Kaitlyn Reams is our Adel-Desoto-Minburn head cheerleading coach. She is now in her fourth year coaching for ADM. 

Reams graduated from ADM Highschool in 2012 and was a part of the cheerleading squad from her freshman year to senior year. She says “My favorite memory in high school cheer was being able to cheer at the Dome for state football and all the friends I made during that time.” Reams also was the first person in ADM history to make All-State for cheerleading which she says was a huge memory for her. 

After graduating from ADM Reams went on to cheer at the division one collegiate level for the University of Northern Iowa. She was a part of the Co-Ed and Nationals team during her time there. Reams says her favorite part about cheering at UNI was “Competing at UCA Nationals in Disney World and becoming All American 2 years in a row”. She says she is grateful for all of the opportunities she got to cheer out of state and still talks to all of her teammates and coaches today. 

After cheering at UNI for 2.5 years Kaitlyn came back to Adel. She says “There was an assistant position open and I really wanted to be a part of making the cheer program better than when I was there”. 

She started assistant coaching in 2014 then took on the role as the head coach from 2015-2017. She then came back in 2022 and has continued as the head coach since then. She mentions that it was a little difficult coaching athletes so close in age to her and gaining their respect since she began her coaching career at 20. 

Reams is the head coach for football sideline cheer, wrestling cheer, basketball cheer and even competition cheer all alongside her other full time job. “It takes a team! I’m lucky enough to have a family nearby who can help out with the kids so I can live out my passion. I try my best to manage my coaching schedule around my kids’ schedule so I don’t have to miss anything.” she says. Reams also mentions it takes time to create a good balance of each while still being able to give 100% to everything she does. 

In 2015 Reams led her competition team to 1st place at Triton which had never been done before. The 2015 team then placed 3rd at State which hadn’t been done in over 20 years. 

In 2024 the competition team placed 2nd at the Triton Challenge, beating Carlisle for the first time in 12 years. They went on to place 5th at State, 2nd at Regionals and for the first time in ADM history, Reams led her team to Nationals in Dallas Texas where they placed 9th, all done in 2024. 

She says it’s hard for her to pick out a specific moment from her coaching career that is her favorite because she is always proud of her athletes. “I enjoy being able to help grow each athlete and being able to look back on where they started. I think that’s my most favorite”. She says some of her highlights are taking her team to Nationals for the first time, alongside some of the team’s other major successes. 

Just this past year, the cheer team grew immensely as they added two stunt groups to their competition team. At State the cheer/dance team placed 4th in the 3A division, while stunt group B placed 3rd and for the first time in ADM cheerleading history, they went home with a State Title. Stunt group A placed 1st in their division with a score of 136.9. ADM left state 2025 with 3 trophies and history made.

“Finally! A dream I’ve been chasing since competing at ADM since 2009. I truly didn’t know if I’d ever be able to coach a team to accomplish that so I have definitely gotten down on myself, felt like giving up, felt like the girls deserved someone who could get them there more than I could since I wasn’t able to accomplish it before. It was just a huge confidence boost and made me happy that I never gave up no matter how hard it was. I was super excited for the girls because they deserve it so much! It’s pretty cool to be a part of the 1st in school history too.” Reams says when she’s asked about the State title

Reams always puts her athletes above herself. “I just want them to grow as an athlete and person. They should walk out of the program with better skills but most importantly life lessons” She says she wants high school cheer to be something positive her athletes can look back on. She wants them to create long lasting friendships and memories that will stick with them. 

Reams says that as she continues throughout her coaching career some of her main goals are to keep improving herself as a coach so she can be better for her athletes and help them improve. 

“I’d love to add more titles, I’d love to go back to nationals and I’d love to have more students join the program and I’d love to keep improving our sideline teams. It’s already become so much more than I’ve ever dreamed of. I just want to keep making it better each year. I’m very excited for what’s to come for ADM cheer”