Cheer Coach named Coach of the Year for Ohio

RICHMOND, Ohio — Edison High School’s Casey Mozingo has plenty to cheer about after being named Nfinity Coach of the Year for Ohio.

Mozingo, who school officials say has served as a cheerleading coach for the past 18 years, will be honored with more than 30 awardees from across the country during a future banquet.

School officials say there were more than 1,000 nominations from around the U.S. and many from Wildcat Country submitted her name for consideration.

She will be among 20 high school varsity coaches, four junior varsity high school coaches, three middle school coaches and six recreational coaches recognized from 21 different states.

The Richmond resident has spent the past seven years coaching at Edison, four of which she has served as head varsity coach.

She said she learned of the award on Aug. 19 from Steve Solberg, director of scholastic programming for Nfinity.

“I am honored to have been named the Nfinity Coach of the Year for Ohio,” Mozingo said. “I never expected to be nominated, let alone win it. It is a huge honor and I’m very appreciative.”

During her nearly two-decade coaching career, she has led the high school and All Stars, and her competition teams have earned many titles over the past three years alone.

The Non-tumble team holds three consecutive OVAC titles, an OHSCCA district and state title, an OASSA state title and numerous first-place and grand champion honors along with the tumble team, while the tumble team also recently won the Jefferson County Fair title after 23 years.

Mozingo says she is also grateful to the team members who have given their all to shine during competitions.

“I’m thankful for all the athletes I have coached over the years that have helped to make me the coach that I am,” Mozingo added. “I am looking forward to another successful year.”

Mozingo said another highlight was being named to a post through the OVAC which she also holds in high regard.

“I was recently appointed to the position of OVAC All Star Cheer Director. To me, this is a great accomplishment as the OVAC has the largest conference in the United States,” she said.

For Mozingo, cheering has been a long-time passion that began when she was a cheerleader herself in high school. She said she wasn’t quite done with the sport after she graduated and decided to mentor others.

“Over the years, I had taken time off from it but always found myself coming back as it is just a part of me. It’s one of my passions and something I love to do.”

Solberg said Mozingo embodied what it means to be a coach and her award was well deserved.

“There were over 1,000 nominations from around the country and at least one person completed our online form to nominate Coach Mozingo for this honor. It’s an open application for anyone to nominate a coach who they feel is special and deserving of the title of Coach of the Year,” he said. “After being nominated and talking to an Nfinity representative, it was clear that Coach Mozingo exemplifies what we all look for in a cheer coach…someone who loves what they do and are always looking to better the lives of those they coach.”

Nfinity Athletic Corporation supports the cheer program by supplying shoes, apparel and accessories as well as spearheading All Star and scholastic events, the College Combine, Nfinity Skills Academy, Big Skills Camp, scoring, special programs such as Generation Next and COTY.

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