Heather Crawford is usually found coaching the WolfPack Cheerleading team, but on Sept. 25-27, 2026, she took a hiatus to represent Team Canada in the Pan American and Copa America Championships.
Crawford’s journey in the sport started at TRU as a WolfPack cheerleader for three years. She has been coaching the ‘Pack’s cheerleading team since 2018, starting with the advanced-level team and then the premier-level team. She has also led clinics and short training sessions that help cheerleaders build skills and prepare for the season. She teaches the clinics for high school students in Vernon, Williams Lake and Vancouver Island. Team B.C. was her first experience coaching at the provincial level, and the ICU championships were her first international competition.
“It’s been a big confidence builder for my abilities as a coach, as well as the impact that I actually have on athletes. I coach a lot of adults now, being at a university, and sometimes they share how things went, sometimes they don’t,” Crawford said. “Having a couple athletes give me a hug and say, ‘I’m so sad you’re never going to coach me again,’ it kind of opened my eyes to the amount of impact that coaches can have on athletes.”
According to Crawford, coaching this team differs significantly from a university setting because the athletes are based across British Columbia. Once a month, the teams from across B.C. would gather together for a two-day training camp. Groups of teammates in the same cities would meet every two weeks to practice and record videos of their progress. The coaches would then provide feedback on how to improve.
“I think the biggest challenge is I’m used to having a team that I get to see two or three times a week, and work with them and go through all of those little things,” Crawford said. “Only getting to see the kids like seven times, all together in person before we went to these games, it was just a different coaching experience.”
The competitions took place in Mexico City, Mexico and hosted teams from 10 countries in North America and South America. In December 2025, British Columbia’s provincial cheer team, Team B.C., learned that they would represent Canada in these international competitions. The team competed in the Junior Co-ed Advanced division in both competitions, placing silver at the Pan American Games and gold at the Copa America Games.
Currently, this championship is the only competition the Junior Co-ed Advanced team will enter. Crawford is back to coaching the WolfPack, and may try coaching at the provincial level again.
“When I applied for Team B.C. I was like, ‘I’ll do it once, get the experience and then I’ll probably move on.’ But it was such an amazing experience,” Crawford said. “I got to meet other coaches across the province. I got to work with different coaches, and in that, learn different coaching styles and further my knowledge in the future.”
Crawford’s next competition will be with the WolfPack at the ICU University World Cup Championship on Jan. 15, 2027. Until then, the team will be performing at other WolfPack games. On Oct. 30 2026, they will be at both the men’s and women’s volleyball games at the Tournament Capital Centre from 4:15- 10:00 p.m.