Meet Your Neighbor

Lindsey Martin

February 19, 2007

Coach
SPHS varsity dance team

When Lindsey Martin turns 24 on March 1, she'll get a birthday gift to dance about.

The fledgling coach for Sun Prairie High School's varsity dance team will head to Florida to see her devotion to a group of 21 high school girls played out in the Contest of Champions national dance competition.

Less than three months ago, Martin became the inspiring young woman who stepped in to help when the high school dance team was without a coach. Lacking direction and down on its luck, the squad has Martin to thank for a storybook season that almost didn't happen.

A recent Edgewood College graduate and newly-hired registered nurse at UW Hospital, Martin learned about the predicament from team members she worked with occasionally at O'Connell Pharmacy.

"I always got updates on the team, and one day they came in and told me their coach quit," said Martin, a 2001 graduate of SPHS and four-year member of the dance team. "Right away I said `I'll do it.'"

On day one, Martin set out to tone up the squad. She developed an exercise program that had the girls practicing eight to 12 hours each week.

"The girls were ready and willing to do it; they were ready for discipline, direction and recognition," she said.

"Most of the girls also have part-time jobs plus homework and don't get home until after nine," said Martin. "But for a lot of these girls, dancing is their passion."

The fruits of their labor paid off Feb. 3 when the girls took home the first place title at the state dance meet in La Crosse. The squad nailed a routine choreographed by Molly Hitt, a former member of the unit.

Martin said coaching has been a better experience than she could have imagined. "It's so neat to see that even though the season started out rough, the girls got the drive back."

And when the cardinal dance squad takes the stage at the national Contest of Champions -- against a new league of competitive southern teams -- they're in it to win, Martin said. "We've got something here and the possibility to win is definitely there."

Martin plans to continue as coach next season, but will add something new to her agenda. She hopes to network with other coaches and advocate for official sport status for competitive dance teams.

"A lot of people will say it's not a sport, but we compete, work-out and practice just like any other athlete. They have to be very limber and able to drop into the splits or kick up into their face," said Martin, adding that her squad already follows Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association guidelines.

"The girls recognize it as a sport and so do their friends and families, said Martin. "It's just getting the WIAA to see it the same way."

On that point, she also has the support of her parents, Matt and Judy Martin, along with her two younger sisters.

They all see how hard these girls work, said Martin. "My family is super supportive, and my sister who is in high school likes to call me 'coach'."

But that's not all Martin has on her to-do list. Come September, she'll marry Todd Dubenske, a native of McFarland currently employed as an engineer with an Oshkosh firm. They plan to make the Sun Prairie area their home.