Dance coach Amy Pollard has been dancing since she was eight. She was on the Shawnee Mission East dance team during high school and majored in dance and business management at Wichita State. She worked for NDA (National Dance Alliance) for ten years, traveling all over the state and country choreographing for different teams including Wichita Collegiate, Augusta, Olathe North, Olathe South, Shawnee Mission South, Shawnee Mission East JV and Eastern Michigan. She is a dance instructor at the Newton Performing Art Center and has been the Railiner coach for three years.

Why did you decide to become the Railiner coach?
“I’ve always wanted to coach a high school dance team, and why not coach a team that I know really well? The owner of the dance studio I teach at was the previous coach, so I heard about the position opening from her.”

What is the most rewarding aspect of being the coach? What is the most difficult?
“Watching things click for the first time. This year the biggest reward is having a team that likes each other so much and works so well with one another. [The most difficult part] is probably when I have to do something that I know the team won’t like, but that are in their best interest.”

How much of a time commitment is it to be the dance team coach?
“It’s a pretty big time commitment, there’s practice and games, and then a lot of outside work as well, like paperwork and choreographing. [Dance] is my life, I do something involving it every single day.””

What inspired you to begin dancing?
“I started dance when I was little, then switched to gymnastics. Once we got to doing cartwheels on the low beam, I realized I was not a risk taker, so I decided to try softball. I got a black eye at my first practice, so I just decided to go back to dance, and I had a great teacher growing up who really inspired me.”

How do Railiners compare to the other groups you coach?
“Every team is different, but I like mine the best. Every team has different strengths and weaknesses.”