After years of dedication, leadership, and passion, Angela McNicolas and Ashley Nash are retiring from the Lake Forest Dance Team (LFDT). Their impact, though, is anything but temporary. 

Both McNicholas and Nash were once a LFDT dancer themselves, but not at the same time. For both, returning to lead the program has been a dream come true. 

Head Coach Angela McNicolas first joined the LFDT coaching staff as a part-time JV coach in the summer of 2008. At the time, McNicolas was home from the Univeristy of Michigan when she received a call from LFHS Athletic Director Tim Burkhalter, asking if she would take this opportunity. Soon, McNicolas was receiving this call multiple times. 

“Each time I answered the call to be a part LFDT, I felt a valuable connection to the program in a new way,” McNicolas said. “It never gets old or predictable.”

Nevertheless, McNicolas enjoyed being in the coaching environment—learning and experiencing the competitive thrill of dance— deep down, she believed she stayed because she wanted to be a head coach one day. 

“However, once that became a reality, my choice to stay year after year was to build a program that would continue LFDT’s legacy of excellence while prioritizing a positive team culture grounded in respect, confidence, and hard work,” McNicolas said. “Easier said than done, but they have been the most rewarding years!”

Assistant Coach Ashley Nash has a slightly different story of how she became a part of the coaching staff on LFDT.

In the fall of 2021, Nash came back to work as the full time LFDT Assistant Coach alongside Head Coach Angela McNicholas. 

“It was an unexpected phone call from Coach Angela one summer morning that stopped me in my tracks, with a very quick ‘YES!’ from me,” Nash said. 

Back in 2017, they had tried to start this journey together, but things did not work out. Nash had been waiting for the opportunity to step into a coaching position with McNicolas. 

Before both their coaching careers began, they were both members of the dance team — just four years apart. 

McNicolas was involved in volleyball and basketball growing up, but dance was definitely her top pick. Much different from studio dancing, high school dance carried a sense of bright school spirit that immediately made her feel a connection to LFHS. 

Nash started dancing in middle school and immediately fell in love. Even though she almost missed the tryout as an incoming eighth grader, she later had no idea that she was on the path to make LFDT history.

Although McNicolas and Nash were never on the same team, there has been an invisible string all along. 

“Coach Ash made up the tryout routine for my very first tryout when I was just an 8th grader,” McNicolas said. “These memories are so vivid, but the next time our paths crossed wouldn’t be until she was backstage working a UDA event, and I was coaching at Loyola Academy.”

Together, McNicolas and Nash have been able to establish what LFDT really is and how it should be viewed. For years, they balanced being coaches and best friends. 

“Part of growing up is continuing to form friendships when they are meant to be in your life — and that was definitely the case for Coach Ash and me. This journey would not have been what it was without Coach Ash by my side,” McNicolas said. “Our friendship has been so impactful on my life, and it formed out of a shared desire to not just keep LFDT in motion, but to reintroduce it as a program that embodies sportsmanship, accountability, and positivity.” 

Without the constant dedication they showed each other every day, their job would not bring them as much joy as it did.

“We reconnected as moms, raising our kids together in Lake Bluff, but our friendship took on a whole new meaning when we joined together for LFDT in 2021,” Nash said. 

Being so tight-knit with each other and the program has helped them overcome many challenges, and the celebrations have been much more exciting. With trust, teamwork and passion, McNicolas and Nash can do it all. 

By seeing them work in the environment they grew up in and love, everyone can see that they were meant to be coaches of LFDT. 

“Coaching is one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences in my life,” Nash said. “Getting to be a part of these amazing athletes’ stories in such a large way is a true privilege.”

From starting as a dancer on the team, to finishing as a coach, the full circle moment has been complete.

“Ultimately, I think I was always meant to coach and am grateful that my coaching career led back to LFHS and this one of a kind program,” McNicolas said. 

One thing that sets them apart from the rest is their passion and respect for the program. 

“I hold a lot of those moments close to my heart, like when Coach Angela and I could look at each other, try to hold back a smile, and say, ‘They’re ready,’” Nash said. 

Not only is their passion, but the empathy shown throughout the season does not go unseen.

“These dancers like to know they are being pushed but also need to know they are being supported,” McNicolas said. “That balance comes down to the team culture, which Coach Ash and I prioritized starting Fall of 2022.”

It is these coaches’ goal to leave a meaningful and positive impact on LFDT — they have definitely done so. 

LFDT was greatly impacted by McNicolas and Nash’s commitment, energy and communication throughout their many years of coaching. 

“It is bittersweet stepping aside from coaching, but our friendship has only just begun,” Nash said. “P4L.”