Jan. 21, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO (UCFAthletics.com) - Linda Gooch is known throughout the UCF spirit program as a hard-driving, demanding coach who often seeks perfection. But never before has she been happier with a third-place performance in her life than she was recently in the 2011 College Cheerleading and Dance National Championships.
A wobble and some struggles early in its program all but doomed UCF's chances at winning a third national championship. But it was how the Knights responded to that bump in the road that impressed Gooch the most with her team.
``We had a bobble - not a fall - but when you are at that level you know when something like that will cost you, but they fought back in the second half of the routine,'' Gooch recalled. ``When they came off the floor they were so disappointed. But I told them, `Look, I don't know what place we're going to get, but whatever we get is because we fought back and were perfect in the second half and that was so impressive.' I've watched so many teams that realize they can't win and they let it crumble. But it says a lot about our team's character to fight back and be perfect knowing we had that early bobble.''
UCF's strong finish allowed it to place in the top three for a fifth-consecutive year. The Knights have built a powerhouse spirit program, finishing in the top 10 in the nation in 16 of the past 18 seasons. And much of the success stems from Gooch, the winner of the prestigious Col. Gene Moeller Award this season.
Gooch has been the rock of the UCF program, guiding the team for 27 years and becoming a dominant force at nationals since 1994. The Knights won national championships in 2003 and 2007 and have twice finished runner-up.
Gooch admits that she is relentless in her pursuit for excellence and feels that's a big reason why UCF has become one of the nation's most dominant programs. Her students are treated like athletes, and nothing less than excellence is demanded.
``Cheerleading has evolved over the last 30 years from pompom girls to the athletes that they are today and I've always treated them like athletes. And my expectations of them have always been the same of any of our student-athletes at UCF,'' Gooch said. ``You set that bar high and the expectations are in place. How we are going to carry ourselves and how we are going to represent the university, we have the same expectations that every coach here at UCF has.
``Typically when you expect the best, even if you fall a little short, it's still pretty close to the best,'' Gooch continued.
UCF's spirit squad covers men's and women's basketball, volleyball and football. The team has a 3.2 grade-point average and annually makes hundreds of hours of appearances at local schools, American Heart Association runs and school sponsored events. October is usually the busiest month for the team what with football and volleyball in full swing, basketball starting up and the submission video for the nationals being due.
Gooch was delighted last week to look out into the crowd at nationals and see so many alumni in the crowd supporting the team. She has yet to coach the kid of one of her former students, but she knows that day will be coming soon. However, she did recently coach Caitlyn Clark, granddaughter of late, great UCF basketball coach Torchy Clark.
A coach through and through, Gooch said upon immediately receiving the prestigious Col. Gene Moeller Award, her first thought was how it might help recruiting for next season when she has to replace four seniors. The Col. Moeller Award is presented annually to recognize a university administrator who has made a significant impact on their university's spirit groups at the collegiate level.
Gooch said what drives her as a coach is seeing the success that her students have while at UCF and later in life.
``One of the things that they talked about when giving that award was that I've had an opportunity to watch our team members graduate college and go on and become productive citizens and have their own families,'' Gooch recalled. ``It's just been so much fun for me. Watching them go out and make their mark is great for me. And that night (of nationals) there were so many alumni that were there. That just made it so fun and rewarding and it was like we all got to share it all together. That made it really special.''
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.