Spirit Squad coach resigns
USU announced Friday that USU Spirit Squad advisor and coach Jennifer Hollingsworth resigned from her position.
“Jen loved the sport and coached with great passion,” said Vice President for Student Services James Morales in a press release. “This showed in everything she did.”
Hollingsworth was in her third year as head coach of the squad and had served as assistant coach for seven years as well as spending three years as an Aggiette.
In a written statement to The Utah Statesman, Hollingsworth said members of the squad expressed concerns to Morales, which led to several meetings and then her resignation.
“Some issues were true, of which I have admitted to and was working on, some were taken out of context, and some were flat out lies,” Hollingsworth wrote. “They felt I was too hard on them, felt bullied, and although they were happy with the level to which I had pushed them in their performance and skill level, it was not worth what they had to go through to get there.”
The press release issued by USU/SA did not give any specific reasons for Hollingsworth’s resignation.
Aggiette captain Taelor Martinez declined to comment on behalf of the squad, but was quoted in the press release saying, “(Hollingsworth) pushed us every day and we were able to improve because of her.”
Hollingsworth said she plans to return to the nursing field and spend more time with her family and expressed gratitude to the Spirit Squad.
“I would like the current Spirit Squad students to know that despite all I still love them and am so grateful for the relationships and memories I had the opportunity to build with them,” she wrote.