Kelley Dean will be the new head coach of the Carbon High School (CHS) Cheer Squad in the 2024-25 school year. She was born and raised in Price and was a cheerleader for the Dinos, before she started her college journey at Utah State University in Logan. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Human Biology. Dean competed in multiple sports including motorsports racing, rodeo and golf. She also cheered from sixth grade throughout college, where she fell in love with the sport, as it was her favorite.
She also loves to travel, saying, “I have been to 35 states. In one year alone, I visited 25 different states!”
In 2018-19, she began her coaching at Canyon View Middle School (CVMS), before becoming an assistant coach at Cottonwood High School in Murray, Utah.
“This is my first year as head coach, but I have spent countless hours attending supplemental trainings both in person and online to ensure I give these athletes every opportunity to improve,” said Dean. When asked what expectations she has as a first-year head coach, she stated, “My biggest goal is to give this team every chance to succeed during our competition season. We are in arguably the most difficult region of the 3A division. We are going to have some tough competition, but I’m confident we can make it to the state competition and represent Carbon High well because they are so dang talented!”
To motivate and inspire her athletes, Dean said, “I try to be as equally involved in everything they do to lift their energy, by reminding them how amazing they are and how far they have come! At our cheer camp this year, my assistants and I were on our feet yelling and cheering on our team the whole time and the team was 100% receptive to this! We took home the Top Banana the first night of camp, which is an award given to those who work hard, have positive attitudes and huge energy. Only three of the nine teams in attendance received this award and we were the first!”
She followed when asked how she would promote a positive environment by saying, “Every athlete brings a different asset to the team. I always try to remember this and encourage them in their strengths. Cheerleading is about mentality. I’m hopeful that if I remind them how much I believe in them, they will believe in themselves.”
In the very tough 3A division, Dean gave two big things the team will need to bring to the table to be competitive this year.
“One, hard work! Cheer is an incredibly tough sport! It is so much more than a cute uniform and some sideline cheering. This team will use their practice time defying gravity with stunting and tumbling and all doing so with a smile on their face. Two, confidence! Cheerleaders spend their time supporting everyone else and tend to receive very little recognition in return. I want the team to always cheer others on, but not forget to cheer for themselves – in all things!”
When asked about hobbies she enjoys during the offseason, Dean replied, “What offseason? Most people don’t realize, but cheer does not have an offseason! We cheer for every sport and still have to prepare for our competition season in the winter months, tryouts in the spring, and camp in the summer, so our season never truly stops. However, I love boating, hunting and riding horses and dirt bikes when I’m able to!”
Finishing up the interview, she was asked what morals and values she will teach her team. “I know plenty of other coaches that can agree with this, but I don’t just want to help them become better athletes, I want to help them be better humans! I personally learned so much from my high school cheer coach, Trish Anderson, about being a good person and I want to be able to pass this on!”