Coach Velez, a former Cypress Lake Cheerleader, has been coaching at Cypress for five years, but  she will be stepping down from her coaching position following the 24-25 season. Coach Velez, also an ESE teacher at Cypress, said one of the highlights of her coaching

career here was watching the way her cheerleaders always made

sure to include her Life Skills students. She will still be teaching at Cypress Lake and will be leaving the cheerleaders in good hands with their new coach.

Many of the cheerleaders had some comments about Coach Velez. One of the captains, Abby Buckley, said, “The thing I will miss most about Coach Velez is the ability she has to make practice and games fun.”

Cheerleader Hailey Hartley said, “I will miss having her as my coach because I appreciate the relationships that she’s built with all of us the past couple of years.”

Although the cheerleaders are sad to see Coach Velez go, they are also excited to start their new journey with Coach Johnson.

Coach Johnson is a new teacher and coach at Cypress Lake. Coach Johnson said, “My experience in cheer goes way back to the Fort Myers Rebels Pop Warner cheer team at Page Field.”

She cheered from elementary to high school and was a captain for the Dunbar High School Lady Tigers cheer team. After High School, she was a coach for a Pop Warner team in Miami-Dade County.

Coach Johnson is excited to be the new coach so she can learn the traditions of Cypress, along

with bringing her own. She also can not wait to teach the cheerleaders some new cheers and learn the new ones herself. Cypress is very happy to welcome Coach Johnson.