Coach Ally Stein has been a head coach for all three cheer teams at Hamilton Southeastern High School (HSE) since 2018. Before she came to coach at HSE, she was a coach at Fishers High School in the year 2017. Stein attended HSE and cheered as well as running track and being part of Student Council for the school. Stein then went on to Purdue to study Elementary Education and came back to the district to become a second-grade teacher at Southeastern Elementary. Other than coaching at HSE, she is also has been part of the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) as a head instructor since 2013, going to different college campuses and high schools to help with cheer teams.  

When asked about what inspired her to become a cheer coach, Stein says that cheerleading is a big passion of hers and she wants to use that as an opportunity to help shape her athletes into well-rounded individuals. She also gives credit to Mrs. Johnson (now a gym teacher at HSE), who inspired her by challenging her team when she cheered in high school and ultimately leading the team to success. Stein hopes that each of her athletes walk out of the program hoping that they see the positive outlook in life. “I want them to always strive to be coachable and accept challenges.”  

A big part of Stein’s coaching philosophy is to not only to coach a team, but to make sure that she coaches each athlete to their individual potential. When asked about her coaching style she said that a big part of it is having fun, but it’s very important to her that her athletes know how to balance seriousness and fun so that they can be a successful team. Something that Stein is most proud of in her coaching career would be the State Championship that her competition cheer team brought back home to HSE in 2019. “They really trusted one another with that routine, and they were able to take ownership of it.”  

To Stein, being a Royal means “building trust and confidence, feeling support around you in every aspect of your life [educational, athletic, and personal].” It is very important to her to carry on the legacy and excellence that HSE has to offer. For any athletes looking to play at HSE, here is the advice that Stein gives: “Be ready to be part of a family, no matter what sport. The competitiveness is there but remember that your coaches care about you in every aspect of your life.” If you ask Stein if she loves coaching at HSE she would tell you, “It really is my dream come true.”