Wednesday, September 3, 2003
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Wednesday, September 3, 2003 |
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Houck tapped to head cheer program at Gym South
By MONROE
ROARK
The new director of cheerleading at Gym South in Fayetteville brings to town a background that includes some of the top honors in the sport and a remarkable comeback from a devastating tragedy. Chad Houck's career at the State University of West Georgia reached its pinnacle in January of 2002 when the team won the Division II national championship in Orlando. The competition was televised nationally on ESPN. The team successfully defended its title this year, and although Houck was no longer competing, he helped coach the squad. He began his new duties at Gym South Aug. 11 after earning a master's degree in organizational development from UWG. He did not have to go far from home to find a permanent position, as he is a graduate of Mt. Zion High in Jonesboro, where he competed in football, wrestling and soccer. Initially recruited out of high school as a collegiate wrestler, he saw that goal derailed due to injury. So as he and a friend were attending the annual fall orientation for new students at UWG in 1997, he stopped by a booth sponsored by the cheerleading squad and was talked into trying out. "I just kind of picked it up going into college," he said. He could not have possibly imagined what lay in store for him. Just a couple of weeks after he joined the team, he was riding in a van on his way to a camp in Augusta, part of a two-van convoy on a darkened I-20 in the wee hours of the morning. While he slept, the van he was riding in blew a tire and flipped over, killing its driver (the squad's head coach) and two members of the team. Houck found himself in a hospital for two weeks with assorted injuries, although he will quickly point out that he was very fortunate to escape more serious injury. To even field a squad after such an event would be enough of an achievement, but to win a national championship in four years is simply amazing. Houck remains with the team as a coach, spending two days a week in Carrollton in addition to his new duties at Gym South. The management at Gym South evidently recognized the level of the UWG program, as they called the school to inquire about available coaches. That's how they found Houck and he got the job. His schedule in Fayetteville will be an especially busy one now that school is back in session. In addition to the various classes in Pee Wee through Level 4 more than 50 kids ages 6-18 nearly a dozen high school cheerleading squads from Fayette, Henry, Clayton and Coweta counties will come to Gym South each week for specialized training. Houck will also begin developing an all-star program at Gym South very soon.
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