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Capobianco was the Perfect Pick to be Huskies' Cheer Coach

When you look for a coach, you want someone who has experience and passion for the sport, along with an uncanny ability to connect with their pupils. For Morgan cheerleading, no one fit that bill better than Joni Capobianco.

The Waterbury native, who is also a guidance counselor at Morgan, competed nationally with state powerhouse Holy Cross before later being on the Crusaders' cheer coaching staff. While she took a year off to concentrate on her guidance position, Joni took advantage of an opening with the Huskies and is now the new head coach of the Morgan cheer squad.

"Joni brings a tremendous amount of experience to the cheerleading program at The Morgan School. Coach Capobianco comes from an excellent high school program at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury," says Huskies' Athletic Director Kevin Rayel. "Holy Cross cheerleading has been and is one of the more outstanding programs in the state of Connecticut, and we know that Joni will bring the same to Morgan. Joni is a guidance counselor here at the Morgan School, and we also know of her work ethic in that position. We are looking forward to Joni bringing that same work ethic, energy, and excitement to the cheerleading program here at Morgan."

Already having a firm foundation and rapport established between herself and many students, Joni wants to continue that with her team as its leader. She aims to accomplish that feat by tapping into a tagline that has become synonymous with the high school.

"I took the year off, but then I heard the former head coach wasn't returning, so I was excited to take this opportunity," says Joni. "A lot of people are concentrated on trophies, though the most important thing to me is building a family. I want to build a family here with this group and focus on developing leaders. We have a slogan here at Morgan called, 'We Are Morgan', and we are taking that very seriously this year. I want to emulate that with the girls."

Building off of that homey atmosphere, Joni adds that she gains great pride out of knowing her athletes so well that they don't even need to utter a single word when they achieve something big, because their faces say it all.

"The best part of coaching is when a kid looks at you and you can tell they are so excited when they overcome something," Joni says. "You see their reaction without them even having to say anything. The growth of the kids is really the best part of it all."

While Joni's final roster has yet to be determined, she knows she is surrounded by some of the best and brightest student-athletes. She admits this year's edition of the squad may be short on experience, although she is driven to make the Huskies long on accuracy and athleticism.

"We want to have the girls bond and again make it a family. We are a young team, so I'm not worried about competing a lot. I want us to focus more on gymnastics and tumbling. I also want to make sure we have clean routines," says Joni. "We haven't had tryouts yet, but the girls have been so sweet, wonderful, and welcoming to me. We really have great kids here at Morgan."