The counting is the first thing you may notice when you approach a cheer practice session. “5, 6, 7, 8,” counts the newest addition to the FCHS cheer coaching staff, Malaina Paige. Paige joined the coaching staff towards the beginning of the cheerleaders’ winter season.
Born in North Carolina, Paige moved to Fluvanna when she was seven. “I started cheering at age 9 on a competition team, and when I got into high school, I wanted to excel in it,” she said. She said she immediately loved everything about cheer, from tumbling to stunting to teamwork.
Since then, she has continued to grow her love and knowledge for cheer in multiple ways, including coaching the Fluvanna Youth Football and Cheer (FYFC) team. Paige says that during her own time as a cheerleader, she looked for a coach in whom she could confide. Now as a coach herself, she wants her cheer team members to know she has their backs and is willing to help them progress in the sport.
“I have worked with Coach Paige in the past, as we both taught gymnastics at Friendship Gymnastics and Crossroads Gymnastics. I’m familiar with her skill set and knew that her overall knowledge of cheerleading and her ability to coach would be great assets to our team,” said Head Cheer Coach Kirsen Pillow.
Pillow added, “Coach Paige is a former Fluco cheerleader and a former gymnast. I fully anticipate that her knowledge will help us excel in areas where we have been weak, specifically tumbling.”
Current FCHS cheerleader and junior Ja’Kiyah Johnson said “I feel like [Paige] gives us a lot more freedom to do what you feel is best. I feel like she and Coach Johnson are on the same page. I think she’s going to bring more tumbling to the team and more advanced stunts.”
As for Paige, she says that her goals as a coach include “hoping to bring more safe tumbling/flexibility, community, and a safe space for the girls if they need anything.”
Paige lives with her husband and two children in Fluvanna where they attend FCPS schools. She said her favorite part of coaching is “meeting so many different personalities, along with seeing smiles on their faces when they hit a stunt or get that tumbling skill they’ve been working so hard for.”
She offers this advice to her cheerleaders and others: “Never give up on your dreams. Working hard will always pay off.”
