Cheers to a special teacher and coach
The Mundaca family left to right: Noah (2), Amanda, Gabi (5) and Aldo.
A special education teacher and head coach of the award-winning varsity cheerleading squad at Rock Canyon High School (RCHS), Amanda Mundaca is passionate about working with student athletes and her special needs students, some of whom are on the cheer team.
Growing up in Centennial, Amanda cheered in high school. She attended CU Boulder for her undergraduate studies and majored in biology. Earning her master’s degree in special education from the University of Northern Colorado, Amanda began her coaching career at Peak Athletics, now Cheer Athletics, before the move to RCHS in 2011.
The RCHS Jaguars “Jags” have qualified for nationals every year that Amanda has been at the helm.
“Amanda has created an environment that helps student athletes be successful and have fun,” said assistant coach Connie Schubring.
In the classroom, Amanda said the most rewarding part of her job is giving students with disabilities the opportunity to compete on the same cheer team with general education students.
“We have four members of the varsity cheer team that are from our significant support needs class,” shared Amanda. “Being able to give them that type of high school experience is extremely rewarding.”
In February, the cheer team traveled to Orlando, to compete in the national high school cheerleading championship. The varsity team took ninth place in Game Day competitions and junior varsity won fourth in the same category. She attributes the success to the support of the RCHS community and the culture that has been built within the program.
“The support that student athletes are given here in the building helps the cheerleaders want to continue cheering and be successful both on the mat and in the classroom,” Amanda said.
Amanda’s husband, Aldo, coaches the boys soccer team at RCHS. Married for 13 years and living in the Tapestry Hills neighborhood, the couple has two children, Gabi (5) and Noah (2) and two German shepherd dogs, Addie and Patrick.
“When we were looking to buy a bigger house, we knew we wanted to live in Castle Pines for the community aspect and to make sure our kids were Jags. Nothing is like the Jag family,” said Amanda.
Gabi will start kindergarten in the fall at Timber Trail Elementary. She recently joined the Jaguar recreational cheer team, which was created last year for aspiring cheerleaders ages 5-14. “My kids will be Jaguars in 2038 and 2041. We have a long way to go!” laughed Amanda.
The 2024-2025 Rock Canyon High School Cheer Team recently competed in the National Cheerleading Competition at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.
By Mindy Stone; photos courtesy of Amanda Mundaca
