University of Hawai’i Head Coach:
Head coach Mike Baker enters his 17th year at the helm of the University of Hawai‘i cheerleading program and his 27th year as a cheer coach in the collegiate ranks. Baker has been responsible for winning 10 consecutive west regional UCA national qualifiers, as well as raising the team’s competition level to be a perennial power that is expected to finish in the Top 10 nationally every year. Baker’s teams have built the program into one known for performing some of the most innovative skills and intricate, dynamic routines in the country.
While coaching, he has also played a major role in developing national partner stunt champions in 1995 (UCA), 2007 (COA), 2009 (NCA), 2011 (USA), and 2012 (USA).
In 2009 Baker led the ‘Bows to New York City to capture Paula Abdul’s “RAH Cheerleading Bowl Championship” which was nationally televised on MTV.
Cheerleading Career:
University of Washington Huskies
Baker was a three-year letter winner on the cheer team at the University of Washington in Seattle from 1989-1992. He served as team captain in his final year and helped Husky nation set the record for the loudest college football stadium ever recorded, it may be no surprise that the football team went on to win their only national championship in that same year. He graduated UW with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1992.
University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors
Baker then attended graduate school at the University of Hawai‘i. He cheered from 1993-96. He was named team captain in his final year and played an integral role in recruiting one of UH’s strongest teams, which hailed 4 of the top five nationally ranked partner stunt bases, and 2 of the top 4 tops (flyers). Although there had been a long line of very talented UH teams, many would say that it was during this time that Hawai’i Cheer became a major competitive player nationally and a new force to be reckoned with.
Instructor and Performer:
Coach Mike began his instructor and coaching career with the Universal Cheerleaders Association, where he served on many different levels as well as being an AACCA safety certifier from 1990-2009. He was a college and core staff instructor who trained UCA instructional staff nationwide. Baker started heading the majority of his camps in just his second year and was often asked to be a part of a select group that would perform “live” in Las Vegas and LA at the “Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon” televised live across the country. He went on to instruct internationally at coaches training seminars across America and in Japan, Taiwan, England, France, Australia, and Canada.
Mike Baker was also selected as a member of the original cheerleading “Team USA,” which represented, and even introduced American
cheerleading in Gothenburg, Sweden at the 2000 Gymnaestrada. Held in a different location every four years, some say it’s like an Acrobatic Olympics. Many of the “heavy hitters” in cheerleading today were a part of this very select team. As well, European cheerleading as we know it today can be traced back to this 2000 event.
Previous Collegiate Coaching:
University of Puget Sound: Baker began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. He coached there from 1992-93 while finishing up at UW. During his tenure there, Baker overhauled the cheer program and installed proper safety precautions and taught skill progressions while incorporating crowd effective materials and routines.
Hawai’i Pacific University: While cheering and attending grad school at UH, Baker was a coach/choreographer for the Hawaii Pacific University cheer team from 1993-95. Baker helped to develop the Sea Warriors into a nationally competitive cheerleading program and lead them to their first two national competitions.
University of Washington:
Baker then went back to the University of Washington from 1996 -2003 where he got his second head coaching opportunity. While back in Seattle, he helped develop the Huskies into a nationally competitive cheerleading team, placing as high as fourth place, in in only his third year, at the UCA Nationals (Division IA), beating top teams such as Alabama, (UH) and then power house LSU. Baker was instrumental in raising the level of crowd interaction at games and events, always reworking fundamentals to ensure safety while elevating the skill and technique levels of the team.
