Coming off another successful competition season, the Varsity Dance Team was surprised with news that their coaches would be retiring.
Coach Angela McNicholas has been a strong pillar of the team since she started as the assistant coach in 2017 before moving up to head coach in 2021. Assistant Coach Ashley Nash joined her in 2022. They were an iconic duo that was beloved by the team.
However, the retiring coaches joined Assistant Athletic Director Craig Shaman in the hiring process to ensure a smooth transition, and Head Coach Meghan Winebrenner was hired to fill the role. Along with Winebrenner, Caroline Martino has returned as assistant coach.
During the hiring process, Shaman was looking for a coach with multiple components to add to the dance team.
“When we’re doing a coaching search, we have to consider a variety of factors: experience, personality, how they’re going to fit with the school. Coach Winebrenner scored highly in every category, and that was what made it easy to choose her among other candidates.”
Over the past years, the team has had a lot of success. In 2025, the dance team scored second in the nation at UDA Nationals and in 2024 they earned the highest 2A score (98.02) in history at State.
“What we were looking to do was continue the culture and excellence of the entire program, and Coach Winebrenner definitely fell into that category,” Shaman said.
As an LFHS alum who graduated in 2015, Winebrenner is familiar with the program. Though she was not on the team, she participated in studio dance at LoMastro Performing Arts Academy, where she developed her skills until she herniated a disc in her lower back in the fall of her sophomore year. While this may have paused her dance career, it did not permanently extinguish her involvement in dance.
Following the completion of her undergraduate degree at DePauw University and graduate school at DePaul University, she reignited her dance career by becoming the Head Junior Varsity Coach and the Assistant Varsity Coach for the Glenbard South High School Dance Team.
Outside of coaching the LFHS Varsity Dance Team, she is also a long-term English substitute at Deerfield High School.
Winebrenner’s role as a fellow high school dance team coach gave her the opportunity to cross paths with the LFHS Dance Team on several occasions. This connection led Coaches McNicholas and Nash to encouraging her to apply for the position since they were stepping down.
Now, back at her alma mater, Winebrenner is eager to lead the team to the best of her ability. Winebrenner knows that this job comes with high expectations, as the team is intense and high achieving.
“We are up against a lot this year, returning to state after two back-to-back wins, and going to UDA Nationals in the large school division when we are technically a small school,” Winebrenner said. “So there are some pressures.”
She plans to implement herself into the team by making sure that she really gets to know each and every team member.
“It’s a team that’s grounded in legacy, but also each group of people brings something new to it,” Winebrenner said.
A team’s relationship with their coach can really make or break the success of a team, and Varsity Dance Captain Sophia Brincat said that the transition to having Winebrenner as a coach has “been awesome,” and she “loves every second of her being here.”
“I definitely thought the transition to a new coach would be a lot harder than it actually was… I was very used to a certain coaching style through Coach Ang and Ash, but right when I met Coach Meg, I believe she immediately clicked with the team. Having a fresh eye looking at what the team could do better and bringing in new perspectives and ideas has definitely been fun, and I look forward to the rest of the season,” Brincat said.
Competition season is a crucial time for the team, as much of the program’s legacy comes from the accomplishments made during that season. Winebrenner plans to work with the team on endurance in order to make some physical aspects of the season less daunting.
Winebrenner said she wants the girls to be confident in themselves and enjoy every moment of being on a team.
“I want to help them grow in their self-confidence, whether it’s in their ability or who they are as people, so that they can take this experience and be super proud of what they have accomplished and who they have become while working as a team.”
