The Owatonna Dance Team is kicking into the season with a new head coach. OHS has hired Nikki Burgmaier to be the new head coach for OTD. Coach Burgmaier has been involved with the Owatonna dance team since 2017. She was an assistant coach for three years. Ms.Burgmaier saw the head coaching job open up and she knew she wanted to step in and pursue her love of the sport and athletes. She is very dedicated to making sure the whole team is the best version of themselves on and off the dance floor. 

Ms. Burgmaier is not just a dance coach. She also works at the Owatonna Middle School as a health and physical education teacher. Her love for kids and teens is shown everyday through how dedicated she is,by pushing her students in the gym and helping kids pursue their education in the classroom. 

This 2021 dance season will be very exciting and eventful. Senior captain Lainie Rahn said, “Burgmaier has impacted my high school dance career with her mind set and worth ethic. She doesn’t just tell us what to do, she leads by example. I wouldn’t be the dancer I am today without her.” Burgmaier has not only had a positive impact on the sport but has also had a huge positive impact on the dancers. 

This season is going to be a very exciting one and the coaches and dancers have many goals for the team. Ms.Burgmaier wants the best for her dancers. Coach said, “To leave the season better than we found it, every dancer should see individual growth and our team should always strive to see our score sheets go up.” The team and staff have many goals for the dancers but the biggest goal that the team and coaches are striving for is to place in the top four at Big 9. Though the competitions are fun, Rahn said, “I’m looking forward to the team bondings and getting closer with the new team.” Coach Burgmaier and the team captains make sure the team comes first and that everyone grows a bond with each other before the big competitions comes. Burgmaier said, “I get to see them bond and truly fight to be the best they can be, as much as I love to be competitive and make sure we are the best physical dancers we can be, my number one goal is that my team is full of good humans, the rest will fall in place.” 

Through everything that has happened last year in 2020,  Ms. Burgmaier has been working hard to keep the program running by staying positive and still pushing the team to be the very best they can be even when times are hard. She is very dedicated and has always known that she wanted to be a coach. Burgmaier said, “I wanted to inspire growth physically and mentally in a team environment and my coaching staff and I work on these things in so many ways.” 

Many coaches have many different things that push them and their athletes to be better team players and humans each and everyday. Coach Burgmaier also does the same thing for her athletes and herself along with her coaching staff work on this main idea everyday. Ms. Burgmaier said, “I come back to these two quotes that I share with my dancers, one being ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. I share this quote with them because to me it means, be a leader that demonstrates growth and work ethic and the rest will follow, be the positive light in the room and more dancers will shine bright, It takes one person to start the change so what change do you want that to be.” OTD has performed at home football games as they prepare for their winter season.