CHS names Longabaugh as new cheer coach

The Clinton Courier

Clinton High School will start the 2023 athletic season with a new cheerleading coach, one who already has a familiar face to a large number of Clinton youth.

 

Kimberly Longabaugh, or “Coach Kim,” as most call her, has accepted the position of head cheer coach at CHS, a job she started collecting the skills for at the age of four.

 

“I began my studies in acrobatics, jazz, ballet, tap and twirling at the age of four in Texas,” says Longabaugh. “By six, I was a member of the Houston Gymnastic Team, and, shortly thereafter, became a member of the Houston Jazz-Ballet Company….Later, I cheered for my hometown, Angleton, during my junior high and high school years and became a member of the Brazoria Civic Ballet Company.”

 

Longabaugh became a gymnastic instructor at the age of fourteen. By sixteen, she also taught aerobics, jazz, ballet and tap, which she continued to do throughout high school. In college, she danced with the Northeast Louisiana University Dance Company and was extended an invitation to Broadway by New York choreographer Ed Brazo.

 

After college, Longabaugh worked as a head recreational director of tumbling and cheer tech classes, as well as coached a competitive gymnastic team and competitive cheerleading squads. In addition, she has served as a fitness trainer to basketball and football teams who have gone on to win state championships. She has coached college, high school and junior high cheer squads, and, for the past three years, has served as the spirit coordinator and head cheer coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, a position that included the fifth- and sixth-grade pep squad, the middle school cheer and the high school cheer programs.

 

Longabaugh is certified in group fitness, aerobics, as a Level 1 CrossFit Trainer, is a certified coach with the U.S. All Star Federation (USASF), and has twelve certifications with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The USASF is the governing body for all-star cheerleading and dance in the United Stat es, and the NFHS is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States.

 

Fully invested in the Clinton community, Longabaugh has owned and operated Clinton Elite Academy since 2006, where she teaches tumbling and coaches competitive hip-hop dance and competitive all-star cheerleading. She also provides choreography for individuals and teams entering various talent contests. Students of her Academy in the community through the years number in the thousands, and her students and the families she has touched say “Coach Kim” is known and loved by multiple generations of Clintonians.

 

“I’ve had great success at competitions and molding aspiring students into confident athletes,” said Longabaugh. “After forty-three years of coaching, I believe that participating in athletics is a tremendous opportunity for young people to learn the value of teamwork, goal setting and dedication to excellence, and that the values learned will carry over to future success in other endeavors throughout life.”

 

“She brings a wealth of knowledge of experience that we are excited about to our program,” said Clinton High School Principal Brett Robinson. “We look forward to the positive impact she will have on our program.”

 

“As a resident and small business owner in Clinton, I want to express my gratitude in receiving the opportunity to give back to our great community,” said Longabaugh.