Ashley Burdine has high expectations for her math students and her cheerleaders.
“My classroom students and my athletes all know I mean business. When it’s time to work, they know I take it all seriously. I want both my math students and my cheerleaders to leave with more knowledge than they came with. I also want my students to have a passion for math and understand why it is important to have critical thinking skills,” Burdine recently told Today in Mississippi.
Burdine, an Algebra 2 teacher and the head cheerleading coach at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, has been boosting team spirit on the sidelines since she was in the fifth grade.
At 47, Burdine has been involved in Mississippi cheerleading since the time she made the Long Beach Pee Wee Bearcat cheer team.
From then on, Burdine said she was hooked on the sport.
“I cheered at Long Beach Middle School and Long Beach High School. I then went on to cheer at Mississippi State University and at Mississippi College,” Burdine said.
As a freshman in high school, Burdine got a new coach who also happened to be the girls basketball coach at the time, David Mackay.
“He took us on, not knowing much about the sport, but he knew we should become competitive. That is the first year Long Beach attended the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) nationals in Dallas. I fell in love with competition. I was a communication/public relations major at Mississippi State and worked in marketing for a few years. I was asked to judge a local cheer tryout and realized my heart wanted to be back in the sport. At that point, I began working on the alternate route to teaching,” Burdine said.
Burdine’s coaching career began at Northwest Rankin High School in 2002, where she coached for five years. Her husband’s job had the family relocate to Waco, Texas in 2007. Three years later, Burdine’s family moved back to Mississippi. They settled in Hattiesburg where Burdine was the coach at Oak Grove Middle School from 2011 to 2013. She also coached at The University of Southern Mississippi for one season in 2012. Burdine became the head coach at Oak Grove High School in 2013.
Growing up both swimming and dancing, Burdine said she was drawn to cheerleading because she loved being active.
“In high school, I spent hours in the gym and taught cheer technique classes. I love being on the sidelines at football games, and I also thrive on competition,” Burdine said.
Burdine’s hard work, discipline, and team building has paid off with various state and national championship cheer titles.
Just a few of those titles include winning the 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023 Mississippi High School State Championships and the 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026, UCA Division I Varsity Game Day National Championships.
Burdine, who was named the MHSAA Spirit Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season, said the hardest part of her job has been the end of a season.
“We always have such incredible experiences at UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) nationals, and then it’s over so quickly. I often describe it like a breakup. The team spends so much time together, and becomes so close, then it’s just over. The bus ride home from Orlando is such a time of reflection over what the team was able to accomplish and overcome each season,” Burdine said.
The cheer coach also said some people don’t realize that her cheerleaders are true athletes.
“They work 12 months out of the year for so many years, perfecting their skills and rising to the new challenges that come each season.”
Her favorite part of the job? Competing.
“We work all year at putting the best possible routine on the mat, both at the state championship and the national championship. Seeing the hard work pay off is the highlight of the season. For that two and a half minutes, nothing else in the world matters while I get to watch my girls pour their hearts out on the mat,” Burdine said.
She also said the bonds she makes with her team have meant the world to her.
“Those relationships are so special to me. I’m able to attend weddings, watch them build families, and start their careers. I am always thankful to have been a part of their journey,” Burdine said.
Some of Burdine’s students have gone on to cheer in college at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Alabama, the University of Memphis, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Baylor. Some of those cheerleaders have become collegiate national champions, while others have taught cheerleading at high schools around Mississippi.
Burdine said the best advice she has for future cheerleaders is concentrating on the team.
“There will be sacrifices that need to be made during the season to be the best you can be. This is a team sport, and it takes full commitment to be a good teammate. Putting together a competitive routine is a puzzle, and everyone must understand their role. Each team member provides value and makes a difference,” she said.
