St. Cloud Crush dance team heads into sectionals, led by legendary Coach Sue Arnold
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Minnesota state sectional dance competitions start this weekend.
Among the teams showing off their routines is the St. Cloud Crush. The dancers give their all to this, but they credit their success to someone else.
"In our section, we didn't do very well last year. We were in the middle and are hoping for better [placement] this year," said team members Natalie Lage. "We just want to see ourselves progress."
The dancers are seeing improvement every year, and they all attribute that success to their coach, Sue Arnold.
"Honestly, I think if it wasn't for her, I probably still wouldn't be a dancer," said team member Kailee Rosenberger.
"She used to always tell us, 'Corrections are a gift. Take it and bring it,'" said team member Georgia Buttenhoff.
"Sue has been a huge part of this program, and without her I don't think we would've seen the growth we have seen in the past three years," said team member Breanna Steueve.
"When I was a sophomore, we weren't like the greatest, but then I could see so much improvement once Sue started coaching us," said team member Carly O'Hara.
That's an expression of gratitude. What does it mean to Coach Sue?
"Everything," Arnold said. "I've been coaching for more than 20 years, and I've retired a few times and came back to it. I did stop for a year and judged, which was very nice, but I missed that. I missed the kids, I missed the excitement."
She's helped guide the team through its first three years as a combined program. The players are feeling pretty good about sectionals.
"I'm excited to see our growth in our scores this weekend. We've been working really hard for the past few weeks," Steueve said.
They all reflect the same confidence and gratitude.
"I'm way past my senior citizen [status], I should be retired. And to come back and have the opportunity and health, from the grace of God, to be able to come back in here everyday and do this, it's just all gratefulness," Arnold said.