Episode 18: Regina Smith
John Twork 0:09
Welcome to Redbird Buzz. I'm John Twork from University Marketing and Communications. Our guest today is Regina Smith 2006 Redbird alum and the inaugural head coach of the Morgan State University women's acrobatics and tumbling team. Smith started her coaching career in 2006. And since then, she has captured over 30 National Championship college and high school titles and 50-plus top three finishes for cheerleading, dance gymnastics and mascots at the collegiate level. Now she's building Morgan State's brand new acrobatics and tumbling program, as Morgan becomes the first historically black college or university division one program to offer the sport. Smith and the Bears are slated to begin competing next year during the 2023-2024 season.
It's my pleasure to welcome Regina Smith, the inaugural head coach of the Morgan State University women's acrobatics and tumbling team to Redbird Buzz. What's the word red bird? To start? Regina? Can you describe the sport of collegiate acrobatics and tumbling?
Regina Smith 1:30
Yes. So collegiate acrobatics and tumbling started around 2010, when there was a title nine compliance issue at Quinnipiac University, regarding when female sports that they had on campus and that they were going to eliminate some of those female sports like volleyball to replace with competitive cheerleading. And so, Quinnipiac's defense was competitive cheerleading was a sport. And that court case went all the way to the federal level. And in 2010, they deemed that competitive cheerleading was actually not a sport, and that it was a supportive organization for athletic teams. And so with that, the female coaches, about six of them came together to create acrobaticss and tumbling. And so acrobatics and tumbling derived from competitive cheer aspect, but also with a twist of gymnastics. And so a lot of our athletes come from artistic gymnastics background, they come from competitive cheerleading, which is typically a All Star setting or type of club. And then they also come from high school competitive cheerleading. We do find acrobatic gymnasts in acrobatics, gymnastics, but you also will find a weightlifter or a diver as well, because they use some of the same skill sets that we require for acrobats and tumbling. So that kind of how acrobatics and totally at the collegiate athletics started in 2010. And then, here we are in 2023. We have over 40 teams now competing acrobatics and tumbling in all divisions Division One, two, and three. And Morgan State is the first HBCU for division one. So really excited about the history and making that we're doing at Morgan State regarding acrobatics and tumbling. But in 2024, acrobatics, and tumbling should have over 40 sports or 40 teams competing, which would then turn it no longer into emerging status. And we will move into a NCAA sport.
John Twork 3:41
Wow, that's really exciting to literally be making history and to be in on the on the ground floor. So next season, if someone comes to a Morgan State acrobatics, and tumbling, is it called a match? Is it called a game? What is it called? What can people expect to see if they come to one?
Regina Smith 4:01
Yeah, so it's actually called a meet. So I was wrong on both counts. And we often get that question, what is it called Meet, it is kind of set up as a duel, head to head, match pr meet, and then we have six different I should say, sections that we compete. So the first round or heat, in essence would be compulsory. That is something that all of us compete the same type of skill that is given to us prior to the start of this season. And then the next round would be acro. And that would be what most cheerleaders would called stunting with partners and then the next round after that would be considered your pyramids. And so again, that's when you look at it from a cheer standpoint that would be a pyramid. But the difference with acrobatics and tumbling is that the lower, or the least amount of people on the floor competing at one time is actually a higher point value. And then you will see us go with tosses a 10 minute to 15 minute halftime, and then we would compete tumbling and team routine.
John Twork 5:19
It sounds like a really fan engaging kind of activity and family friendly for folks who want a fun afternoon to go watch some athletes, right?
Regina Smith 5:31
Absolutely. It's very nail biting because when you are out there competing, you are literally holding a girl over your head for three seconds. So if you don't hold that person for three seconds, that's a deduction. So it's it's very intense, because a lot of the times you have to be super silent, allow that person to concentrate and get that person on top of their head and, and hold it for three seconds while they're trying to twist, turn and flip in midair. It's pretty intense.
John Twork 6:00
Wow, it sounds like it. Before we go any further, I want to talk a little bit about your background. You have extensive experience in acrobatics and tumbling, dance and cheerleading. Were you involved in in any of these sports as a child? And then why did you decide to get into coaching?
Regina Smith 6:17
Yes, so I actually started dance when I was two. Gymnastics when I was four, and I started cheering when I was eight. And I continued to do all those until it became a conflict with scheduling. And so once I got into high school I had to choose and I kept competitive cheerleading in my forefront. And so yeah, I mean, it's been a part of my life, everyone in my family, all the women have cheered at some point in their life. So it's just something that has been embedded and instilled in me since I was a younger girl. I don't think I really prepared myself to be a coach. I always said I would love to help out. And I've always volunteered growing up to help cheer programs, and I would create dances. But I would have never felt that it would lead me to a college career in really acrobatics and tumbling or even in competitive cheerleading. And so over the years working through athletics at Illinois State as an undergrad, and cheering at Illinois State University really showed me a different experience. And I realized that that was something that atmosphere I loved. But again, I was going to school for education, and my parents was like, you're going to be a teacher. We end up you know, pursuing that education route. And then there was a calling and somebody picked up the phone and said, Hey, we want you to come interview for our head coach position in 2007. And I never looked back. So that kind of led me to my coaching career.
John Twork 7:54
Let's keep going then. Take us through the progression of your career over the past 17 years. What are what are some of the stops along the way to your your current role as the inaugural head coach of the Morgan State acrobatics and tumbling team?
Regina Smith 8:09
Yes. So in 2007, I took the head coach position, and really spirit coordinator for Thiel College is a division three school out in Greenville, Pennsylvania. And they were they really when I took over, they had nothing really, they had no fight song. They had no mascot they had, they were struggling. They knew where they wanted to go. But they didn't know how to get there. And so I came in and in three years, we flipped the program. They had a fight song, they had a mascot. We had over 40 kids in our program for cheer dance. We had an all girl team, co-ed team. And that really kind of paved the way for most of my career. And once people got heard of what I was doing at Thiel College, the phone, start calling and then I went on to Kansas, and took a job at an NAIA school called Ottawa University, and really did the same thing there. They were struggling, the numbers were declining and their cheerleading program, and NAIA was on the verge of making cheerleading a sport. And so they hired me to come in and really help pioneer that platform and and show them the ways of how to make cheerleading competitive. And so I helped with writing the score sheets and the rulebook for competitive cheerleading with KCAC and served at the the chairman for cheer and dance in Kansas. And so I think that really kind of led and opened up the doors for me to move to Adrian College where we had some title nine issues. So I came in, were there they Adrian college ind Adrian Michigan had some title nine issues. I knew they needed a female sport, but they didn't know what sport was knowing that cheerleading wasn't considered competitive. And really following the court case, I knew that acrobatics and tumbling was going to be the best route for Adrian College to get that EADA OCR compliance. And so making sure that when I took Adrian College, and we implemented that sport and program there, I also still oversaw the competitive cheer and mascots and just led all those programs for about three years until another school I called. And during that time we, we took some national championships along the way, competed at Daytona which a lot of people know from Netflix Cheer. And placed seventh with Adrian college down there in Daytona, and Ottawa University, ended up taking second, as well. So just having a strong competitive background and season. And I was known for recruiting as well. So I think that really helped develop my base for starting an inaugural acrobatics and tumbling program for division one. And then I realized that I was having baby number two. And so that kind of change my career path. I took a kind of a brief pause on coaching. And we moved to Ohio and in Ohio, no one was really interested in acrobats and tumbling, and I decided to be a mom for eight years and really got to see the backside of NAIA grow. I continued to stay hoping with them, being more of a consultant helping oversee their officials, and teaching people how to officiate correctly--continuing to help elevate their score system and got it to the point where -- NAIA was really being successful in their competitive cheer. They have over 40 teams, now competing in NAIA and I think me staying actively engaged in competitive cheer and dance really kind of gave me a lead in the interviewing process for Morgan State to say, and so was head official, I did a lot of the national championships. And then I was I told everybody, I was officially retired. I wasn't going backto coaching, that was last year. So they called me on to commentate. And then Morgan State saw it. And here I am--back home. So
John Twork 12:31
what a wonderful journey, it seems like everything kind of happens for a reason doesn't it?
Regina Smith 12:37
I mean I said I would not go back coaching. My kids are at the age where I love watching my son play soccer. And my daughter, you know, being her Girl Scout leader. So it's kind of funny how all things work together.
John Twork 12:51
So last August, you're officially named head coach of the Morgan State Women's acrobatics and tumbling team. And as you mentioned, Morgan State is becoming the first historically black college or university division one program to offer the sport. So what's it like for you to personally make history? And what is this role mean to you?
Regina Smith 13:09
Um, you know, people ask me that every day, and I say, I'm still in disbelief, I guess I really haven't--I don't think he's really settled in. I think on that day of the first match, I think there will probably be a lot more emotions and realization of the history that is being made. But right now, it's just been one of those whirlwind of like, go go go. We kind of came in the recruiting season, pretty late with me being named in August. And so NCAA requires, you know, the, the compliance, training for head coaches and being able to recruit. So I got cleared on October 1 to recruit. And I literally have been recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit, not just for 2023 incoming class, but also for 2024. And so I think, with that mindset of just getting our team and really trying to put together the pieces, ordering uniforms, it's just been a whirlwind of logistics. And so I think I really haven't grasped that historic mark. But I think if you asked me that in February of 2024, I'll have a better answer. Because it's, I'll probably be able to just take a moment and take it all in at that time.
John Twork 14:36
We'll have to check back in with you for that answer. And you kind of touched on my next question here, which is you take over a brand new program and so you come in with a with a blank office, a blank slate, what do you do as a brand new head coach for brand new team? What what what is this first year all entail?
Regina Smith 14:57
Yeah, so the first 90 days is really building your team, you have to build your team. That's first and foremost. So that comes with staffing that comes with what your student population is going to look like for your team. What is your external staff look like? Our athletic trainer, our strength and conditioning coach, really just preparing for the season. And so having all those operations and logistic meetings, yesterday, we had a full athletic department meeting with everyone that will touch our program in the coming year. And so, knowing and meeting all those different people, and what aspect and role they will play, those are the type of first year meetings are setups that you're doing in that first year of preparation. And then once we get to school, in the fall of 2023, we will get to see the kids come on campus. And that will be when we get to actually practice with them. And prepare for our first meet in February of 2024.
John Twork 16:00
Do you have an identity that you hope this team embodies? Or--Or will the student athletes sort of help create that? Or what are your thoughts on what sort of identity this team will have?
Regina Smith 16:15
Yeah, so we have came up with a theme of "Making Morgan history"-- that is what something that we feel that is just so fitting for this first year and really for years to come. And so with NCAA TA, there's a not a lot of minorities in acrobatics and tumbling, so that in itself, I think if you were to pull up our statistics, I think currently we hold about 9% minority athletes and about 2% minority head coaches. So just in itself with being a head coach, having my coaching staff, majority minority, as well as my team being majority minority, will be history in itself. Right. So I think our theme really is fitting for Making Morgan history. And we really want to make sure that this first year goes off making history but years to come, we will bring home that national championship and make history on that level as well.
John Twork 17:15
And we can't wait to follow history in the making. For these student athletes who you're recruiting, there aren't acrobatics, and tumbling high school programs, right? So so who are the student athletes who you're recruiting? And how do you find them?
Regina Smith 17:29
Yes, so, um, we have, we have kids coming from as far as Washington to as south as Texas, to as East as New Jersey, and New York. So we are all over the map. We are even looking Canadians we're looking at folks from Europe, we have really searched for those kids that are going to bring in and make this program what we hope Morgan will stand by and so are our requirements are a little high, we look for kids that have a 3.0 cumulative, weighted--unweighted GPA, we really want to make sure that our students are academically sound, because we will travel so much during season that we want to make sure that they are academically sound at home. And so we do look for that 3.0 GPA for all our recruits. We do look for artistic gymnastics, gymnasts, who are like level 10, or level nine that didn't get recruited for our artistic gymnastics program that are currently in NCAA. And then we also look for our trampoline tumblists. Those who are also under USAG umbrella, as well as acrobatic gymnasts. And then from the cheer side, we look for those all star cheers and those high schoolers, cheer programs where they're really high ranked. And so we have searched high and low for our athletes. We're currently right now in conversation with a weightlifter. So we are looking everywhere for our athletes because we know what it takes to be successful in this sport.
John Twork 19:14
And it sounds like it's grown exponentially since it first became an emerging sport in 2020. Can you talk about why this that why there's such a demand for this program, and what trajectory do you see in the future?
Regina Smith 19:27
Yes, so I mean, the skill set for acrobatics and tumbling like I said it derived from competitive cheer and and derived from artistic gymnastics. And what you see is that most artistic gymnastics programs don't really carry a heavy roster. And so with the all the new sports that are out for NCAA, a lot of institutions find themselves kind of in more of a bind with making sure that they are title nine compliant and so I think one of the reasons that we've seen growth in division two and Division Three, more so than Division One was for that title nine compliance sector of seeing that, you know, hey, this roster can go up to 40 kids. And there's a lot of talent out there. And we know that there's so many kids that are graduating with this skill set. And so I think having that knowledge and understanding that this can be a targeted market for an institution to bring in new enrollment numbers, but also bring in a new side of competitiveness, which they might already have in competitive cheer. But obviously, we know cheerleading is not considered a sport. Having that same skill set turned into a sport. I think what is what makes it very interesting and a positive received meant from the athletic department and presidents at institutions? I think them looking at a future goal of how can we grow enrollment. acrobats and tumbling plays a huge part in it because we can hold 40 kids on our roster. So I think that's why we've seen the growth at the division two and division three levels. I think Division One is slowly getting acclimated in Division One programs are starting to see just how much is bringing we are on ESPN + now. So I mean, just having that following. I know that one of the highest paid NILs is a Louisiana gymnastics, gymnasts, who I think has really turned that market and facing of, okay, how can we elevate our institution? How can we get on social media? How can we market and brand ourselves and I think, especially for those smaller Division One institutions, this is a way to get their name out there to compete against Baylor or Oregon, or a Quinnipiac and still bring recognition to their institution.
John Twork 21:58
This is Redbird Buzz, and we're speaking with Regina Smith, the head women's acrobatics and tumbling coach at Morgan State University. Regina, you're a 2006 Illinois State University alum. You were a cheerleader while you were here. Can you talk about how your experience though you may not have known that it was going to help you down the road. But how did your experience inside and outside of the classroom at Illinois State prepare you for the history that you're making now?
Regina Smith 22:23
Yeah, so I mean, coming in to Illinois State, I was like 21,000 people is a lot of people. But when I got to campus, it was really family, it really changed my perspective of a number is just a number because when I was in the classroom, the professors knew my name. They wanted to see me successful when I was doing organizations such as ESA, or preview as a preview guide, or coming in as a incoming freshman doing the first look program with a minority sector over in. Oh, I forget what it's called. But I'm just being able to help them out are coming in as a first look student, I think I was able to see real quick that Illinois State was going to be the school for me. And it was going to be the place that would prepare me to go beyond what I intentionally thought I would do. And so I knew that being actively involved on campus, continue to make my space smaller, and the more I got acclimated and doing Student Government Association, and working as an intern in the athletic department. It just continued to get smaller for me. So I think having all those experiences being on the cheerleading program really prepared me for today, one of the biggest things that I'll never forget, and I tell my kids this all the time, was that I was told "someone's always watching you." And I was like, Okay, what does that mean? And over the years, it's true. It's really become where somebody has always been watching 24/7--You never know where they are. But whether it's near or far, they are watching what you're doing. And that connection and that building really can elevate you when you are prepared. And I think that knowledge and wisdom that came from Illinois State from Dr. Linda Bowman, actually was really a blessing for me. And it really took me to that level of being prepared always because I never knew who was watching me.
John Twork 24:45
Well, we're all watching you. And Redbird proud of you, Regina, last question as you think ahead to your inaugural season 2023-2024 of The Morgan State collegiate acrobatics and tumbling program is Is there a moment that you're really looking forward to? And if so, what is that moment?
Regina Smith 25:05
Um, absolutely. I mean, there's a lot of moments I'm looking forward to, I have to say my first, my first practice, I'm looking forward to just getting everybody together finally and exhaling and putting pieces together. I think I'm looking forward to that. But I think the biggest moment I'm looking forward to is the first ein. Our first win, I think bringing home a W for Morgan State is going to be huge. Again, I know that we are striving for NCAA championship titles, and not really having that history at Morgan I think is going to set a precedent so I'm looking for that first win. But I'm also looking forward to going to a national championship and bring it home that championship as well. So there's a lot I'm looking forward to you. But all in all, I think this first season is going to be amazing season I'm looking forward to sharing it with the world and, and especially my Redbirds--I love y'all.
John Twork 26:07
Regina Smith, thank you so much for taking some time to speak with us today and we can't wait to follow you as you and your team make history. Thank you Regina.
Regina Smith 26:17
Thank you so much, ISU! Go Redbirds!
John Twork 26:30
That was 2006 Redbird alum and the inaugural head coach of the Morgan State University women's acrobatics and tumbling team, Regina Smith. Visit MorganStateBears.com For more info about the team. Thanks for listening to Redbird Buzz and be sure to tune in next time for more stories from beyond the quad
Transcribed by https://otter.ai