Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Sports

Members of the Eastern cheer team perform during the women's basketball game against Tennessee State on March 6 in Nashville, Tenn. (Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News)

Antoine Thomas has stepped down as coach of the Eastern cheer team, and a new coach should be in place by the end of the week, according to Mary Wallace, assistant athletic director.

Wallace said Thomas - a training and specialists employee for the Center for Academic Technology and Support at Eastern - chose to step down to work on his doctorate.

Thomas could not be reached for comment.

The athletic department is currently searching for a new coach of the cheer squad, and Wallace said they are trying to contact people within the cheer community in Charleston and people at Illinois State and Illinois Champaign Urbana.

"We're contacting former cheerleaders that are in the business currently or people in the area that may be interested," she said. "We're trying to get as many names and contact as many people as we can to get the word out that the position is not filled."

According to cheer team captain Scott Raddatz, the department was close to hiring Zac Lawson, owner of Sun Elite Gymnastics Academy at 220 Granite Dr.; however, when contacted, Lawson said he had to turn down the job because of time restraints at his business.

Wallace would not confirm Lawson was offered the job, but she did say the department had been in contact with him.

The cheer team will have tryouts for next year's squad April 25 and 26 even if a coach has not been hired at that time.

Wallace said Tom Leung, a former cheer coach and teacher in the Champaign-Urbana area, has agreed to help out in organizing and running tryouts until a coach can be found on a permanent basic.

But while the process of finding a new coach has been underway for a while, Wallace stressed they are trying to find the best fit for the squad.

"We're working as quickly as we can," she said. "Obviously, we want to find someone that is qualified and has a passion for cheerleading, so it's not a situation where it will be the first person we find, but the best fit for the squad, the department and the university overall."



Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

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