Sue Smith joined the Aquinas Athletic Department in the summer of 2024 and serves as the head coach of the Aquinas cheer program. Smith is the fifth head coach in the history of the Aquinas cheer program.
Smith comes to Aquinas with over 11 years of coaching experience at both Cornerstone University and Northpointe Christian High School. Staying within the WHAC, Smith coached the Cornerstone Golden Eagles' cheer team for over two years from 2021 to 2023. While at CU, she helped double the size of the cheer roster while developing athletes to perform at an elite level. Smith was hired at Cornerstone to turn the cheer program around and accomplished that feat in two short seasons.
Sue began her cheer coaching career in Michigan in 2012 when she launched the varsity football sideline cheer program at Northpointe Christian. In 2013, she also began NPC's competitive cheer program and has cultivated a lot of success. She took the Mustangs to the state finals in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Northpointe advanced to regionals from 2018 through 2024 and achieved the regional runner-up in 2020. She coached her team to OK Silver championships in 2018 and 2019, along with a runner-up finish in 2020.
Smith was voted the District Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2023 and was also named the Regional Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2023. She serves as a member of the Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan where she was elected to the board three years ago and continues to serve in that role. She was recently elected as the regional representative to the CCCAM executive board.
Sue earned a BA in public relations with a minor in business from the University of Georgia. She also competed in both cheerleading and track prior to her coaching career.
Smith is married to her husband Gary and has five children. When she isn't coaching, Smith's other hobbies include camping, hiking, running 5K's and marathons with her kids, traveling, reading, and working on the book series she is writing.
