Lori Joliff, Bartow cheer coach for last two decades, retires
One of the best cheer coaches in Polk County history has called it quits.
Bartow’s Lori Joliff announced her retirement this week. She leaves the school after 21 years, which included six national titles and 11 state titles. Bartow will announce its new cheer coach in two weeks.
This winter, Bartow placed second in nationals, which is still an accomplishment in of itself. But the journey to get to nationals was just as satisfying, according to Joliff.
“Extremely proud of the kids, and it was great having homefield advantage and the entire Bartow community came out and just rallied the kids," Jolliff said at the time. "Our community is unmatched. We had so many alumni there, all the way from the state championship when (the FHSAA) recognized cheerleading as a competitive sport in 2008 and they won the title back then. We have kids from the '08 team all the way from last year’s team.”
And this is why Jolliff is the Nick Saban of Polk County cheerleading. The Bartow program has won the most national championships in Polk County. In 2023, the Yellow Jackets placed first in the large varsity coed category at the UCA championships at Walt Disney Resort. And for that, she was the 2023 Cheer Coach of the Year.
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But as always, she kept it humble.
“Coach of the Year belongs to the athletes who I have had the privilege to coach the past 20 years and the parents-community who have offered their love and support to our program all this time,” Joliff said. “Bartow is made up of so many components and having the privilege of coaching cheer here is something that has made me the person I am today. “
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Bartow High School cheer coach Lori Joliff retires after 21 years
