“I always wanted to be a teacher and a cheerleading coach,” says Moody’s Haley Boyd.

Watching Moody’s junior varsity cheerleaders practice Tuesday afternoon prompted Haley Boyd to recall her own days on the sidelines.

“I loved it in high school,” she said.  “I had a really great coach I still stay in contact with, even though I’m three hours away from her now.  We would always go to her and talk to her, and I wanted to be there for other girls the same way.”

Now in her third year of teaching algebra and directing the varsity squad at Moody, Boyd explained why what she does is more than just about coaching, why time management is so important for her, and why the book she’s reading is especially timely.

From cheering to coaching:  Boyd cheered for Luverne High School (“It’s a little place in south Alabama, much smaller than Moody”) before attending Troy University.  “I always wanted to be a teacher, and always high school.  I also always wanted to be a cheerleading coach, and I asked about it during my interview here.”

The best part of coaching:  “The girls.  We make our own family.  This year, I have 18, and we spend a lot of time together.  We’re really close to each other.”

Beyond the cheers:  “It’s about more than just coaching.  I have to be a positive mentor for the girls.  They look at (me and JV coach Saige Leopard) as second moms.  I am competitive, so I do push them and work them, but the other aspect is also very important.”

The most difficult part of coaching:  “Time management.  Between work and family, it can be tough.  I love doing it, but it takes up a lot of nights, weekends, and summers.”

To what extent?  “During the summer, we practice two or three days a week, and we go to camp for a full week.  This year it was at Panama City Beach.  We also host a Metro camp, which is a full week overnight camp.  We’re constantly working between May and August.  On Friday nights, we’re at the football games, then basketball season starts, and we’re in competition season through November, so that takes up our Saturdays.”

Is cheering a sport?  “It is, but in a different aspect than football or basketball.  We compete against other teams of our size and divisions, and the girls have to practice and try out like any other sport.  Since our competitions are not a once a week thing, it’s not often strongly considered a sport, but some of our girls are also on All-Star teams, so they’re competing on a more regular basis than our high school team does.”

How important is competition?  “It’s not as important at every school, but our girls love it.  They know that their first priority is school spirit: Friday night football, basketball games, and pep rallies.  But they also love competition, choreography, and hard-core practices.”

The best advice she ever received:  “Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.  When I was in high school, the football coach said that all the time, and our cheerleading coach put it on every piece of paper she gave us.”

How she describes herself:  “Productive, enjoyable, dependable.”

Something she’s never without:  “My cell phone.  And my calendar.”

If she were stranded on a desert island with one book, meal, and a radio:  “The book would be what I’m reading at the moment, What To Expect When You’re Expecting.  (Her first daughter is due in December.) The meal would be anything chicken, and the radio would have to tune into 104.7’s Rick and Bubba.”

Her favorite leisure activity:  “Pinterest.  I love planning my nursery.”