaching.

“It’s been difficult just because of the material they do and because our coaching style is very different from the person who was here before,” she said. “They may know some things that we don’t think necessarily work.”

Sophomore Ben Bailey said Bullard has brought the squad to another level.

“He is pushing us to our limits — good limits,” he said. “We need to be pushed like any other sport, and I have seen vast improvement on the squad. We have gotten a whole lot closer.”

McClure and Hannah look forward to the future as the transition is completed.

“We want to compete next year, and that will be a big change,” she said. “We will be cheering in football games against these big teams, and it will put us on a bigger stage.”

A key to the UNA cheerleading squad getting to the next level is the combination of talent and coaching ability.

“I think (the coaching change) will be really good for the future; it will take us to the next level and to where we need to be,” Hannah said.

McClure cites the squad’s hard work and respect for the coaches as the main keys to getting the squad to that next level.

“Everybody has been really respectful of us,” McClure said. “They have a lot of talent and they want to get better.”