Our Staff

At Cheer City, our coaches are the backbone of our exceptional program, bringing a wealth of experience and passion to every class and practice. Each coach is dedicated to nurturing talent, fostering teamwork, and inspiring athletes to reach their full potential. Their commitment transforms cheerleading into an empowering journey for all our members.

Learn from the best to be the best!

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CRESSIE VIDRO

Owner / Choreographer / Coach

Cressie is the heart of our gym! She serves as owner, in-house choreographer, team coach and main motivator dedicating her talents to all Cheer City teams. Cressie has over 17 years of coaching experience, 6 ICA State Championships and is the current head JV coach at Lincoln-Way East.

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JASON POLAD

Curriculum and Stunt Director / Coach

Jason is the architect of the Cheer City progressions that are present in all of our classes, lessons, camps and teams. He will be instrumental in the planning and advancement of stunts and pyramids with every Cheer City team. Jason will be entering his 17th year coaching Lincoln-Way East Varsity where and has earned 7 state championships.

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JOE JAWORSKI

Tumbling Coach

Joe has been improving Illinois High School, All-Star and Rec Team tumbling for almost 2 decades. We are very proud to have him with us to help bring our Cheer City members and teams to their next levels.

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ANGIE WARD

Cheer Director / Coach

Angie began her coaching cheer at just 12 years old and has since led multiple teams, earning 3 ICA State Championships along the way. Angie's expertise in competitive cheer rules and rubrics makes her the perfect choice to help lead our teams as Program Director. 

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JAIME PEARSON

Event Coordinator / Coach

Jaime has been coaching cheer for over 22 years including at Lincoln-Way Central and Lincoln-Way North High Schools. She has been coaching recreational cheer since 2019. Serving as Activities Director for the Lincoln-Way schools for over 20 years, we couldn't have a better person to be our Event Coordinator.

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DR JULIE FLITCRAFT

Communications Director / Coach

Julie’s coaching journey began in 2004, when she had the privilege of leading the LWE cheer program from 2004-2009. She guided her team to the state series each year and was honored with the LWE Coach of the Year award for the winter season. Recently, Julie has had the joy of leading her rec teams to success as head coach, where they earned a state title and a state runner-up.

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RACHEL HUEDEPOHL

Team Building Coordinator / Coach

Rachel's coaching career started in 2010 at Morton High School. In 2012, Rachel became the assistant coach at Riverside-Brookfield High School where she quickly moved up to head coach. Rachel was at Riverside-Brookfield for a total of 9 years. She has since moved out to Manhattan where she has coached her two daughters at the rec level for the past 4 years.

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SARAH SABO

Coach

Spending her younger years as a gymnast, Sarah started her cheer career at Bradley University. Cheerleading remained a part of her life as she coached at Lincoln-Way North for three years and then became the head coach at Lincoln-Way West. A perennial state qualifier for many seasons, West earn a third place finish in 2015. With both of her daughters showing an interest in cheer, Sarah is back in the coaching ranks to help bring Cheer City to its next level.

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